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.