This archive report was first published on 9 October 2019.
Kenya's hustlers, often seen as a nuisance, are the backbone of the country's economy. They hawk goods in the scorching heat, walk to work, and make an honest living from the sweat of their brow.
However, their lives are not without challenges. Regulators and authorities often exclude them from city centers, deny them tax breaks, and fail to provide them with amenities similar to those of the affluent.
Developed countries, on the other hand, take great effort to make life easier for hustlers. They provide them with subsidized housing, parks, and job opportunities in every sector.
In developing countries like Kenya, power wielders and key economic players value hustlers only for their consumption and voting power. After that, they are left to fend for themselves, with chamas and relatives taking over.
The most powerful weapon against hustlers is price. They are excluded from the best facilities, products, and services because they cannot afford them. With time, they blame themselves for not being able to afford these things, unaware that the laws of economics are often tampered with by regulations, rules, and culture.
Education and religion, two great modulators of our lives, often perpetuate the status quo. They call for obedience, following rules without questioning their origin. However, hustlers often discover that keeping rules and regulations is not rewarded; it simply makes it easier to be exploited.
Without any countervailing force to capitalism, hustlers' lives will continue to become harder. Their only weapon has been the vote, but voting can be manipulated to perpetuate the status quo. Without means to influence their destiny, hustlers become like 'bags of potatoes', to quote Karl Marx.
It is time to rethink the system that keeps hustlers caged. Who will save them from their hard life? Or should we accept suffering as the norm?
