Kenyans suffer because they've lowered the bar

NAIROBI: It was one of those situations everyone dreads. A colleague we were travelling with to a conference in Brisbarne, Australia, was delayed and we got worried. Perhaps it was the traffic. Ours being a late afternoon flight, it was easy to get stuck in one of those of dreary Nairobi jams.

When we were losing hope of him making it in time for the flight, we saw his huge frame run through the security door, his travel documents fluttering in the air as he waved at us.

What a relief that was.

It so happened that as his son dropped him, airport police officers pounced, accusing the poor lad of staying longer on the drop-off zone. Sanction? He was under arrest with a possible Sh50,000 fine. Now, no one I know of wants to leave their kin or personnel in trouble, least of all when leaving the country at the airport.

Everyone, even the most daring, dread airport police. I guess because it is removed from the rest of the 'world', or the methods applied to sanction a mistake are punitive. I seem not to know why. We all fear falling afoul of the law enforcers.

His protestation angered the police, who now read the riot act to both of them. He too was accused of subverting the course of justice and was under arrest. We were in disbelief. A frequent flier, he didn't see what was wrong with what he did in light of the expansion works at the airport.

According to him, all this while, the menacing police gave hints of asking for a bribe. He stood his ground because he had done no wrong and should have been reprimanded and let go because "right there, in front of the officer" some of the most atrocious traffic infractions were being committed. Motorists overlapped, others drove at dangerous speeds on the wrong side even, but he seemed to look the other way.

To cut a long story short, the moment he identified himself, the officers let him off but not before asking for "chai" to fend off the cold weather. He declined. They sauntered off perhaps to "arrest" another hapless motorist ignorant of their rights.

Nothing typifies the predatory nature of our police officers than this unfortunate incident. And especially when one considers what we experienced once we landed in Australia.

The same incident, but let off by the officer with a slight caution. The irony couldn't have been lost on us.

In truth, Kenya Police stopped being the facilitator of law and order. Like hounds smelling for blood, the officers are always looking for a mistake. No wonder we have heard that if the police want to, they will find a mistake in you. Yet what many would see as the unreasonable conduct of the lone police officer at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport reflects the raw deal we get from the public service each day.

No one seems to want to excel in public service. There is an almost frenetic rush to take advantage of someone, anything. So despite there being democracy, we seem to be taking too long "to get to Canaan because of a self-centred public service".

I seem to grudgingly agree with Oxford University professor Paul Coullier in his book, Wars, Guns and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places, says "elections held in poor countries with weak institutions can do more harm than good by preserving the corrupt elites and retarding the process of accountable government".

Our institutions are indeed weak. This brings me to my experience in Australia. Like when one visits the developed world, I never stopped asking myself: What went wrong with us?

There are those who would like to attribute the bad state of things at home to colonisation. But the colonialists left 50 years ago. Like in the West, the people here have succeeded in creating a system of competitive democracy where there is total accountability. The penalty awarded for non-compliance is punitive.

I am tempted to recall German sociologist Norbert Nelias' work: The Civilization Process. Because perhaps our standards are so low, that we can countenance an officer openly asking for a bribe and not offering assistance. Consider that may be (just may be) the public officer above could have missed an opportunity to get donor funding for piped water or connection to the national grid because of the greed of a police officer at the airport.

In The Civilization Process, Elias attributes most of Europe's rapid development to the lowering of the tolerance levels of such vices as violence, sexual misbehaviour, bad table manners and forms of speech. The shame is enough disincentive for one not to ask for a bribe.

In Kenya, we believe in the law and see it as an end in itself. Yet that has failed because we have hoped that those tempted to steal will fear serving time in jail. Evidently, that has not worked. Because if it did, we wouldn't witness the staggering levels of corruption in the country. It is time to try Elias' hypothesis.