This archive report was first published on 9 November 2019.
Published on November 9, 2019, a woman's words echoed in the mind of a passerby: 'Simu yangu ni kama iko na shida… wacha nikupigie baadaye.'
As the onlooker chuckled at her words, they couldn't help but wonder what the reality was behind her statement. Was her phone truly malfunctioning, or was she simply avoiding an uncomfortable conversation?
It's a common phenomenon in Kenya's economic landscape, where people often use the phrase 'simu yangu ni kama iko na shida' to describe a phone call that's not what they expected. But is this just a convenient excuse for not facing financial reality?
Perhaps business hasn't been so great lately, or one of her clients has been giving her the runaround over clearing the balance from her last sale. Or maybe the 'lucrative' deal she invested all her savings in last year only turned out to be about 24 per cent lucrative.
Whatever the reason, the woman's words serve as a reminder that sometimes, 'pesa iko shida' is just too difficult to admit. It's time we stopped buying time and faced the music.
