Taking Risks in Townships

On the 13th November, headlines announced the death in an apparent carjacking of a honeymooning bride in the 'township' of Gugulethu, near Cape Town. Big news in the UK, as the bridegroom was British. I remember thinking, well, what were they thinking, being in a township late at night, that was stupid. You might detect a little less sympathy than there should have been. It turns out that the taxi driver has been arrested, and is claiming that he was paid by the bridegroom to do away with the woman he'd just married. No idea on that, but it does seem that the murder had nothing to do with the location - except as cover perhaps, so the story doesn't really tell us how dangerous Gugulethu is.

Gugulethu is actually home to a place which pulls in tourists and other people with money, Mzoli's Meat. I've heard a couple of (linguistic) academic papers on what goes on there - apparently there's a Jewish Xhosa-speaking comedian who gigs there (the linked video is worth watching). So maybe it's not so bad after all, just something went very wrong.

We're heading back to Kenya later this month. It also has some spots I wouldn't go at night (eg much of downtown and the biggest 'township', Kibera). But people are normally more worried about other areas, rather than their own. I, living in Karen, don't like going downtown at night. Others who live nearer town don't like to come to Karen at night. Who's the stupid one?

A Day of Disappointment in England, but something a little more serious elsewhere.

Well, England didn't get the 2018 World Cup. I was thinking of writing something before the result of that vote came out, when there was still some tension, but it's a bit late for that now.

Meanwhile, in Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) they're waiting on the results of their elections. A friend writes that international TV has been shut off, and the borders shut, after the government claims there was widespread fraud in the North, which has not been under government control for the last 8 years. Apparently international monitors have not found widespread fraud in the North, but it seems clear that the results, which were approved by the Electoral Commission, give the opposition candidate Ouattara a majority, so the president's rep in the commission decided to tear the results up. Not a good sign for democracy, maybe not as bad as the closure of the borders, and the fatal attack on some of Ouattara's supporters yesterday.

Ivoriens, behold Kenya and shudder! An attempt to steal an election there cost over 1,500 lives, and the country pulled back from the brink of much worse. And stealing elections doesn't just cause immediate violence, but helps to create a culture of impunity and corruption which makes the overall governance, and therefore life of the people, much worse. Better to lose an election honestly than win one by deception.

Things I'm noticing about life in the UK

We've been back in the UK for over a month now, and have spent a couple of weeks away on holiday, and a bit more of that catching up with friends. Last night we were unexpectedly children free, and popped round to see some friends. We walked over, down suburban streets, around half past nine. Of course we would never do such a thing in Kenya, walking out after dark (though most Kenyans have no choice on that matter). But the other strange thing was that there was no-one else on the street - not even in a car. Deserted, which felt... different.

Another less profound thing that I've been noticing is the amazing lack of insects in the house. Just hardly any (though there's a fly buzzing around this morning).

A few things have changed while we've been away - for the first time I've topped up a phone at the cashpoint, and unblocked a pin number. Cool. Faster internet. BBC iPlayer is totally wonderful. Thank you BBC, we love you! But apart from that, life goes on much as normal. And despite the occasional new building here, there's not the sense of growth and development that you get in Nairobi. Reading is much as it was, but Nairobi is full of new housing estates, all over the place, burgeoning traffic (not necessarily a good thing, but it shows the growth), new shopping centres, expansion in general. It's an interesting contrast.

Disgruntled of Karen on the Failings of the British High Commission and Zain phone registration

Mustn't grumble. But every now and then things need to be said! Yesterday the kids' school forwarded us a letter from the British High Commission saying that we would now need to "apply directly to the British High Commission in Pretoria" to renew our passports, and that this would take around 4 weeks. No reason given. And I'm not sure how one could apply directly to them in any case. These arrangements are ridiculous for a country that has tens of thousands of British citizens in residence.

But that's not all. It's the icing on the cake. I have registered, and re-registered on the Foreign Office's site, as a Brit living in Kenya. But did I get this email? No, as I said, it was forwarded from the school. So the meeting about this organised here in Karen on Saturday at 10 (Karen Club, in case you need to know...) was news to me. Can't make it anyway, but it would have been nice to have been told.

In fact, in early 2008, when Kenya was rocked by post-election violence, Americans had at least weekly updates of where it was safe to go, what precautions to take etc. And what did us Brits get from the High Commission? Nothing. Not a squeak. In a potentially dangerous situation, the British authorities did absolutely nothing to inform its citizens. Apparently writing an email would have overwhelmed their resources. Around May, 3 months after everything was over, they arranged some meetings about security. Horses and bolts and stable doors come to mind. And apparently the advice was to look out for yourself, as they wouldn't do anything.

