Filling in the gaps
on A Serendipitous Journey (Kenya), 23/Aug/2009 06:04, 34 days ago
Where one party fails to accomplish its mission, another will inevitably step in. This is true in a business setting, where managers may identify an organizational capacity gap and fill it in themselves whether or not they are the right person to be carrying out the task. It also holds true for justice, at least it does in Kenya.Crimes, which would make headlines in Canada, take place on a daily basis here (so often that they aren’t usually even reported.) It’s widely known that the police have failed to effectively protect the most vulnerable and poor, particularly those living in slums areas in and around Nairobi. As such, gangs have stepped in and set up protection schemes whereby residents pay “kitu kidogo” (something small) in order to receive protection for their household. Regular citizens also often also take justice into their own hands and punish criminals before police can even arrive. A young man just recounted to me that only 3 days ago a man in his neighbourhood (a very low income area) was caught trying to rob someone– civilians covered him in flammable material and burned him to death before the police could even arrive.