The shame that’s Kenya’s social ill: Wealth inequality
As poor families increasingly are unable to put food on the table, the population of street children will grow exponentially. PHOTO | SIMON MAINA | AFP
A new Oxfam report has confirmed the unsustainable wealth inequality in Kenya. Oxfam’s Kenya country director has termed this inequality a “social ill and a shame.” This characterization is an unwitting understatement. A social ill and a shame is when an individual’s behaviour causes embarrassment to society.
However, the inequality is an existential threat to Kenya’s nationhood. The solution is not, as the Oxfam chief’s characterisation suggests, some kind of censure of government policies. The situation demands a review of, not only of policies, but the foundational organisation of the Kenyan nation-state.
