| December is
around the corner and to hundreds of thousands of Kenyans
who are already salivating, this means only one thing, pombe
(booze) galore, a time to get drunk without appearing odd,
a time to really let rip and go wild. It's the end of the
year we have made it, with all the upheavals, and stresses
and strikes, and student riots, and car-jacking, matatu (chaotic
Kenyan minibus public transport) accidents - we survived another
year. Sadly many Kenyans will end up having one for the road
before they die Right now millions of Kenyans countrywide
are medicating themselves liberally with alcohol. The vast
majority are young people many of whom will taste alcohol
for the first time. Even for the ones who do not like its
taste or initial reaction to this drug, there will be no soft
option like refusing, or indulging themselves with non-alcoholic
beverages for the Kenyan society does not allow for this. The
Kenyan society has made alcohol consumption a badge of honour,
to be worn at any cost. Young people will plunge heedlessly
into the festivities with abandon imitating the adults who
will as usual set the pace. This year too is different and
Kenya Breweries Ltd. (KBL) has set the tone very well over
the last few months with a campaign which barely stops short
of accusing one of being unpatriotic if you fail to drink
beer namely their flagship brand - Tusker. The stage was set
with a pool competition played in bars across the length and
breath of Kenya. Entry they said was free - well you only
had to submit two labels from their Pilsner beer brand. The
print and electronic media were full of advertisements and
long infomercials detailing how the various teams were doing
all reported like the sports section on television, using
a well known TV and radio personality and role model, which
has succeeded in making the whole circus look like a national
event we should be all proud of. Attractions like huge prize
money, and the chance to be seen on TV or in the newspapers
are all part of the subtle ploy to gloss over the truth and
instead pass off beer drinking as a necessity in sporting
and other social gatherings. This grand master plan of Kenya
Breweries Ltd. includes getting bars accepted as an equal
even better alternative to Kenyan's sitting rooms, social
halls or the outdoors as the places to be. While you are at
it bring the kids too, there are bouncing castles, jungle
bars and sand pits to keep them busy while they watch and
learn from the adults how to really enjoy. What if you cannot
bring along your television set? In fact that would be downright
awkward. Well the brewers working in cahoots with the bar
owners have a solution to that too. Giant screen television
sets placed at 'strategic' points throughout the establishment
take care of that minor point. And they are relentless leaving
nothing to chance. Sensing that you might still find this
setup odd, they inundate the print media with seductive hard
to miss ads. "Catch the game and a beer" or "where the action
is, in the bar" Kenyans have got to a stage where they cannot
socialise without drugging themselves silly with beer and
other alcoholic beverages and who can blame them? The only
constant, unrelenting education campaign they receive on alcohol,
comes from the brewers and distillers who in an overwhelming
landslide of advertisements pound into you how incomplete
you life is without alcohol. Currently, &qout;as Kenya marks its
40th anniversary with pomp and nostalgia, Tusker is rewarding
its drinkers with a unique festival aimed at celebrating out
national heritage." It goes on to say that the Tusker October
Festival is "tailor-made to capture the many exciting moments
with Tusker under the theme 'Sherehekea Ukenya Wetu'" literally
celebrate our Kenyaness. A full page colour ad with carefully
selected photos of 'revelers' male and female all with bottles
of beer and big grins blatantly conveys this missive. As usual
there are also prizes so the more you drink, the more chances
you have of winning. What they don't mention is that the majority
of these prizes are branded Tusker T-shirts, caps, bottle
openers and pens so that later when you are broke and hungover,
you will still walk around 'branded' - a free, live billboard
for Tusker. Huge capital bold letters conclude "everyone's
a winner in Kenya's first Tusker festival!" This ad is so
convincing that it makes me also feel guilty and unpatriotic
that I will not be drinking with everybody else as other 'normal'
Kenyans celebrate 40 years of independence with Tusker. Do
you see what has been zapped into our psyche with close to
40 years brainwashing? I can still remember the jingle I grew
up with and sang long before I tasted my first beer. "We are
all going to work so very hard, so we can build the nation,
and after work we'll all relax with a big, big, glass of Tusker!
Pam, pam!" But I have learnt and by the Grace of God have
lived to tell the story. For as usual this year not every
one is going to be a winner. There are going to be many needless
deaths. What I call 'useless' deaths. Parents as of this minute
love your children well, for by the New Year many of you will
bury them. Many young people out there as you read this, are
dead-men-walking. In other words they are alive only technically,
for their time is up. They will die in mishaps that are all
alcohol related. Car accidents, falls, fights, fires and the
irony is that some will not even have been drinking. But they
too will die due to someone else's drinking. Drunk PSV drivers.
But will Kenyan parents learn? No chance! They will simply
shrug fatalistically and say ni shauri ya Mungu! (it is God's
wish). The brewers will shake their heads sadly and say, not
our fault; we did warn them that "over consumption of alcohol
is harmful to your health." Everybody will forget until next
year. I thank God for my sobriety. I cannot force Kenyans
to wake up to the dangers inherent in the drug beer. But what
I can tell all parents, love your kids from this minute up
until the end of December. Be close to them don't leave anything
hurtful between you unresolved for you cannot apologise to
the dead. This is your last chance because for many of you
children right now unless you wake up, they are dead-men-walking!
PS: I will however continue to write and pray for I too was
once a dead-man-walking!' David Ogot is a freelance journalist/producer
who has personal experience in alcoholism. He can be reached
at goinghomedotcom@yahoo.com Website: www.goinghomekenya.org
This article also appeared under the heading 'A 'national event' we shouldn't be proud of'
In
The People On Sunday November 16th., 2003
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