It costs about double to get a passport here, to cover consular services. I'm wondering what those services are meant to be. And while I'm griping about the Brits, it's time to mention a Kenyan friend whose valid application for a UK visa was turned down. Among the concern was the hosts wouldn't be able to afford to put our friend up - and yet the accompanying documentation showed several thousand pounds going into their bank account - in fact the hosts are most likely millionaires. It seems that the lady hadn't spent the proper time looking at the documentation. That and the fact that our friend has been to Europe and come back before was ignored. And I know it's difficult deciding who gets a visa, but really...

Well, I promised more disgruntlement, so here it comes... We have to register our mobile phones or they get cut off. OK. We're getting daily texts from Zain, our phone company, to remind us. But can you register your Zain phone in Karen? It would seem not. Not at the Zain merchant, nor at the supermarket. So we went to Junction (around 6 miles away), and we couldn't do it there either. When we rang Zain to comment that it wasn't possible, the first operator hung up. Safaricom users don't seem to have this problem, so it would seem that Zain doesn't actually want customers, and is screwing up the registration process.

All this negativity is getting to me, so I'll tell you that we had lunch at Java Junction, and the service was friendly, efficient and speedy (it felt like 5 minutes after ordering), and the food was fine and good value. Well done! Things really can work well here, which I guess adds to the frustration when they don't. Sorry for grumbling.

Getting ready to be a bloke in the UK

Well, next week we'll be leaving Kenya for the rest of the year, and establishing ourselves in the UK for nearly six months. However, still being the same person, I might carry on and post some random musings here now and then.

An interesting thing about this process is how the well-established expats and others react when we say this. The conversation goes something like this:

"We'll be going back to the UK for six months"
"Are you coming back?"
"Well, I said for six months, so that would imply that we were" (OK, I'm not quite that direct)/ "We have return tickets"

When I question people about this, they say that when people leave for good, they often say that they'll be back soon, and often intend to, but stuff happens, and people find something else to do . The fact that we're holding on to our house is taken as stronger evidence of our intent to return than the return tickets.

The longer we've stayed here, the more people have treated us as... well, 'real' people. I suppose 'real' here is opposed to 'transient'. It gets tiring investing in relationships with people who keep on leaving, so I can understand that others, for whom Kenya is home, treat newcomers -not exactly with caution - but with a little reserve.

Getting ready to be in the UK is interesting as well. Wonderful friends have been helping us to find a house to rent, which seems to be going through OK, though the credit rating agency is being rather slow - when you come from abroad you just don't tick the boxes in a standard way. Our youngest two have spent more of their lives here than in the UK - the youngest was barely one when we left. So doing things like going to school in England will be new. And getting places in schools has been interesting as well. We've abandoned trying for the schools they would have gone to if we'd stayed there, and settled for ones that seem reasonable, rather then running the risk of having them going to different schools in different directions. We've been dealing with two different councils in doing this, and one of them has outshone the other - we'll forgive them for asking to see our UK visa before granting us a school place.

So, overall, quite looking forward to reconnecting with friends, church and family, but not glad to be leaving here. But I think the stresses on the children are greater than on us.

Some Rhino Charge Pictures

Some vehicles didn't want to drive there. Below are Team 38, who went on to win, and who started and finished at our checkpoint.

And off they go! The guys on the back mainly act as scouts to find viable ways through the bush.

Things tended to go wrong with the cars...

No. 2 is trying to get past 36, who is stuck (the car doesn't move from here till the next day). In the process the driver's window explodes, and the door gets some damage.

All for now. I'll post some more soon!

The Rhino Charge

Well, yesterday was the Madaraka (autonomy rather than independence) holiday here in Kenya, and the day before was the annual Rhino Charge. The Rhino Charge is an amazingly entertaining 4-by-4 challenge where the winner is the driver who manages to cover the distance between around 12-14 checkpoints not in the shortest time, but by taking the shortest route (and finishing within the allotted 10 hours). It's so much fun, as unlike in Formula 1 where cars whizz by, you can watch a car for several minutes as it attempts to get over some rocks, or up an improbably steep hill, using a winch, which it's quite clear is pulling the bush more than it's pulling the car. All this is done to raise money for wildlife conservation, in particular for the now-completed fence around the Aberdare mountain range. It's just as well it's for the environment, given all the crushed euphorbia and aloes I witnessed last year - none of that this year though, as the terrain was quite different. Just lots of bushes.

Our church runs one of the checkpoints, and I went along with the boys to help out, having had a great time last year. We happened to be near one of the most challenging parts of the course, in a dry river bed, where several cars broke down. This was not the 'gauntlet', but we were in a part of the course that was closed to spectators, so I managed to witness some significant mayhem and risk-taking with just a few other onlookers.

