Law & Order Katika (in) Kenya

Perhaps I should consider a new career in detective work? We have about 24 solar Panels on our compound. They power a water pump that pumps water from the river to a tank on the compound for the whole community to use. This project was completed on Friday the 2^nd. Everyone seemed so excited to have to water so readily available and I was excited that soon the solar panels would also be powering my house. Yay! Electricity. On the night of Sunday the 4^th, not even 48 hours after we’d celebrated this projects launching someone broke into the compound and stole 2 of the solar panels and of course; we need all of them in order to pump the water. In short; I was livid! Whoever took the panels had to be from the community because they knew exactly where to go to get them. And all I continue to ask myself is; how could they take them!?!? They were there to benefit the whole community; not just one person. How could they do it?!?

And slowly but surely things began to get a bit foggy. The askari (guard) that’s there during the night mysteriously failed to call the manager of the project the night it occurred; didn’t yell or scream when the men were there or even after they left; didn’t knock on my door to tell me and wasn’t there when people arrived for work. The barbed wire gate that encloses the solar panels was not disturbed and neither was the outer fence that encloses the project. It all sounded a little fishy to me; an inside job if you will.

The people at the project continued to question the askari and his story continued to change. They reported the matter to our closest police station in Oyugis.

I am fully aware of the fact that the police in Kenya are corrupt but I didn’t know just how corrupt. I thought their corruption ended at taking bribes from Matatu drivers that didn’t have licenses or packed 30 people into a 14 passenger van; but no, that doesn’t nearly scratch the surface. After reporting the crime to the police they informed my manager that in order for them to investigate he would need to provide the officers with 500 shillings to fuel their vehicle to get to our site and another 1000 shillings to continue the investigation. They also wanted to put the askari in jail. Though I kinda still wanna do that too; his story is just a bit too shady, but my manager is convinced that he didn’t do. I think he is taking pity on him because his mother just passed away. I don’t want to believe he had anything to do with it either but it’s certainly beginning to look like an inside job.

So, after they reported the crime I found out that there was another crime earlier that day and suggested to my manager that perhaps that crime was committed by the same people. The young man that was robbed had reported his robbery to the Chief (kinda like a city councilman) and the Chief failed to tell us this when we met him. Though the young man told the Chief he knew 2 of the 4 men that robbed him the Chief did nothing. He didn’t ask who the men were or where they lived. He just took the report and sent the young man away!

We located the boy who was robbed and questioned him and he went to Oyugis to tell them exactly who the four boys were that robbed him. And last night they were arrested. I don’t know if we will get our solar panels back but I have to tell you it was actually kind of fun running around town interviewing people and demanding that folks tell the truth. Though, I am quite convinced that the police would not have been so inclined to help had I not been there. They tend to be more on the ball when there is a mzungu (American) around.

So, now all I need is a flashlight; some handcuffs and a room with a 2way mirror in it and I’ll be all set. Just call me Detective Washington.