Rising price of leisure will soon make Kenya ill

A well-lit 18th hole at Muthaiga Golf Club. Is leisure becoming too expensive for Kenyans? [XN Iraki, Standard]

The Britons introduced golf in Kenya at the turn of the last century, starting with Nairobi Royal Golf Club in 1906. They easily imported their aristocracy and class system. The echoes of that class system still reverberate on the streets and hamlets of this beautiful country. When someone asks for your residence or workplace, it is often a coded question on your socio-economic class.

After independence, we took up that class system best espoused by the type of leisure we buy. Leisure is rarely free; that beer you share with buddies costs money. Golfing costs money, watching sports on your TV costs money, a holiday costs money, that ‘mrembo’ you show off to your competitors costs money. You can add to the list but let us focus on golf, the ultimate leisure for Kenya’s upper class, middle class and a few hustlers.