A Friend Goes to Court

The police stopped a matatu (a van converted into a mini-bus) yesterday at about 6:30 in the morning. My friend Geoffrey happened to be inside. It was a random check and for whatever reason the police decided to fine everyone for not wearing their seat belts.

Of course, one problem with this is that the police did not even bother to determine who did or did not have their seat belt on. They just assumed everyone didn't. Most people probably didn't anyway. Same as Geoffrey.

At any rate, all of them were hauled down to the police station. There, they were processed and had to await a hearing at the traffic court. While they were waiting for their case to be called, they all crammed together in a small room.

Geoffrey said the small room held 50 people, standing room only. Some people had been held there for ten days. It stunk. He waited there until noon. His case was called, he pleaded guilty, and had to pay 100/- fine. (That's a $1.50 for those of you states-side.)

He didn't get out until after 1:00 in the afternoon. Ruined his whole day.

The law isn't enforced all that often, actually. Normally the conductor or the driver will slip the police kitu kidogo (something small) to avoid any hassles. Geoffrey said these police wanted to bust somebody, to prove something to their boss. Perhaps.

At any rate, they'd save everyone a lot of time if they could just expedite the whole process. Few people will actually protest the small fine and the system should probably reflect that. (Though, of course, still allowing an avenue to contest charges.)

Corruption, of course, happens in America. And cops can single out individuals and punish them based on their own prerogative. A cop who pulls over a beautiful white girl cruising on the highway at 80mph, might not have a hard time giving just a warning. Same cop pulls over young black guy with a tricked-up car is more likely to wind up getting a speeding ticket and probably get hassled about other stuff too.

Kenya's not different in that regard, though money probably has more sway than beauty.

What's different? Going through the legal channels is time-consuming or overly burdensome. That's an environment where corruption thrives.

More Pics

Some more pictures are up at our photo page on google: http://picasaweb.google.com/krwarnke

They're actually from December, but it took a long time to get them developed and scanned so we're just putting them up now. Just nine pictures from our walks around Nairobi and at Kilosiam Court.

Nairobi's Monuments

I had a meeting with a Peace Corps Volunteer on Friday and had the opportunity to show her around Nairobi Saturday. So, for a walking tour of city center, what's there worth looking at?

1. Jomo Kenyatta statue: This statue, of the majestic-looking first president, is quite easily the best monument in all of Kenya. Kenyatta sits, wearing a traditional hat, kingly robe, and holding his horse-tail-cum-fly-whisk. It is the statue of a king. I don't think there's another one more awe-inspiring in Kenya.

The monument is located right next to the Nairobi Law Courts (now re-named "The Judiciary"?), which is the home of Kenya's highest court. Unfortunately, to get there, you have to talk to a guard and ask to be let in, or you have to through a parking lot and a back entrance, with no signs or introduction or anything. You kind of get the feeling you're trespassing.

2. Dedan Kimathi statue: This is probably now the second best statue in Kenya, which is pretty much in line with Kimathi's stature locally. Kimathi stands holding a home-made gun in one hand, and a knife in another hand. He stands defiant, resilient, a proud symbol of Kenyan resistance. (For more about Kimathi, see here.)

Erected just the other day, I must admit that, while the statue is great, the overall placement and accessibility of the monument leaves much to be desired. It's placed in the middle of the junction of Kimathi Street and Mama Ngina Street. There's no place to really stand up close to it, without dodging traffic. Also, again, no signs, no detailed explanations. Just a plaque that singles him out for his bravery and nationalism. Nothing in depth, just a snapshot.

3. Parliament: The structure itself isn't really all that amazing. There's a tower with a clock next to two unimpressive conjoined rectangles. Blah. Anyway, considering how often parliament is actually in session, it's usually pretty empty. A friend of mine wanted to take a picture, but the guards quickly put a stop to that.

(One time Halako walked by and saw a guy who was sitting on a bench near parliament get pulled off and beaten by guards as he held up his hands in self-defense. Did he do something wrong? She didn't know. All she knew is that the beating was definitely unprovoked.)

4. Uhuru Park: Former Tanzanian President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere supposedly called Uhuru Park "a little piece of Europe in Africa" (not an exact quote; uhuru, again, means "freedom"). If he actually did say such a thing, one has to wonder if it was true when he said it. It is clearly not true today. The park area is still nice, the artificial ponds are inviting. Yet the older monuments, such as the pyramid structure marking the pope's visits in 1980 and 1985, is falling apart. A large fountain nearby hasn't worked for years and is hardly inspiring.

