Java and beyond: Shopping with Conscience PDF Print E-mail
Written by Philo Ikonya   
Saturday, 02 August 2008

Before I share some thoughts about Java, I would like to quote dear Old Chesterton from his essay, the Bluff of Big Shops  in The Outline of Sanity. Gilbert Keith (G.K.) Chesterton won my heart when I was young with his poem, The Donkey.

In spite of his orthodoxy, it is impossible to ignore Chesterton's wisdom or the question of how these tie in with the Java case. Chesterton is however reputed to be unfailingly prophetic.

I am certainly not protesting against Nairobi's Java for being a big coffee shop. To paraphrase from Chesterton,

Twice, an editor has told me, in so many words, that he dared not print what I had written because it would offend the advertisers of his paper. The presence of such pressure exists anywhere in a more silent and subtle form. But I have a great respect for the honesty of this particular editor; for it was evidently as near to complete honesty as the editor of an important weekly magazine could possibly go. He told the truth about the falsehood he had to tell. On both those occasions he denied me the liberty of expression because I said in my work that the widely advertised stores and large shops were really worse, that they gave less value to the consumer, than little shops.

Back to old faithful Chesterton and the Bluff of Big Shops, he offers,

"If we collected all the stories from all the housewives and householders about the big shops sending the wrong goods, smashing the right goods, forgetting to send any sort of goods, we should behold a welter of inefficiency. There are far more blunders in a big shop than ever happen in a small shop."

I, even before proof of innocence of the accused owner of Java in a case in which he is said to have sexually abused children, ask Java to respond immediately, for no reason other than the fact that the firm is itself a person in our midst. I mean: Java the business is a legal person that is related to the accused. And a person in Java's sense may be a thing, a business that operates and employs my cousin, but it is also a person, since those who have a stake in holding this being together and guiding it to my benefit and that of my society are persons of a rational nature - Mr. So and So, much like you Kimani  or you Paul.

It is we who opt to do the honorable thing regardless of the law. Good faith is enough. I would be surprised, as a customer, if I entered or passed any of the Java restaurants and, instead of the good aroma of coffee, my nostrils were hit by the rotten smell of a coffee factory. I hope that not only would the owner of Java worry, but that his customers, waiters, friends, environmentalists, City Council askaris and anyone with a concern for the welfare of the public would worry too. Friends of Java in that situation should be the first to investigate the stench and ask that it be neutralized as quickly as possible - if only for appearance's sake - at least with some substance, some confection that stays the stench until it is dealt with. 

Cooperation in good and evil is not something that the church teaches because it is convenient. It is a mechanism that society itself has evolved. I want, most of the time, to feel like I am cooperating for good, that my associations are at worst harmless.  Still, and it happens to all of us, we sometimes  find ourselves to have been cooperating with, or working for the benefit of a cause we discover is inconsistent with our values. But whenever there is a whiff, the slightest suspicion of our being involved in the furtherance of an enterprise that is engaged in, or benefitting, or sustaining an immoral detestable cause, we try - or at least ought to try - to make a little effort to remove ourselves from such association. 

I feel I should do something about the image present in the mirror. And it matters not that the next place I might choose to sit and have a coffee, or buy my next basket of groceries is also implicated in some form of socially and morally questionable endeavour that I am unaware of. As soon as I am aware of it, I would - actually, should - retreat. No one told the women and men in that village I know to stop buying mandazi from the kiosk of a man who was eventually discovered to have been sodomising little boys come to him to buy a ndazi. He may have bribed the magistrate on this case, but eventually society's glare made sure he closed shop and left. That pleases me. 

When I read about Del Monte, the fruit people, in Al Amin Mazrui's Kilio cha Haki, 27 years ago, I woke up to the pain they caused. I would have nothing to do with the owners of a farm whose farm-side operations led to mothers miscarrying and little children having dogs set on them, a colossal farm on whose boundaries bodies were once regularly picked up. A farm which had an encounter with Kenya Human Rights Commission for what will remain Public Relations reasons until we hear of improvements. A farm, a corporation that still owes us answers. A farm whose precedents have led to sisal farms in the same area taking advantage of farm workers who know no reprieve on public holidays. (Do you remember that clip on Kenyatta Day last year? Was it on KTN?) At any rate, and for many years now, there has been in my spirit a firm rejection of all Del Monte products whenever I saw them.  