Our own 'rhino charge' up to the checkpoint was quite a challenge as well. The final part was up a dry river bed, with what must have been some quite spiky volcanic rock, of which one small part bit into the side of a new-ish tyre, and produced rapid deflation. I drove on a bit to avoid blocking the way for the rest of the cars coming up, took a wrong turn, and drove under a tree, forgetting that I had a roof-rack on top. I heard something, assuming it was the branch brushing against the top of the contents, but our oldest boy said 'Dad, the roof rack's come off'. I think I said something like 'Don't be silly'. But there it was, sitting with all its contents, on the ground. Almost undamaged - a clean removal. A couple of the people in the car behind, who heard but didn't see the incident, have worked in Somalia, and thought this was a roadblock!

People quickly gathered round, changed my wheel for me, and carried the roof-rack up to the campsite. A real team spirit.

For me about the best thing about the whole time was being out in the bush (no settlements in view in any direction - we were south of Magadi, almost in Tanzania) with a group of good friends. The couple of Maasai guards walked several miles to reach us. They were very amused at our food, and weren't able to suppress loud laughter at the bacon and egg rolls they were offered. They opened them in disbelief - I think it was all unknown (the eggs were scrambled). We also had little walks, watched the near-full moon rise, and prepared to serve the drivers who came through. The five-hour drive back to Karen brought me back to a different world, realising how much the time out there had done me good.

I hope to post photos later - that would be a first!

A tale of minor corruption, Kadhi courts and another Mbiti link

Yesterday I had a chat with a lady who was trying to get her late husband's pension, which she has a right to. Apparently everything is OK, apart from the fact that money's not coming. She told me that everything here works with a bribe, but that's not how she does things. She keeps on going back, going up the chain until she gets access to the boss who normally will set things straight. She seemed confident that eventually she'll succeed. Good for her!

Incidentally, different ministries seem to have different reputations. She said the treasury, who she is dealing with, is the worst. But if you have all your papers in order, immigration seems to work well with no money changing hands. Good for them! In most countries immigration services are among the worst, as the clients are not citizens, and don't have votes. But Kenya bucks that trend, for some reason. But then I have been waiting for my car's registration document for over two years now....

Yesterday the high court proclaimed that Kadhi courts are illegal. A diplomat friend described this as 'interesting timing', given that the case was lodged six years ago, and this judgement comes out around 3 months before the referendum on the constitution. And apparently they're illegal even if in the constitution. So at least they're not unconstitutional... (?)

And you'll find a full record of the lecture by John Mbiti by Ben here. It's long, but that's because there was a lot to say.

Prof. John Mbiti, Dialogue, and Bible Translation

Yesterday I went to a talk by the eminent Kenyan theologian John Mbiti. The rather long title of the talk was 'Spontaneous Dialogue between African Religion and Christianity through Evangelization and Bible Translation: Some Observations'. The host was the University of Nairobi, but due to student unrest against interference in their elections, it was moved to Tangaza College (quite handy for me!). I'm not going to give a blow-by-blow account, but mention some of what I found particularly interesting.

One of Mbiti's central theses is that 'African Religion' (he spoke of it as if it were monolithic) prepared the way for Christianity (quote from his handout):

"African belief in God existed before the arrival of missionaries. They did not bring God to Africa, rather it is God who brought them here. African religiosity was very receptive to Christian message and enabled the message to make sense, to sink into spiritual soil.

New element was naming of JESUS CHRIST as messenger of the God in whom Africans already believed."

What was of particular interest to me was his section on 'Bible Translations as facilitators of Encounter and Dialogue'. He congratulated the "Enormous translation achievement into 718 African language...", and mentioned that many Africans hear rather than read the Bible. He then had a nice way of describing Bible translation, as an 'exercise in inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue' - we have to dig into the meaning of the Biblical words, and also (and this is where the dialogue comes in) into the meanings of the words in the local language, the language being translated into. He has had to come face to face with this, having recently (in his late 70s!) done a translation of the New Testament into his own mother tongue, Kikamba (the 3rd such translation, I think).

What he means by this is that the religious vocabulary of a language which doesn't have a Bible translation will reflect the belief system of the people that speak it. Using those words in a Christian context therefore results in some sort of dialogue. How are we to understand these words in a Christian context? For example he said, in response to a question, that he didn't like sin. He went on to say it was a most troublesome word to translate, the find the right terms for, and he had to use different words at times.

