Kenya-land of game magic

By Malsiri C. Kurukulasuriya

As you leave Entebbe Air-port in Uganda for the short flight to Nairobi, you find yourself over a huge body of water stretching as far as the eye could see. And flying over Lake Victoria one is confronted with the enormity of this "Dark Continent".

The word "Dark" here does not refer to the colour of the people. Rather it refers to the vast reaches that could hold many more secrets than it has given up.

Twenty five years ago Richard Leaky, flying over Lake Turkhara one evening, felt a strange sensation. The next day he borrowed a helicopter from the U.S. base in Nairobi to fly to the northeast corner of Lake Turkhara. As he landed he had that same sensation – he felt that he was close to God, to history.

As he together with his gang laboured on the rich fossil deposits they came across a skull and an almost perfect spinal-cord. This was the first specimen of Homo Erectus known to man. The first of our forefathers who walked erect, as opposed to the gorillas who walked in a hunched position. This discovery by Leaky put the origin of humans back 500,000 years. And nothing has as yet been discovered to challenge this finding. Eventually, scientists called the area that starts with the Great Rift in Ethiopia and runs south through Uganda and Kenya - the "Cradle of Civilization".

Kenya, which fought a savage war against the British for Independence is full of ironies and surprises. And no country on the continent was converted to Christianity as was Kenya. 90% of Kenyans are Christians (Catholics form 10% of that). The balance 10% are Indians and Moslems. However they dominate the economy. (This was the case in Uganda until Idi Amin threw them out). But in Kenya no one was willing to undergo an Ugandan style exodus, because they knew that such chaos would be harmful to them.

Kenya today does not show its tribal background in any demonstrable way except in two social spheres. As young tribesmen the men are expected as in the past, to steal animals from neighbouring or hostile tribes. This added to their social status, which in turn had beneficial effects when it was time to find a bride.

Every tribe practises polygamy. A man's standing, rises with the number of women in his harem. Today polygamy is a way of life. There are no civil or criminal codes against it. The Anglican Church now accepts and consecrates polygamous relationships. The Catholic Church alone stands for monogamy.

Outwardly, Kenya is held as one of the more stable nations in Africa. This claim however, has been disputed by many, who say that President Moi pays lip service to democracy and that the Cabinet is merely a rubber stamp. The President is enormously wealthy. He has land, houses and businesses across the country.

A few years ago it was announced that Moi and Aly Khan had financed a five star hotel on the plush outskirts of Nairobi. The state controlled media made no mention of it. Only a foreign newspaper reported the deal. The general public did not even blink! They seemed content to leave things as they were - further evidence of the malaise gripping this beautiful country.

Kenya has no postal service as we know it. Each and every citizen, corporation and government department is allocated a box number in a plaza close by.

And they collect their mail from their allocated box. For outgoing mail there are post boxes. Adding to this chaotic system is that there are many roads with no names. -It's quite a job to explain to your taxi driver where you wish to go. -Fortunately most speak good English. People new to Nairobi have an awful time instructing a friend where they live. After a while you learn the landmarks and road names and so you proceed till you achieve the status of "expert".

Kenya's economy is dominated by tea, coffee and tourism. They have no natural resources that can be commercially exploited.

Kenya's tea comes from the Nandi Hills which stands between 6000-8000 feet above sea level.

Their tea industry is relatively new and as such their machines and methods are superior to those of Sri Lanka and India. They are price competitive and the older producers are beginning to feel the heat in the market.

One of the strangest ecological phenomena is seen as you leave Nairobi and travel westward.

Nairobi is at an elevation of approx. 5000 feet above sea level. As you proceed you see the plush tropical vegetation mixed with coniferous trees such as fir, beech and walnut. Within 15 minutes you are at the gates of the Nairobi National Game Park. You are suddenly in an endless plateau with acacias and other scrubs. You see animals roaming free and paying no heed to intruders. This park was the dream-child of Richard Leaky, who resigned from his post as Wild life Curator due to political interference.

This park forms a corridor for animal migration through Masai Maru (Kenya's largest Park) all the way to the Serengeti (the king of game parks) in Zimbabwe.

Just to go back to Dr. Leaky for a moment, no one, no private citizen or group nor the media came to Dr. Leaky's defence. It is this lack of a public conscience that make us wonder where this country is headed.

Due to the ever-growing number of robberies, the security business is the "growth" industry. Every shop, every office has some form of security. Of course every home has guards on duty 24 hours a day everyday. Our hotel has a security guard on every floor. Yet some of my friends were robbed while out for the day. No one was arrested. The police told them they just didn't have the manpower to follow each robbery. This particular break-in was obviously an "inside job".

People who knew what the situation was like told my friends to forget it because more often than not police complicity was the major reason for so many unsolved break-ins.

There is a story told about the UN official, who, tired of the thieving going on decided on his own form of justice. He parked his BMW by the roadside with the keys in the ignition. He also left two bottles of whisky laced with cyanide. They found the car a few days later with two dead policemen inside.

Its hard to believe that these people or their fathers fought alongside Jomo Keny-atta and the dreaded "Mau Mau" terrorists to drive the English out of Kenya. Yet it appears that somewhere along the way they got lost. That spark that had won them their freedom seems to have disappeared.

The sad thing is that they love Kenya very much. You never hear of Kenyans leaving their land as refugees. Yet they are the home for refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia and Burundi.

Nobody complains about the money the government has to spend on the refugees while the locals barely have food for themselves.

Despite all the negative things, there is one undeniable fact. I met many people including some Sri Lankans who came to Kenya and Uganda on a holiday and never went back home. After my own hectic first week when I couldn't wait to get home, there came a change in me, which was inexplicable. I was falling for that game magic, which had stolen the hearts of thousands before me. I extended my trip twice and by the time I was to leave I knew that someday soon I'd be back again.

What is it that none of us are able to vocalize? (perhaps it's an unknown force that pervades this land, which is after-all the "Cradle of Mankind").

Perhaps the words of Sally McCall, rich Scottish lady who went on holiday to Africa and never returned, might be worth consideration. "James and I were married the following year. Instead of becoming the wife of an English country gentleman in a Georgian mansion, I found myself married to a South African doctor living in a single storey house in the heart of Zululand with limited electricity, a primitive telephone system and few recognizable roads – yet, I loved every minute of it".

Such euphoria apart, the economic future of Africa and Kenya in particular is bleak. Figures released recently reveal that Kenya's population growth of 4.1% is the highest in the world. The GNP is a mere 2.5%. Unless these figures are quickly reversed, Kenya would be bankrupt during the early years of the millennium.

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