The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media
platforms spanning newspaper print
operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a
leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and
international interest.
There was footwear in Kenya and then there was Bata Sandak. Those plastic things you are seeing people wearing are just Sandaks in all but name. Bata Sandak were also plastic and came in as many colours as the colour wheel. The beauty of Sandak was that they were cheap and those surviving 100 metres below the poverty line could afford them.
Sandak also did not require any shoe polish. Water was enough and they kaukad instantly. They felt easy on the feet. They were everywhere. They were all-weather.
Okay, no. They were not all-weather. When it got scorching hot, Bata Sandak made one feel like the feet were immersed in makaa moto or a freaking oven!
Bata Sandak went out of fashion alongside Calico dresses, Stonewash and Savco jeans (1.5 Freezer), Azzaro shirts and half coats and the only remnant of the Sandak are those plastic shoes, specifically worn by Maasai herders and curiously they are only found in one colou, brown!
