The last word is that Kenyans enjoy living on the edge and are particularly impervious to instruction and common sense . And if you think this has anything to do with their education level , you are mistaken because the university professor and the hawker behave in exactly the same fashion .
have realized that men , in particular , are very likely to purchase unbudgeted items when they start getting tipsy and mellow .
The most interesting no hawking signs are the ones in the CBD where hawkers operate right in front of legitimate stores selling the same items . Kamau is convinced that these hawkers are actually employees of city council employees who have found a way to operate without licenses .
Ochieng could not offer a better explanation how these hawkers are able to operate with impunity right in front of the licensed outlets and are never ejected . Yet the retail owners routinely voice their complaints and are told the hawkers will be relocated once a mythical hawker ’ s market is built .
Not reading or ignoring notices and signs is what makes Kenya such an undisciplined country that a Kenyan feels no qualm squeezing into a Matatu clearly labeled ’ 14 passengers only ’ and he is the 23rd passenger trying to get in because he has to get home .
This is the same Matatu that will stop at a petrol station and ignore the ‘ Please switch off your engine ’ sign because it does not have a working ignition and technically the vehicle is un-roadworthy but it has a valid inspection sticker and an unlicensed driver .
Of course with an overloaded Matatu the prominently displayed sign ‘ Tafadhali funga seatbelt ’ is not only a joke but an impossibility . That is why whenever a Matatu is involved in an accident it is not odd to a Kenyan that the reported number of fatalities and injured can add up to 30 for a 14 seater .
Usually after such a horror crash the government spokesman will intone with all gravity that ‘ No stone will be left unturned ’ until those responsible for the tragedy are brought to book which Kamau claims is the government script for sending a condolence message .
This overloading is in not only in contravention of the Covid protocols that stipulate that the Matatu will only carry 50 % of the allowed number of passengers but more of a show of ignorance or a demonstration of stupid bravado in the midst of a raging pandemic .
But Kamau quickly reminds Ochieng that to most Kenyans Covid is not real and the length they go to circumvent the official position is amazing . Any attempt by the government to curtail the spread of the virus is looked at as an overzealous government overstepping its mandate .
Every time you get one of those SMS ’ s followed by a call from the prison entrepreneurs of Kamiti Maximum Prison you will find that the number is unregistered although the rules of the mobile companies is that no line will be registered without a verifiable physical ID .
All Kenyans are familiar with the ubiquitous sign ‘ No Mpesa transactions without an ID ’. Which crazy Kenyan hustler will fail to transact with a customer just because he forgot to carry an ID or he lost it a long time ago and could not be bothered to replace it .
Apparently in Kenya you can be a life member of a political party that you have not heard of and your personal data is used by unscrupulous individuals that have not sought your permission to use your personal data and yet the government wonders why the uptake of Huduma nambas is so poor .
Kenyans are too well familiar with the oft given government deadlines that all Kenyans must register for Huduma Nambas which will give access to government services and the equally oft missed deadlines since Kenyans do not understand the meaning of deadlines .
We see this every year when it is time to file tax returns and the notice is given three months in advance yet the bulk of the registration will be done on the last day when the only sign Kenyans understand ‘ You have one more day to register ’ is flagged .
As a passing shot Kamau looked at Ochieng ’ s hand and saw that he was wearing a wedding band , Kamau smiled and told him that if he was smart he should remove the ring and on asking why Kamau told him that he was an obvious target to any slay queen on the prowl .
He informed Ochieng that a sure way of spotting a happily married man in Kenya is the wearing of a wedding band . Happily married men also tend to be financially stable hence the reason they are an obvious target for these women of mischief .
The last word is that Kenyans enjoy living on the edge and are particularly impervious to instruction and common sense . And if you think this has anything to do with their education level , you are mistaken because the university professor and the hawker behave in exactly the same fashion .
In fact it is the more educated that tend to be the most skeptical of instruction as though schools offer a ‘ wait and let us see what will happen ’ subject that is compulsory to all . It is truly amazing how Kenyans will not respond to official threats or advice .
Ochieng would have wished that he could dismiss Kamau ’ s logic , unfortunately the flippant way Kamau explained Kenyans left him at a loss of an alternative explanation as to why Kenyans have an inbuilt resistance to reading and understanding signs and instructions .
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