Kenya Stockholm Blog

Well Done Shiku

Jared Odero

Shiku, you deserve accolades for this thought-provoking letter. My response broadens the scope by examining some contributing factors to moral degeneracy in Kenya. The growing socio-economic disparity among Kenyan youths is shocking and it’s a paradox that the Grand Coalition Government claims that a lot has been done and will be done to secure their wellbeing. It is on record that the youth comprise the largest cohort of unemployed Kenyans, thus the huge numbers that resort to vice for survival.

Nepotism and tribalism in job allocation prevent many from joining the formal employment sector, which is infested by some politically-connected employees who are way past their “sell-by” dates. Such dynamics contribute to the increasing flight of economic refugees into the Diaspora, hence the “paperless” phenomenon.

The immediate former Government lied at least twice in 2003 and 2004, that it had fulfilled its election promise to create 500,000 jobs annually, especially for the youth. The reality on the ground from media reports and personal stories indicated otherwise. The current Government’s vision for the youth is posted here.

Regular media reports reveal a rapid spread of strip clubs, massage-parlors, escort services, pornography, date rapes, orgies, etc., which influence the younger generation and surpass Nairobi’s traditional “Koinange Street activities”. It’s all about adapting ruthless means to make money and the word “Love” is used only to sugar-coat the processes. As noted by Shiku, such acts cut across all social classes, leaving a lot to be desired about the youth who are viewed as “future leaders”.

Kenya is a key destination for international sex-tourists (including pedophiles) who engage in illegal sex with under-age girls and boys through local networks. Occasionally, the Kenyan media write horrendous stories of mothers sending their daughters to prostitute for food or money, mostly due to abject poverty.

Young boys are not safe either from suspected pedophiles like Father Kizito of the Catholic Church and many other unknown sex predators. The American owner of the Java Coffee House in Nairobi was recently jailed together with two Kenyan women who provided him with under-age girls for sex. Nowhere is safe, with increased pregnancies at girls’ safe-houses and primary schools, attributed to Kenyan male teachers and schoolboys. Cases of sex for grades or job acquisition are commonplace. In short, moral decay is prevalent even on the Internet, for money-making.

Is it too late? Are the programs initiated by the current Kenyan Government effectively reaching out to the younger generation amidst documented widespread corruption and alleged misappropriation of public funds? Media reports show that very few projects targeting the youth via the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) are sustainable. Additionally, nepotism is seen as a deciding factor in sponsoring projects through The Youth Enterprise and Development Fund. This must be reversed to include all.

For the first time globally, urban areas within the developing countries have more inhabitants than the rural areas. Plans to control rural-urban mobility have failed and cities like Nairobi have an influx of poor rural youth escaping poverty due to inadequate income-earning projects. Unfortunately, the harsh realities of Nairobi’s limited job market push such men and women into robberies, carjacking, kidnappings and prostitution among other gruesome acts, hence the name “Nairobbery”.

I had a good laugh while reading the newly published Nairobi City Council by-laws which forbid spitting in public, talking on the mobile phone while crossing the city streets and sitting on flower pots, etc. They are all good, except that more jobs should be created to eradicate idleness and dangerous activities. Singapore for example, has stringent by-laws which were imposed after a huge investment in the infrastructure. However, it’s difficult for one to pass by the stinking tons of garbage in Nairobi without spitting.

The recent preposterous act of trooping a section of the Soweto slum residents into the “modern” housing units in Kibera which lack running water and electricity, simply speaks volumes about wrong planning. Why couldn’t the concerned movers wait until those utilities were fixed? As usual, it was about political expediency.

It’s obvious that the Government cannot do everything for Kenyans. Therefore, the youth who engage in legitimate informal means of acquiring income to improve their well-being need acknowledging. This sector has uplifted and empowered thousands economically. Nevertheless, it is the Government and the private sector which have vast resources (money and materials) to boost local innovation through research and development (R&D). Talented youths should be identified and sponsored as part of the industrialization process planned in Vision 2030.

In my opinion, given the relatively centralized system of governance in Kenya, and notwithstanding the recent politically-motivated creation of new districts and provinces, it will still take a while to provide essential services in the rural and smaller urban areas. It is therefore urgent to rethink the distribution of income-generating projects. As long as core Government services remain in Nairobi, it will be the City of choice for many, yet its original geographical size was not meant to accommodate the ever increasing human population that does not match the available resources.

Related news: the 65 year-old American pedophile, Patrick Ken Larbaha:

Jared Odero

October 7, 2009 Posted by makozewe | News & Analysis | 3 Comments