It is a sunny day and I am standing at the parking lot in front of the court in Nanyuki. Through the open door I see Freddy in the witness stand. He gestures wildly and cuts through the air with an imaginary panga. A police officer keeps me company. He realizes that his lunch is …
Kenya 2013
The great little man
On September 21, the international day of peace, terrorists killed dozens of civilians in a shopping mall, including children and pregnant women. Most violence in the world is no longer in the news. Drugs murders in Mexico, guerilla wars in Congo. Violence always moves in circles. After the attack in Nairobi, the danger is that …
Facebook society
Like almost every day, Freddy yesterday visited an agricultural entrepreneur for an interview. He was accompanied by J., his unofficial supervisor who bought the motor bike together with us, the one that is now stolen. When J. got a call about the motor during the interview, the farmer suddenly recognized the story: Hey you’re that …
Crime and Punishment
This month, the Kenyan parliament accepted a motion to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC). 15 years ago, a conference of 160 states adopted the “Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court”. This treaty was the basis for the ICC; a court that prosecutes crimes of concern to the international community as a whole: …
The future is gray
After an elephantastic experience today, a blog with floppy ears. Some time ago we saw Ahmed the elephant, who lived from 1919–1974 in the north of Kenya. Because he seemed to have enormous tuskers, conservationists were afraid he would be an attractive target for poachers. So he got presidential protection of Kenyatta (father of the …
Wild life
After 10 full days in The Netherlands, I am back in Nanyuki. I came with a lot of greetings, meetings, hugs from Ivan and liquorice supplies. In the meantime, Freddy has carried out several field trips so he has been everything but bored. Someone else who is going to visit The Netherlands is the president of …