Plunder at the top goes on while the rest told to tighten their belts

The professor of political science said in this volume, "When I was growing up in East Africa, the term 'mali ya serikali (government property)' had a kind of contemptuous ring about it as if that kind of property lacked sanctity."

Mazrui recalled that this attitude among Africans was largely in protest against British colonial rule. The rule was imposed and, accordingly, illegitimate. "The colonial regime was alienated from the population, not only because it was a case of foreign control, but also because it was artificial, and newly invented. It became almost a patriotic duty to misappropriate resources of the colonial government, when this was possible without risk of punishment, or restoration."