Don't sell people an incomplete map and then blame them for getting lost. I've been sitting with that thought for weeks because the more I look around, the more I realize that many of the frustrations we carry as a society are not simply about unemployment, corruption, inequality or even money. They are about the stories we tell one another. From the time we are children, we are handed maps for how life is supposed to work. Study hard and life will work out. Get a degree and you'll find a good job. Work hard and success will follow. Save consistently and you'll become financially secure. Find your passion and the money will come. Marry the right person and everything else will fall into place. Believe in yourself. Think positively. Stay disciplined. None of these statements is entirely false. But none of them is entirely true either. The problem is rarely what they say. The problem is what they leave unsaid. Because what is omitted from a story is often just as powerful...
What does it do to the soul when you lose money you didn’t even have to a lie you desperately wanted to believe?
Most Kenyans know someone who has been scammed. A fake job abroad. A non-existent tender. A rogue Sacco. A phony pastor. A “friend” who knew just the right words. Some lose KES 2,000 . Some lose KES 2 million . But all of them lose something far deeper than money — they lose a part of themselves. Let’s talk about what happens when you’re the one who got played. Who Gets Targeted? Scammers don’t just pick anyone. They pick: The hustler who’s tired. Someone trying everything and just looking for a break. The helper. That kind-hearted parent, uncle, or older sibling who wants to help others get ahead. The unemployed graduate. Smart, skilled, and desperate for dignity. The dreamer. Someone who has waited too long for life to make sense and now just wants to feel something move . The overachiever under pressure. That person who can’t afford to “fail” in the eyes of family and society. Scammers are trained psychologists. They look for soft spots — then sell the fant...