Many might at this point respond that it would not be better to use these 'traditional' words. For example the first Bible translators into Zulu were most exercised about the appropriate word for 'God'. Some were not happy with the word (U)nkulunkulu, meaning 'the great, the great', being the creator, but also having grown on a reed. However, it was used in the Bible, and now, according to Hermanson, the word is seen by Zulu Christians as being the proper word for God. And before anyone judges that, the English word 'God' wasn't a Christian word either, but it seems to work just fine. In fact, of one Mbiti's points yesterday was that 'all' African languages used the traditional word for God in the Bible. Actually, this is not quite correct, as there are some exceptions, such as Kalenjin, where the original word for God also means 'sun', and some did not want an apparent confusion in the Bible. But it is generally true - we read of Mungu, Nyasaye and Ngai in Swahili, Luo and Kikuyu Bibles.

We all understand the world with terms we are used to - anything new needs to be added by building on to that knowledge, not rejecting it wholesale. If such understanding is ignored, it doesn't just disappear, but remains (mainly) untouched by the Gospel.

So, it was an interesting talk, stimulating some thought. Whether you agree that African religions revealed God or not, waiting for the revelation of Jesus Christ, there is no doubt that we come to a new faith through the prisms of what came before. Which means that, for a Bible translator, it is of the utmost importance to understand the true use and meaning of the words one is translating with.

Strengthening Obama's "Mother Tongue"

OK, I admit it. Obama's mother tongue is actually English (even the 'birthers' don't deny that). But Kenyans, and many other Africans, generally use the term 'mother tongue' to mean the language of one's community (e.g. Kikuyu, Kalenjin etc.), whether one speaks it well, or at all. A bit like saying that someone from Cardiff who speaks only English has Welsh as their mother tongue.

Well, where was I? Obama is a Luo name (not Irish, despite a funny song to that effect), his father was a Luo, and the Luos speak (Dho)Luo. They live on the shores of Lake Victoria, in the West of Kenya.

Anyway... a Luo student came to see me the other day. He said that something to the effect that he'd realised that what we had done in class looking at multilingualism wasn't just words, but actually corresponded to reality. Comforting! He had been educated first in his mother tongue (whichever definition you use), and told me he could read fluently by his third year. Nowadays, though, the practice (but not the policy) is to use English in kindergarten, even in the countryside, where most people live, and where most children arrive at school not knowing it. This might seem to make sense, as one needs English in Kenya to get on in life. But it means that there's a big disconnect between the child's daily experience and school. Never mind that the child doesn't actually know what the teacher is saying at the start.

And schooling, at the beginning, isn't primarily about learning about language. It's about learning how to write (this works best in one's own language, or failing that, another one you know well), learning how to count, learning how to think. And you can't do much of that if much of what you do is repeating what the teacher is saying in a language you're struggling to learn. Various studies have shown more effective learning in the mother tongue, greater pass rates (as long as the exam is in the right language), lower drop out rates. And even learning English can go better if the child has first learnt other things in their own language - some studies have shown this, much to everyone's surprise.

So... my student, telling me that now many children can neither read Luo or English well, wants to develop some further school materials, some more reading materials. Some must already exist somewhere, as he was successfully taught in Luo, but the more the merrier!

The other big barrier to the use of 'mother tongues' (or Swahili) in school is teachers' and parents' attitudes - most think English is the way to go, right from the start, for the reasons given above. Ngugi wa Thiongo, a Kenyan writer who has mainly written in his mother tongue, Kikuyu, sees this attitude as something requiring "Deconolonising the Mind", the title of one of his books.

More Aid Issues

Yesterday's post on whether aid really aids generated a little discussion, or rather the link to it on Facebook did. So I'm doing a brief follow-up for those of you who don't see that link.

First, there's a whole area of study in this area, and I'm no expert, but one gets to hear and read stuff, and some of it raises some concerns. One story that sticks with me, also from the blog I quoted yesterday, is this:

I vividly remember Claire Short visiting our Dfid offices in Dar es Salaam in 2000 and haranguing a young Oxford graduate for still having 5 million in the bank when it should already have been spent in the Tanzanian education sector.
‘I haven’t been able to get hold of the minister’ the graduate complained.
‘Don’t give me excuses!’ she shouted, ‘give me results! That money should not still be in the account, get on with it! It’s a disgrace!’

Some aid money has to be spent, whether the appropriate checks and balances have been put in place or not. And that, obviously, is a problem. Targets of course are good things, but they can cause problems! It can create the problem of needing to be seen to be helping, more than needing to help.

A couple of other issues came up. With permission, I'm using some words from a friend, who has some experience in the world of aid:

Having such a wide range of activities covered under the one word "aid" is tricky because in challenging some of the shocking failings in one area anything else positive gets discredited - baby with the bath water stuff. While there are problems with the system of aid, there are also pressing problems in the world that require solutions, solutions that will likely be imperfect. All too often the critics of aid (generally without specifying details, it's great that this lady is specific) don't offer positive solutions, which is a shame. And while I am completely committed to trade as a solution, simply trotting off the cliched "trade not aid" line is does not count as a solution, it is massively over simplified. From my experience attempts at trade solutions are open to similar abuses and corruption as the aid solutions they are trying to replace. It seems to me that, as you say, so much comes down to trust and relationship. Perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised at the priority of relationship over process given its centrality in the trinity...