Across the way is the Nyayo Monument. (Nyayo means "footsteps"; Kenya's second President Daniel arap Moi promised to follow in the footsteps of Kenyatta; pictured to the right) This monument, which apparently cost a million dollars to make, is still impressive.

5. Jomo Kenyatta's Mausoleum: What exactly is a mausoleum? I just looked this up on wikipedia for your benefit. I seemed to think that it had something to do with preserving the body (embalming), but that's pretty wrong. It's really just a tomb--maybe like a small stone structure where the body's buried.

Anyway, Kenya's first president (and the only one who's passed away) has a mausoleum and it's right next to the Parliament building. It's also across from the statue of Kenyatta in front of the Law Courts.

The other day we stood off in the distance a little and I explained that that's where Kenyatta was buried and that they won't let you inside or take pictures. Also that guards dressed up in these great red uniforms keep watch, though I didn't see any at the time.

Just then a guard came out of a small structure to let a worker through the gate. He called us over and asked what the problem was. Yes, standing outside of a national historical site prompts a "What's the problem?" We had none and walked away.

But it's interesting how the same president who kept Parliament and the Courts weak happens to be identified so close to those institutions....

6. War Memorial Statues: On Kenyatta Avenue, you'll find a statue of three African soldiers standing next to each other. Unfortunately, this monument is even less visible than the others. It's in the strip of land between traffic (what's that called?) and getting to it involves weaving through parked cars, dodging traffic, winding around a tree and crowding right up next to the thing.

But it's a memorial for the Africans who fought and died in both World War One and World War Two. I don't know those figures, and I'm not really sure if they're recorded as such. But the British colonial government definitely did recruit Africans to participate in that war (particularly the Asian front, to my understanding). Needless to say, those soldiers who survived the war were devastated to return home and find themselves still treated as third-class citizens.

7. Bizarre Monument to a White Man Who Devised the Road System in Kenya: I love this monument because I really don't understand it. It's also on Kenyatta Avenue, right next to the main post office (GPO). It's a box like structure that features engraved markings of the routes he devised and their distances. I don't remember the guy's name and neither does anyone else, actually. On top of the box is something like a globe, I think.

Anyway, the whole thing is enclosed in this black cage structure with a sharp edged top to keep out vandals, I assume. Did anyone ever think that this was a good structure?

8. Bookpoint and Prestige Bookstores: Yes, I'm nerdy. But it was a valuable visit because I got my friend some books on Dholuo, one of the most commonly spoken languages in Kenya, but not very commonly read or written. Hope they'll be useful in boosting her fluency.

9. Kenyatta International Conference Center: This conference center (pictured on the right) calls itself something like Africa's best. Umm... Maybe. Probably the best in East Africa, but I imagine there's better in South Africa. Besides, while the building is closely identified with Nairobi, It's actually pretty ugly, along with the strange cone-shaped structure that reminds me of a vehicle designed to land on the moon.

Note: I published this Monday and did some updating Tuesday...

MacGyver Meets West Wing in Kenya

I'm not sure when it started, but by the time I got back from Kenya, my brother's attachment to the TV show '24' was strong. He spends the entire TV season avoiding it. Trying not to watch commercials, read news articles, listen to water cooler conversations, and, of course, the TV show itself.

The show, which is like 'MacGyver' meets 'West Wing', is set into 24 episodes, each an hour long, representing a hellacious day in the life of counter-terrorist Jack Bauer. While always on the right 'moral' side of the equation, he often finds himself on the wrong 'legal' side in individual situations, which makes him a vital asset and a dangerous ally for the domestic security bureaucracy.

My brother watches '24' on DVD only. He does this so that he can watching them straight through, all eighteen hours in one sitting. “I watch it like Jack lives it,” he's told me more than once. He says this with pride, though he's aware that this pushes him toward the dubious category of being a fanatic.

Perhaps that is why he's not just content watching '24'. He pushes it onto his friends, loaning them the DVDs. And many of them find themselves wrapped up in Jack Bauer's world. Everyone is a possible target, everyone is a possible betrayer.

A few months ago, Geoffrey, an officemate of mine, asked me if I had ever heard of the show '24.' Of course I had and I suspected he was talking about it because it's being shown on one of the local stations (KTN; one of five, not four, local stations like I had previously written).

He told me that he had bought a pirated VCD of '24' and just watched all of Season Five the previous Friday. He too watched it “like Jack lives it.” Geoffrey lent it to us. It took us about three weeks, but we finished it.

'24' is now one of Halako's favorite shows.

