Let’s not punish the Brits for their generosity with ‘chicken’ stew

It breaks my heart to hear that a rare case of British hospitality is being investigated as fraud, and that two well-intentioned Brits have already been convicted for their generosity.

This is the crux of the matter: a top British firm wanted to extend its tentacles abroad, and Kenya was in its sights. The reasons are obvious; we were a 'dominion' of the Queen of England only 50 years ago, and British businesses still treat Kenya as though it is their mother's property.

But rather than demonstrate the hubris associated with international businesses, the printing firm in question did what lawyers call due diligence, which is to say they sought to understand who they were dealing with and the authenticity of the deal.

That was two years ago, with elections at hand and lots of ballots to print, especially if some were to be stuffed in boxes before election time, as some politicians allege happens every time they lose.

But that's not what happened with the ballots from Britain; having established that it would be considered rude to visit one's home empty-handed, they decided to stuff some 'chicken' in the ballot boxes alongside the ballots.

I'm not sure if the boxes were stuffed before or after the printing, or if the chickens were also stuffed, you know, British style, to spice up what's basically very tasteless meat.

Apparently, the meat was so tasty that the men at the helm of the electoral body, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, gobbled chickens worth Sh50 million reportedly with some help from folks at the Kenya National Examinations Council. The latter had the chickens stuffed in boxes bearing certificates.