So, yes, often it doesn't work, but let's not throw that baby...

Another issue that came up was the use of images designed to maximize the portrayal of suffering, when raising money. A link was provided to a very interesting blog entry where the author had asked friends in Malawi to pose for the camera both as doing well, and as destitute. Take a look. Here's how it starts:

We’ve all seen it: the photo of a teary-eyed African child, dressed in rags, smothered in flies, with a look of desperation that the caption all too readily points out. Some organization has made a poster that tells you about the realities of poverty, what they are doing about it, and how your donation will change things.

I reacted very strongly to these kinds of photos when I returned from Africa in 2008. I compared these photos to my own memories of Malawian friends and felt lied to. How had these photos failed so spectacularly to capture the intelligence, the laughter, the resilience, and the capabilities of so many incredible people?

The truth is that the development sector, just like any other business, needs revenue to survive. Too frequently, this quest for funding uses these kind of dehumanizing images to draw pity, charity, and eventually donations from a largely unsuspecting public. I found it outrageous that such an incomplete and often inaccurate story was being so widely perpetuated by the organizations on the ground – the very ones with the ability and the responsibility to communicate the realities of rural Africa accurately.

Carry on reading! Turning Point, who I linked to yesterday, will only use positive images of the children they work with. Good for them! Let's never forget that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity.

Does Aid Really Aid?

I can't really answer the question, but have just read an impassioned piece on a blog,

New UK Government - Please, please DO cut overseas aid!!!which sees most aid money as wasted, or even sometimes doing more harm that good. It's worth reading, whether you agree or not. Here's the opening paragraph:

I may not be best placed to say this, as an expat wife living in Africa - but when I hear on the radio that the new UK Government have pledged NOT to cut foreign aid to developing countries, but instead will look to make cuts in other areas of public spending (IE nurses pay), my blood boils. In fact, absolutely HUGE cuts can be made in development budgets. After eleven years of living around here, I know that the sheer waste in this area makes you want to cry.

It's a subject that African Expat Wife (who seems to live in the same part of Nairobi as us, in Karen) has dealt with before, in fact more than once. And it's not an indictment of all attempts to help. She lists Turning Point Trustamong her favourite Kenyan charities (and I'd agree). It seems to be the big money, and the lack of local knowledge, that are the problems. [By the way, the links are triggering a new line for me - I'm not sure why]

In our daily lives here, the issue of who to help and when can be quite complicated. It turns out that we are more likely to help people we know and trust - not very surprising really. Being caught between wanting to be generous, and being scared of building dependency (or being conned) probably means we're not very consistent.

Overcoming Barriers for African export

I've just read an interesting article in the Economist about the challenges faced by the only African coffee company to export processed coffee to the UK. Here's a paragraph:

'Although Mr Rugasira pins part of the blame for his struggles on trade barriers against African products, he reserves much of his criticism for outdated attitudes to Africa in the West. When he first started pitching Good African coffee in Britain he ran into “50 years of prejudice”. His firm was founded in Uganda, which meant that when Mr Rugasira turned up at meetings “people were expecting Idi Amin”. People also “assumed we were trying a scam; assumed I was looking for handout; couldn’t believe there could be value added in Africa,” he recalls. “No one makes any distinction between older generations of African businessmen and the new generation.'

Africa makes great coffee. Java and Dormans are two good Kenyan brands. It's a shame that other African coffee producers haven't been able to break into the UK market yet. Let's hope that changes, and that any prejudices against this won't continue.

Writing about someone else's country

This blog is, as the name suggests, primarily about living in Kenya. And I'm not Kenyan. That's not bad, because often the outsider can notice things the insider doesn't (the converse also applies). But it can also go badly wrong, in that any negative comment, or any comment that can appear to be negative, can be taken as evidence that writer looks down on, is contemptuous of, Kenya (or Kenyans). And being from the ex-colonial power, it might not be too hard for someone to believe I'm working from a colonial mentality. And believe me, that's not my goal. Like anywhere, good stuff happens here, as well as bad stuff.

The main problem for this blog is that it makes me less willing to tackle issues where I might like to say something, for fear of offending Kenyans. Just thought I'd let you know!

Why I love Kenyan English ('Hellos everyone')

Lucy Oriang' starts a rather good piece in today's Nation with these words:

"Archbishop Tutu is on record as saying that the truth hurts. If that is so, it has started paining rather too soon for the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission – and those who want to see this nation heal in their lifetime."

