Name a prominent Kalenjin businessman and chances are high that he or she is a Moi-era politician. Being the third most populous tribe in Kenya, we do not compete on the same scale with others especially in business, entertainment and even politics.
Except for athletics, Kalenjins lag behind in other aspects of the society. For example, there is no prominent Kalenjin author on the same calibre as Ngugi wa Thiong'o. In entertainment, we had Emmy Kosgei until she was 'poached' by our Oga brothers.
I have written about this before, about why Kajenjins don’t stay in major cities, instead preferring close home. We are too comfortable with the familiar things. We are too comfortable in our comfort zones, so much that, until recently, you’d be sure that a Kalenjin politician came from a predominantly Kalenjin area. If people venture out, then it would be good for the community.
Trust me you don’t want to be successful in Kalenjin land: people will harass you for money for school fees and whatnot. At drinking dens people expect you to buy them something just because you’ve made it. There’s nothing wrong in helping a brother educate his children but if all you spend is drinking and hustling others for money, then it a guarantee that we will be always pulled back as a community.
Our love for booze is sometimes monumental. An explanation has been given for this, that during the Kenyatta era a group of Kalenjin folk dancers asked the first president to relax drinking laws when he asked them what he would do with them. Since then, every village seems to have a chang’aa and busaa brewing den, where men frequent as if it is a shrine.
The last thing is our lack of business acumen. A Kalenjin business person is a disaster. He prices his goods so high. And he won’t do small businesses like roasting maize. However, there are others who have managed to be adept at the game of business.
#hivisasaoriginal