Avoiding sharks and elephants

A few days ago, a report of another bloke getting killed by a shark in South Africa hit the international press. When I checked it up, I became more impacted by the story than I had been; it happened in Fish Hoek, where I'd spent the weekend a few months ago. And while I never actually went in for a swim, I had been intending to, and got as far as going for a paddle on the very beach where the shark had his dinner. So it's not quite 'It could have been me', but not too far off.

But more chilling was a report that didn't get the same level of attention, of an American tourist and her one-year-old being trampled to death by an elephant, doing exactly what we had been doing as a family a few weeks before, having a guided walk through the forest, while staying at the same lodge. Yikes! Come to think of it, on another walk, the guide had shown us good places to hide if elephants came along. Kind of puts me off going there again; we had a lovely time, though, and the kids kept on checking that we would return at some point.

Life is fragile. But it still needs to be lived, rather than cowering in a corner, worried about what might happen. To be honest, the traffic is probably more dangerous than anything else, but that doesn't seem so menacing, and we get in our cars every day. And every day we can say 'There, but for the grace of God, go I'.

Corruption and (what's worse) impunity

A friend of mine just joined a Facebook group called 'Africa's not the dark continent, it's just corrupt'. Not being an African myself, I felt that might come across as a bit judgmental, so didn't join. But you might get an idea of where I'm going...

I'm on the road at the moment, in West Africa, and travel brings contrasts to mind. Coming back from a quick visa-related trip to airport this morning, we were stopped by a policeman. Car papers duly handed out, inspected, and we were given a cursory wave on. My driver told me that some police were keen on getting money if there was something wrong with your papers, but some weren't like that. I'm a country much poorer than Kenya, but the government, the police, the roads (where are the potholes?), the electricity (not a single power cut in nearly a week) all seem to work better - it's reputedly less corrupt than many other African countries. It's the industry that seems to be lacking. (The milk I put on my cornflakes in the morning comes from France, believe it or not!)

Which brings to mind my journey to Jomo Kenyatta airport back in Nairobi. Stopped at the police check just before the entry gates, an Asian man is giving a policeman 1,000 shillings in plain sight - I think it must have been missing insurance. The policeman sees me looking, but doesn't seem bothered. (On the other hand, the car I was in had a faulty headlight; we were informed, but no pressure for money...).

A few weeks ago, we stopped near Thika, and I had a little walk with the kids. A police car stopped and set up an impromptu checkpoint, only stopping matatus (minivans). The drivers sprinted out, knowing the script, and approached the passenger door of the shiny police car, putting their hands inside the door, towards the cop sitting there. And then trotted off. No checks of the vehicles, nothing, apart from daylight robbery. Again, the cop saw me looking, but didn't seem at all concerned. A camera might have caused a different reaction.

Corruption happens everywhere, in different forms, it's true. What really concerns me about Kenya is how brazen it is, and that the only people that get into trouble about it are the whistleblowers. Not everyone in Kenya is corrupt, far from it (I've had pleasant dealings with great people in customs, which is also a den of iniquity in general). But in a culture of systemic impunity, it must be really hard to keep your hands clean.

For two alternative approaches to dealing with Kenyan traffic cops, consider driving past them or (more my style) ending up going to court.