Notice anything Kenyan, not standard British or American English? The verb 'to pain'. It's not in my active vocabulary, but everyone here uses it - even my children. And why not? Each country that uses English has its own form, its own flavour, and 'paining' is part of what I think of as Standard Kenyan English.

When I suggest to my students that there might be such a thing as Standard Kenyan English (hey, let's call it SKE.. or KSE?), they generally look very dubious. While Kenyan English has yet to make it into Microsoft's list of valid varieties, which, last time I looked, included Zimbabwean and South African, I don't think Microsoft should be the arbiter of what's standard and what isn't (though often they are judged to be: realize is just as good as realise in British English, but not according to Microsoft). Kembo-Sure of Moi University argues more strongly for SKE in African Voices (co-authored by Vic Webb).

Expressions such as 'to pain', 'wananchi' (= people, as in the common people, from Swahili), and other Swahili-derived expressions such as 'fundi' (artisan), are used on TV news, in the newspapers, by people with degrees, many of whom speak better English than anything else. My first instinct soon after arriving here when finding such words in assignments was to 'correct' them, but I no longer do so - their use is only proper in Kenyan English. Also, the years of the last decade are uniformly said (even by the president) as 2-0-7, a usage which seems to be common around Africa - a Finnish colleague, just to test the usage, deliberately said 2-0-0-7 to a South African sommelier, who laughed. And some things are pronounced differently: it's a 'sack-red' ibis, not a 'sake-red' one.

And some expressions have different meanings. Soon after arriving here I passed by some people I vaguely knew carrying a heavy load. Would they like a lift? 'It's OK' came the reply. So I drove on. Woops! 'It's OK' here (and in other parts of Africa like Sierra Leone) means 'Yes', not 'I'm fine'. I've told this story to Kenyans a few times, who found it hilarious. I doubt the people I left behind felt the same way.

And then there are the common expressions which you won't find in the newspapers, but which many people use. When greeting more than one person, say 'Hellos', or 'Good Mornings', or 'How are Yous?'. Probably not SKE, but non-standard, while being very friendly. I really enjoy using these expressions. How about yous?

Of Leopards and Mosquitoes

My second blog entry discussed the dangers of sharks and elephants, so now it's time for another couple of topical tropical beasties.

Much excitement was caused in our little neighbourhood this week by the sighting (but I don't know who by) of a leopard ('lay-oh-pad') a few nights ago. Tracks were found and identified by... someone. Our househelp, who lives a short walk away, was woken in the middle of the night by 'what sounded like a person' on the roof. Her neighbour poked a stick under her door, trying to shoo away what she thought was a dog, being barked at by other dogs. She wondered why the 'dog' didn't move on, but thankfully didn't open her door. The following evening our househelp wanted accompanying home after babysitting for us - a first. I braved the four-minute walk back home on my own. But I did check around while heading back, I have to admit. I've not heard anything about that beastie for the last few days, so it's probably moved on to another part of Karen... Interestingly, the Kenya Wildlife Service said they had to deal with a lion in Ngong first - a much more frightening feline.

And then today I ended up taking a little kid with a fever to a clinic. Later on his dad popped by, and told me the little one had malaria. And they'd not been anywhere, so this was quite a surprise. People here often refer to a fever as 'malaria', just like people back home refer (annoyingly to my mind) to a cold as 'flu' (though not as 'influenza' - that sounds far too diagnosed). But dad's puzzlement showed that wasn't the case here. Real, live, malaria, caught here in Karen, at 1800 metres. It's not the first time this has happened, but it's rare enough not to think about taking prophylaxis, common enough to use a mosquito net. Though that's probably more because mozzie bites are a pain.

But which causes more worry, announcements, chatter? The leopard. Leopards don't attack people unless provoked. We walked within 5 metres of one, with the children, at Crater Lake. It was the leopard that ran away. Mozzies, and the malaria they can (most don't and can't) carry, aren't big and scary, don't cause panic, but are far more dangerous. Our oldest obviously doesn't really believe this, the number of times I find her asleep with the mozzie net up. It tends to be the things we don't fear that get us, not those that do.

Do elections matter?

The other night a friend commented that they weren't sure what difference it would make whether Labour or the Conservatives won the upcoming UK general election. My instinct was to disagree - I have what others might define as a tribal loyalty to the Labour party. I was a member for a couple of years, while in sixth form (and remember taking a girlfriend to a party meeting... hmm). It's the party that friends at home are active in, going as far as standing for parliament. But apart from that, I've not been active, beyond voting. In fact I voted Lib Dem in the last election, not being able to bring myself to vote for the particular Labour candidate, being one of a few hundred who could have been accused of 'letting the Tories in'. Maybe I'm not so tribal after all?

