KENYA: With elections looming, Kenyans may decide the moment has come to fight against corruption, writes Declan Walsh from Nairobi.
Green tea leaves from the lush hills above Nairobi are one of Kenya's greatest exports. But the Swahili translation of the word tea - chai - has acquired a more nefarious meaning associated with one of Kenya's greatest scourges.
Recently Tony Nakosi went looking for a copy of his birth certificate. Theoretically, it is a free service. "I had all the papers ready," he said. "But they told me that first I had to bring some chai." So Mr Nakosi, a sales representative, reached into his pocket and produced a crisp 1,000 shilling (€7.7) note, which he slid across the counter. A few hours later, the paperwork was ready.
In Kenya, the payment of chai - a bribe - is no longer just part of the system. It is the system. Greasing the palm of a pliant official can be the only way to get something done.
Systematic corruption has earned Kenya the dubious honour of being the world's sixth most corrupt country, according to watchdog Transparency International.
Bribery is not part of every transaction. But without it, official files can become "lost", and services that should take days can take weeks, months, or forever.
Meanwhile, politicians and government officials become mysteriously wealthy. One provincial commissioner who died recently left behind €6.5 million, including four housing estates and a three-star hotel.
Many Kenyans blame their president of 24 years, Daniel arap Moi, for allowing, even encouraging, the rot to spread. But they have also felt powerless to change the situation - until now.
With landmark elections due in December, when the 79-year-old autocrat is due to step down, public outrage about corruption and economic decline are growing. At an opposition rally last Monday, more than 80,000 people thronged into a Nairobi park to sing, dance and issue deafening chants of "Moi must go".
The wave of hostility has been sparked by a massive blunder on President Moi's part, which could ruin his plans for a quiet retirement.
His ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) party has been split in two by his plan to impose Uhuru Kenyatta, son of independence leader Jomo Kenyatta, as his favoured candidate for the December election.
The move has created enormous resentment within KANU, and last week a slew of senior ministers and officials defected to the opposition. But it is also unpopular among many ordinary Kenyans, who see the politically inexperienced Mr Kenyatta as a puppet that would protect the interests of the corrupt elite around Moi once he leaves power.
Corruption has come to permeate all levels of society in Kenya. At the airport, signs in the arrivals lounge read "No bribes should be given or accepted", while in the back rooms customs officials shake down traders. In the city centre, a new passport, driving licence or even title deeds to someone else's land can be obtained by giving "kitu kidogo" - Swahili for "something small".
According to a recent Transparency International survey, urban-dwelling Kenyans pay on average 16 bribes a month.
Opposition politicians know corruption is a key election issue. National Alliance Party of Kenya leader Mr Mwai Kibaki noted at a fundraising dinner last week that in 1971 Singapore and a Kenya were at the same level of development. Today Singapore has a per capita income of $19,500 while Kenya's has stagnated at $350.
"Corruption is what has brought us from the path of growth downwards," he said.
Mr Kenyatta has also spoken out against corruption, noting that he has no record of corrupt dealings himself and, if elected, will be beholden to nobody.
His supporters note that some opposition figures have skeletons in the closet, particularly former vice-president Mr Saitoti, who played a key role in a $1 billion scandal during the early 1990s.
Kenyans find it hard to imagine life without "kitu kidogo".
Alex Karanja recently visited the immigration building. When the clerk processed his papers quickly and without a demand for money, he left feeling something was wrong. "I felt guilty for not giving chai to that young lady," he said. "It shows how far this problem has gone."