#thingsfallapart
I bleed for my country- Kenya! Why you ask? Today, every
village in Kenya and everyone wants nothing but the best in life and somehow we
believe that the easiest way to achieve this is through dishonest means. This
dishonestly is taught to children at an early age.
Each year; thousands of exam candidates; from primary
schools to universities, are caught cheating. This year’s KCSE, of the 47
counties, only 7 were said to have no cases of malpractices.
Sadly, when our comedian joked that Maranda Boys were busy
focusing on the “Oscars”; and that is why the school was not ranked; it appears
that the top school in 2012 had indeed been involved in exam irregularities.
But the question is; how do students manage to dope the
system into thinking they are brighter that they actually are?
A number collude with their teachers who leak exam papers
before they are distributed to the schools; thus giving them a head start over
other students.
From exams to breathlysers; commonly known as “the
alcoblow”. The motives behind its introduction was noble- and still are- to
reduce deaths and injuries caused by drunken driving.
But the very “resourceful” Kenyans fought legal battles to
have it withdrawn on hygiene grounds. The authorities reintroduced it toward
the end of last year; this time with more sanitized measures.
When those in love with the booze realized that they had
been cornered; they came up with more bizarre ways to beat the system.
During a crackdown along Lang’ata Road a few days ago; police
said that some Kenyans had resorted to hiring ‘part-time’ drivers who help them
get through the roadblocks before they get behinds the wheel in their inebriated
state.
Yet, another trick up the sleeves of some people is the use
of a ‘decoy drunkard’. This involves sending a sober driver ahead to survey the
situation. Once he gets to a manned roadblock, he acts drunk and dares the police
to test his breath.
Of course the gadget detects no alcohol in him in the melee,
the really drunk drivers either use alternative routes or pass undetected as
the police are kept busy by the “decoy”.
The showstopper, however, is the vigor with which some
Kenyans have resorted to the use of social media in providing updates on the
exact locations of the police crackdowns. Several Twitter accounts and Facebook
pages have been created where members update every few hours about the
condition of the roads especially where danger lurks. Some of the comments make
for hilarious reading.
One reads; “we have now crossed 17,000 likes. That’s
more likes that (David) Kimaiyo has on Facebook. Thank you for your support and
keep inviting your friends. Keep the updates coming.”
Another in part reads; “it’s official, Alco blow is now operating
even during the day so please be on the lookout. Let us keep each other
updated. Remember strength in numbers comrades.”
One wonders. But, why would some go to such great lengths
just to beat systems that have been put in place to protect them?
Our morality is on a run-away. We have become an access pool
of corruption; wary of authorities; people not ready to embrace place presence
and would rather engage in plain hide and seek.
By Embukane Vincent Libosso.
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