Corruption Tastes Like Chai: Understanding Corruption In Kenya and China
*** watch the video below
When the deal calls for a bribe they’ll say “I’m going to need some chai” someone told me as we rode through Nairobi.
The next week I sat at one of my old friend’s family homes on a visit to her family’s farm. Her mom poured us steaming cups of sweetened tea with milk.
Kenya is one of the largest exporters of black tea, but high supply and low demand have led to a significant decrease in profits for tea farmers. On top of lowering profit margins, farmers are also required to purchase fertilizer and pesticides from the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) that maintains a monopoly on the price of tea farming inputs and sale price of tea itself.
Apparently, some tea farmers switched to coffee and began to roast and sell beans to a small scale factory that two young people had built in the village. The owners of the factory were jailed on suspicious charges within the period of a few months.
In China, getting called into the police station to “have tea” means you’re in trouble. It’s not a suggestion, it’s an order. Though tea is served, the meeting isn’t pleasant.
I was walking through one of Nairobi’s China towns with a friend when I ran into the owner of one of my favorite restaurants. We launched into a conversation about the Nairobi’s various China towns. I commented that his particular location seemed to be a center of action for the community.
“It used to be more lively. But, a few months ago, the cops came and rounded a bunch of people up. Thirty people from here and three people from across town, some of them had to go home, all of them had to pay money. In China you know where the corruption is coming from, here it comes at all sides.”
Naming and shaming corruption had become a major event in China over the past few years. The anti-corruption campaigns began in 2012 and led to the downfall of rich and powerful high-ranking officials that had seemed untouchable. The entire thing read like House of Cards.
“It’s just that we’re a target. They know that we [Chinese people] are willing to 破财免灾.”
A friend explained later on that night over drinks. 破财免灾 (Pòcái miǎn zāi) means to suffer financial losses to prevent disaster.
The fact that this strategy was recognized as one that was effective for communities in Nairobi was curious to me considering the current climate.
In 2018, the focus of corruption shifted from officials to gangs and tyrants. The 扫黑除恶 (sweep black and eliminate evil) campaign reportedly led to the downfall of thousands of gangsters and gangs that were entrenched in illegal activities ranging from taxis, seafood, sand, and drugs.
Later on that week, I went to the office of a long-time businessman in Nairobi. Originally from China, he was now a permanent resident of Kenya. I was curious about his experience. He laughed when I asked him about 破财免灾 (suffering financial losses to prevent disaster).
“In China, you only pay up when you are trying to do something illegal, or get around the law. Here you pay when you’re following the law and even more when you aren’t.”
“ You see that building over there?” a friend asked pointing out of the window as we rode through Westlands. She was pointing to a building that was being erected beside the Kempinski. “That building is being built by a Chinese company. The Kempinski had an agreement with the city that their view wouldn’t be obstructed by large buildings, but that building belongs to someone important who allowed them to build a larger building right beside it”.
Walking past that very same construction project the next day, I watched as Chinese and Kenyan construction workers left the site at the end of their shift, laughing and chatting among themselves at a job well done.
“You know why corruption is good?”
The man next to me on my ride home asked. This time, I wasn’t the one to bring up the subject. It had come from him completely unprompted, for some reason he’d taken to telling me that he was ODM and giving me a long-winded lecture on politics and history.
I was at a loss for how to reply. I shrugged.
“Corrupt people build buildings, and when they die, they’re left for the people.”
He seemed sure of himself.
What I learned:
- Corruption comes with its own set of rules
- Sometimes, both sides ideas about corruption make for good company
