FEATURE
THE NEW RICH
Comparing East Africa’s
middle classes
By David Cecil
The middle class, in their ongoing pursuit of financial advantage,
might be considered the most fluid,
mobile and rootless demographic in society. National differences mean little to a group who can
jump in 4x4 cars or planes at will
and zoom around the newly-globalised world. Arguably, the middle classes across East Africa have
more in common with each other
than they do with their poorer or
richer fellow nationals.
rich white settlers and the ever-entrepreneurial Indian population.
Tanzania, being formerly socialist,
had limited consumer culture, but
it has always benefited from massive international exposure thanks
to the vast coastline. Uganda and
Rwanda, on the other hand, benefited less from capital inputs, but
kept more control over who owns
the land. And the import businesses. And the bars. And the restaurants…
So, a study of the differences between the Rwandan bourgeoisie
and their East African counterparts
might seem to be, at first glance,
like a comparison between posho
and ugali. However, if we pay attention to the sauce on this regional
staple, we see that while the quality
of maize remains more or less constant, the method of cooking sauce
across the region does indeed vary
significantly with geography.
THE FOOD
The Mombasans lace theirs with coconut milk, the Dar-es-Salaamians
love it fishy, Ugandans add peanuts
for extra energy, Rwandans add a
drop of Akabanga, and so on. The
constitution of the middle class is
more than economic; it is distinctively cultural and therefore varies
with the history of each territory.
Kenya, as a whole, has always
been financially better off, largely
thanks to the historic presence of
Talking of restaurants, when Rwandans look at the eating habits of the
Kenyan or Tanzanian middle class,
they may get a spicy shock. Tanzania, defined by its coconut coast
and Arabic aroma, is very oriental
in its palate – too much, the Great
Lakers might say.
Similarly, the Kenyan bourgeoisie has long incorporated Indian
heat into its diet, but is now adding
to that Thai lemongrass, French
wines, tiny Italian fish that smell
of old underwear and enough Brazilian chili to make an Olympic
weight-lifter’s eyes water. So, on
the whole, Ugandan restaurants
would be more appealing to the
Rwandan homegrown senses, with
no-nonsense “Mama’s cooking” being the only thing really acceptable
to a landlocked palate.
And while pizza is rapidly approaching staple food status in
OCTOBER 2016 EDITION - 17