Perhaps one of the most overlooked privileges is not wealth itself, but having enough margin in your life to respond to reality. Over the last few years, we have become fluent in the language of privilege, speaking easily about financial privilege, pretty privilege, racial privilege, passport privilege, educational privilege and social privilege, and in doing so we have become increasingly aware that people do not all start from the same place and that some doors open more easily for some than for others. Yet there is one form of privilege that seems to receive far less attention, and that is the privilege of being able to do something with the information you have, not simply knowing, but acting, because the truth is that information alone changes very little. We like to imagine that if people only knew better, they would do better, and entire industries are built around this assumption, from self-help books and documentaries to podcasts, awareness campaigns, public health initiative...
When Mwai Kibaki swept into power in 2002 under the NARC coalition, Kenyans believed they were witnessing the end of an era — the closing of a dark chapter defined by Moi’s authoritarianism and entrenched corruption. The promise was clear: zero tolerance on corruption. The optimism was real. Kenya was ready to turn the page. And for a moment, it looked like we had. Kibaki’s administration took bold first steps — reviving key institutions, appointing reformists, and increasing transparency in public finance. But soon, familiar shadows crept back. The Anglo Leasing scandal broke, key whistleblowers were silenced, and the dream of a clean government dimmed. This is the story of a president who tried to fight corruption — and of the system that resisted, reshaped, and ultimately compromised that fight. The Reformist Promise Upon taking office, Kibaki created the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) and appointed respected legal mind Justice Aaron Ringera as its head. For the first time...