Well, there would be differences of course. But the Tories seem to have some difficulty in making clear what those differences would be, as if they're scared of offending anyone (on that score, they could always bring back Maggie and Norman Tebbit. Maybe not). Health and education have been Labour emphases, and in my humble opinion they've done a pretty good job. But I don't think a Conservative victory would bring great differences to most people's lives - it wouldn't stop Britain being Britain, the way it is to be a modern Brit. So actually, I found it difficult to disagree with my friend, and didn't - the point was valid.

Some people involved in politics might be aghast at what I've just agreed with. I'm not saying that the Tories' ideas and policies would be as good as Labour's. But I see that all the major political parties in the UK are led by people who generally believe in what they're saying, and, while they are not all necessarily people of the highest integrity, there's a real possibility that if they're not, they'll be found out, and end up in jail, like Geoffrey Archer and Jonathan Aitken. Just deserts. The press and the courts can be good at holding these people accountable, as we've seen recently.

Any party that thinks it has a right to power, becomes too used to power, will move towards corruption. Maybe that's starting to happen with elements in the Labour party. Elections, while not always replacing a bad government with a better one, help to stop the rot. The British normally turn against a leader who seems too powerful, no matter what they've achieved. Witness Churchill's massive defeat at the polls in 1945. I think similar things happened with Thatcher and Blair, who were initially very popular.

More important than elections is the rule of law, but this is difficult to maintain if politicians think they are untouchable (and that tends to occur where there are no free elections), and can influence the courts [this seems to me to be the weak point in the otherwise commendable US constitution, with the highest judges being political appointments]. But here in Kenya, politicians seem to be above the law, and that only exacerbates the impunity on which corruption thrives. Sunny Bindra, my favourite Kenyan political commentator, has argued that political parties don't really exist here, just matatus, minivans of convenience for politicians to jump on and then jump down from. The alliances are temporary, not based on principles or values, but as vehicles for personal advancement.

At least we know what Labour, the Tories (and maybe even the LibDems) are meant to stand for, and choose, at least notionally, what we're voting for. Maybe the election won't make much difference, but the fact that it's there, that it's fought by groups that stand for something, that it means that judges can be secure in prosecuting politicians where necessary, makes a difference.

Sleeping through Gunfire, Waking up in Rain

It's been raining through the night, so I'm awake a little earlier than normal. The sound of the rain on the tin roof isn't exactly deafening, but it often wakes me up.

On Tuesday night however there was gunfire which woke two friends, living at least a kilometre apart. We slept right through - I don't think it was that close. I noticed in the morning that I'd forgotten to close one of our doors, with a reminder to self to check more carefully in future, reinforced when I heard about the gunfire. Funnily enough I still couldn't find out what had happened last night (with the gunfire - not the rain). Often bad news spreads very quickly.

A few months ago friends had robbers in the compound. When they got up, they realised that one of their doors was not only unlocked, but had been standing ajar all night. The robbers just hadn't noticed. I guess they were in a hurry.

Weakly constitutional

I'm no constitutional expert, but I wanted to follow up on my last posting here. In the meantime, Onesimus Online has written a thoughtful piece on wider issues of politics and faith, covering both the US and the issue of Kadhi courts here in Kenya. I don't think I'll do much more on this, but I'm still working out what I want to put on here. Ideas from one of my two readers appreciated...

Last week, various church leaders issued a press release dealing with barriers to their support to the proposed constitution. It's worthwhile seeing what they say:

CHAPTER ONE – SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE AND THE SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION

Article 8 provides that “There shall be no state religion”. However, previous draft constitutions had two important principles: One, “That state and religion shall be separate”; and, Two, “That the state shall treat all religions equally”. These provisions were deleted mischievously to accommodate parochial and sectarian interests in the draft constitution. We propose that Art 8 be amended to read as follows:

8 (1) State and religion shall be separate.

(2) There shall be no State religion.

(3) The State shall treat all religions equally.

Overall this seem quite sensible, though the analysis of why the section was revised seems unnecessary, especially the word 'mischievously'. It fits fine in a blog such as this perhaps, but church leaders accusing the politicians of being mischievous in an open statement doesn't feel quite... well, right to me. Not very diplomatic perhaps. True though, but never mind about that. But whether the editing was mischievous, I'm just not sure.

Hang on a minute, though. I just checked the draft constitution, and it already says all that. Are we working from different texts here? Moving on to the Bill of Rights (there's also a problem with numbering)

CHAPTER FOUR – THE BILL OF RIGHTS

Article 24 (4) provides that the Provisions of the Bill of Rights shall not apply to persons who profess the Muslim religion. The Church believes that no person should be denied or exempted from the provisions of the Bill of Rights whatsoever. We propose that Art 24 (4) is deleted.