We just bought a pirated version of Season One. It cost 250/- ($3). You can buy them openly on the streets and few people even seem to be aware that these are pirated. The police doesn't usually bother to enforce copyright restrictions and it's the heart of its own booning business.

I didn't think Halako would enjoy it as much as she does. The show is very fast paced, and hangs on suspension created by subtleties in the dialog, which is American English. Thankfully whoever put together the VCD burned it with subtitles. (Though the subtitles strangely replace all the lowercase l's with uppercase I's.)

(For all my linguistic ambitions coming to Kenya, I've found that Halako and I still primarily communicate in Swahili, though we've added a lot of English these past few months. Call it the Nairobi Effect. But I'm not entirely comfortable using my American English and slang American English with her. I probably should so that I can challenge her, but I'm not sure that constantly challenging in this way would be good for our relationship.)

We've watched a few American movies together and Halako isn't always the biggest fan. She was moved by World Trade Center, intrigued by The Last King of Scotland, but bored by Die Hard, Nowhere in Africa, and a couple of other random movies.

For Halako, most of these movies don't even hold a candle to a more local product: Nigerian movies. We'll save that topic for another time.

A Trip to Bookpoint

I went into Bookpoint yesterday looking for two books: Tom Mboya's The Challenge of Nationhood, and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga's Not Yet Uhuru. (Uhuru translates to independent or free.) Both Mboya and Oginga Odinga are among the most important Kenyan historical figures.

Both of these books are written in English. As is nearly every book in Bookpoint, perhaps the premier bookstore in downtown Nairobi.

English is the language of education in this country; it is the language of elites. Politicians give elaborate, technical speeches in English and then offer summaries or calls to action in Swahili. Kenya's middle and upper classes prefer to raise their kids in English. Swahili and Kenya's other 42 languages are not languages of mobility.

Walking the streets of Nairobi, however, you'll hear that Swahili is still used as an informal language. People of all walks of life, from the ones wearing fancy business suits, to the visitors from the village, all find Swahili as a more casual way for people to talk to each other.

But just because people talk Swahili, it doesn't mean they read it. Throughout primary and secondary school, students are taught all subjects in English and the books they have to read are in English. (Exception being Swahili, of course.) The Swahili newspaper, Taifa Leo, is mostly ignored. A co-worker says he doesn't know enough Swahili to read it, though he speaks to most of his friends in Swahili.

After a bit of searching, past the aisles of books from American and European publishers, along the back wall filled with books on medicine, self-help, cooking, and fiction, you'll find in the right-hand corner a couple shelves of books from local publishers. I found Mboya's book and was told that Oginga Odinga's book was now being republished or reprinted.

I was just about to leave when I found books written in Swahili and Kikuyu. Unlike the English books, which sit on shelves, these are stacked out of the way, on the top of another bookshelf. Of the 50 or so different titles, six or seven were written in Kikuyu. The remaining books can be divided into four categories: books required for primary/secondary school (15 or so books), random literature (10 books), detective stories (five books), and children's books (10 books).

Unable to resist, I picked up the following books: Kilio cha Haki (The Cry of Justice), Kaburi Bila Msalaba (The Grave Without a Cross), Mkaguzi Mkuu wa Serikali (The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol), Shamba la Wanyama (Animal Farm by George Orwell). The Swahili books are also cheap: two to three bucks, brand new.

More expensive is the book Kizuizini (In Detention, $8). It's a new book from a new publisher, Kwani? They've recently begun publishing books from African authors—mostly Kenyan, but also seem to have a thing for the Nigerian author, Chimamanda Adichie, republishing three of her books. Their most interesting work has been a literary journal that they've put out three times in the past. Collections of poetry, short fiction, articles, biographies, and art.

Kizuizini is, of course, published in Swahili. The homepage of Kwani? claims that it's the first book to be published in Swahili in Kenya in 17 years. That might very well be true. Kwani?, following the lead of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, has advocated for authors to embrace the language that average Kenyans actually speak, instead of depending on Western languages. That would mean Swahili. (In the third volume of the Kwani? journal, they specifically pushed for Sheng, a Nairobi dialect.)

But English is firmly entrenched as the language of high education and high culture. Many Kenyans don't care to read Swahili and complain that writing Swahili is too difficult. That's due to the priority that the Kenyan school system gives to English over Swahili. And that seems unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

A trip to Bookpoint ten years from now will still show English books completely dwarfing other languages. As a linguist from the University of Nairobi told me, “English is an African language. That's the reality.”