The Southern Bypass Strategy.

There is a Kenyan lawyer of no mean repute - a friend of his described him as an avid swordsman, whatever that means - who is enamoured of hereditary dynasties, political first families, strongmen presidents and strongarm tactics to handle every unpleasantness a nation could experience. There is an amazing research scientist whose achievements are nothing to be scoffed at who believes that the international regime we call international law supersedes domestic law. Many modern Kenyans entertainers emulate what Hollywood has to offer, even the offerings from the seamier sides of the industry. 

Nearly all of them sneer at the quality of our political leadership, degree of scientific innovation and capacity for home-brewed entertainment that is just as captivating as the schlock fro Hollywood. They reflect something that has been prevalent to the discerning for decades: the depth for self-loathing among the hoi polloi as among the elite remains staggeringly high. When "an ordinary Kenyan" visits an establishment where this level of self-loathing is sill a mark of "class", it is difficult not to miss the artifacts of that self-loathing: slow service, dismissal of opinions and, on occasion, discrimination in favour of a Black Coconut or a Caucasian.

For better or worse, the Standard Gauge Railway will be built. Anyone who thinks that the political, economic or environmental objections to the project will scuttle it "before it goes too far" has not been paying attention. This project has the backing of the presidency and you are either on board or you are an enemy of development. In the fullness of time, the railway will come through the Nairobi National Park,where it will have its boosters as well as opponents. Then there are those who will be accommodated and those who will be ignored. The experience of the opponents to the Southern Bypass should be instructive.

The road was meant to skirt the outskirts of the park; it was not going to "encroach". The construction of the road was delayed, whether the delay was deliberate remains an unexplored mystery. Because of the delay, what would have been its reserve was "grabbed" and residential and commercial properties erected on it. Rather than demolish the unlawful constructions, the national Executive decided to carve off a piece of the park for the road and its reserve. Friends of Nairobi National Park objected, filed suits and whatnot. They lost. The Standard Gauge Railway, never mind what the Constitution, the Wildlife Conservation and Management Act, 2013, or the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act, 1999, say, will be diverted around African Heritage House because of its unique contribution to Kenyan culture and similar-sounding bullshit.

There is a hierarchy to those who enjoy privileges unavailable to others in Kenya. Kaburu families and their descendants are at the top. Then come Kenya's First Families. Then come the Caucasian expatriates, whether they are running local branches of multinational corporations or they are slinging coffee at the Caramel Lounge. Then come the billionaires with close ties to the political establishment. Halafu nyinyi wengine mtaamua kama mko kwa list au la. What this all means is that the law will find a reason for the African Heritage House to keep standing where it has stood for the past decade; the railway will just have to go around it.