Well, I was horrified to learn that the Bill of Rights wouldn't apply to Muslims. But the text of the draft constitution doesn't say this. It says:

The provisions of this Chapter on equality shall be qualified to the extent strictly necessary for the application of Islamic law to persons who profess the Muslim faith in relation to personal status, marriage, divorce and inheritance.

That is somewhat different; the press release is (deliberately?) misrepresentative of what the draft says, whether one likes it or not.

Jumping over sections on right to life and religious liberty, we come back to the Kadhi courts. Here's what the press release says:

CHAPTER 10 - JUDICIARY

Art 169 (b) provides that subordinate courts include Kadhis Courts. This is unacceptable. If the Proposed Constitution shall contain any reference to Kadhis Courts, we shall REJECT the draft in total. To avoid another rejection of the draft constitution at the referendum, we propose that Art 169 (b) be deleted. Providing for Kadhis Courts alone in a multi-religious society is a recipe for chaos, is repugnant to justice. In the interest of justice for all Kenyans and in consideration of the need for the Kenya to get a new constitution, the Church extends an olive branch with regard to the Kadhis Court.

In this regard, we propose that a new Article 160 (3) and (4) be inserted to read as follows:

(3) The constitution shall recognize the jurisdiction of religious courts in matters relating to personal status, marriage, divorce and inheritance where all parties subscribe to the same religion and agree to submit to the jurisdiction of such courts.

(4) No state resources shall be used for the establishment or the operation of any religious courts.

Art 170 provides for the jurisdiction of the Kadhis Court. We propose that Art 170 is deleted.

So... there's an olive branch which says that they can have Kadhi courts after all, but just don't mention the word...? And what's more worrying is there seems now to be a desire to establish other religious courts, which is something that the NCCK a few weeks ago was specifically campaigning against. Bizarre. True, the text concerning Kadhi courts doesn't specifiy it's only for Muslims who want to be subject to them, which would be an improvement.

I don't have anything else to say. Again, if I've got something wrong, correct me. But there'll be no need to accuse me of being mischievous.

Constitutional disquiet

While politicians are trying to agree on a new constitution for Kenya, Christians, or at least their leaders, seem to have united against two proposals. A Christian myself, I have some feelings of disquiet about this unity (I hope I'm not promoting disunity here, but a lack of debate often covers up weak arguments) and about some of its direction.

The biggest issue seems to be the place of 'Kadhi' (ie Muslim) courts in the constitution. Now, of course, if they are to exist, mentioning them in a constitution is a good thing. I'm not a specialist on these things, but they exist at the moment, and govern matters of civil law within the Muslim community, but don't have power of enforcement. And they've been around in Kenya for a very long time - it must be over 1,000 years. The NCCK, quite a respectable institution, is very much against them being mentioned in the constitution, and a leaflet I was handed used some nice-sounding (as opposed to rabble-rousing) arguments against them - the constitution and the laws of Kenya should apply to all people, regardless of creed. Fair enough. But one can (or will be able to) also register one's marriage as monogamous, or polygamous (under traditional practices), and no-one seems to be getting very agitated about that. So what's the difference between Muslim family law courts, and family arrangements made under traditional (ie neither Christian nor Muslim) practice?

To be honest, this smacks of intolerance and/or antagonism towards Muslims, hardly being a case of 'loving one's enemies' (the argument here is not that Muslims are an enemy, but that even if they were, Christians should love them). This whole hullabaloo doesn't make Christians look very loving in Muslim (or liberal) eyes. Why not respect the right of other communities to do as they see fit, where it doesn't impinge on others' liberty (or on the liberty of members of their own communities who don't want to be part of it)? I don't know of any case (and I'm open to correction) where a Kadhi court could trump Kenyan law. Thankfully, the NCCK, and other bodies, have not expressed their concern in terms of Christian theocracy, which would not disquiet, but terrify, me. But I've heard individuals talk that way once or twice.

The other issue is abortion, which is illegal here. The churches want to go further and have a clause in the constitution saying that life begins at conception. I guess there's a perception that if it's not in the constitution, it's not a very important law, which seems to me to be a misunderstanding of what a constitution is. But now the die has been cast, and if this clause doesn't get into the constitution (don't count on it), it will look like a defeat for the anti-abortion cause. So it's hard to stand down on that. Woops. It could be an example of the churches shooting themselves in the foot, and looking like they're trying to impose certain views on the whole nation - focusing more on judgement than love. Does the church want to be an enforcer, or a liberator?

To end I'll paraphrase a Kenyan Christian friend's Facebook update, which said that he wished that Kenyan Christians would spend as much time and effort battling corruption as they did battling the Kadhi courts. Amen to that!