I am moved by GK's call for a boycott of big shops in his day. It is clear that if we came to the conclusion that big shops ought to be boycotted, and had justification sufficient for this, we could boycott them as easily as we should (I hope) boycott shops selling instruments of torture, or poisons for private use in the home. In other words, this first and fundamental predicate for the success of such an effort is not a question of dealing with the adjustments we would have to make but of will. If we choose to make a vow, if we chose to make a league, pledge ourselves to dealing only with little local shops and never with large corporations, the campaign could have every chance of success as did the Land Campaign in Ireland . It would probably be nearly as successful. It will be said of course that consumers will go to the best shop, especially the one offering the lowest price. The Irish boycotters show this need not be the case. They did not take the best offer. 

Now, when this story, the Java allegations, first came up I had expected to get e-mail from Concerned Kenya Writers on the subject or from Kenyans for Peace Through Justice (KPTJ) but I got none. I decided to do an email to CKW; I made it quite clear that I would not sit at Java and have coffee as though nothing was amiss.  I was hoping for solidarity, but still, silence.  It turned out that some people felt it was too much ado about a businessman who has not even been proven guilty; and, perhaps even unproductive - as one went on to explain, some 200 Kenyans or so working for Java would lose their jobs and then what would we have gained?

But not everyone was unmoved. Later, at a reception hosted by a women's rights NGO, I was informed that the Forum for African Women Education (FAWE), and other rights organizations, had circulated an email against Java until the matter was concluded in court. Nor was that the only step taken. A couple days later, a mobiliser for a demo against state agents involved in trafficking a little girl (for reasons yet to be understood) told me about the mention of this case on Miserable Monday (the 14th July, when the sun deserted Nairobi bila kwaheri!)

The accused appeared before the judge at the High Court, Nairobi. Activists belonging to a team called Men Against Gender Violence were present. Apparently, the case file was missing (usually a case of innocent until proven innocent) and the case was not listed on the notice board. The activists exerted pressure; the file was produced, the case mentioned. (Or so says Appolo Mwangi, who was in the group.) Afterwards, about 50 activists left for Java on Mama Ngina Street where they each ordered black coffee. Once served, they stared at the coffee and left. What puzzles them today is that neither action was reported by the mainstream media.

But still we fight, each of us in our small ways. Among oppressed people, nothing is more destructive than fatalism and the acceptance of oppressive, immoral suthority. When people in positions of moral and financial elevation are mentioned in matters like these, an immediate show of displeasure demonstrates the cohesion and solidarity in the face of oppression that destroys fatalism - the very sign, even from those with little power, that society is alive and breathing.


Philo Ikonya
About the author:
Philo Ikonya, who recently contested the Kiambaa Parliamentary seat, is a Kenyan human rights activist, ardent poet/writer and lecturer.
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Zimbabwean lesson
written by emmo opoti , August 03, 2008
We lament of course the, all too Kenyan, impulse to lapidation (due process being the time delay in which suitable sticks and stones are gathered into righteous arms). A moratorium on just this is one of the long-standing successes of human rights activists around the world.

This is not to say I am unsympathetic to the call for a boycott on 'big shops.' Local is often better (see discussion on Nakumatt), and as oil prices continue to rise, greater local production and local trade will take on a more urgent economic sense, even if the moral one takes longer to establish in the public psyche.

For those of us who believe that it is only more business, especially an explosion of SMEs that can save Kenya from herself, here's support for your ban, and here's a hope that a number of farmers' cooperatives can take advantage and open their own chains, not just for coffee but across the board. This is the crucial factor in the success of any boycott, the supply of a viable alternative. Here we have one that could tick both the moral and the political box.
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ethical shopping and brand loyalty
written by Stephen Wanyama , August 04, 2008
This is of course a big industry in the West, with stickers declaring Fair Trade, or Free Range eggs, etc. This is a luxury that only a sliver of the Kenyan middle class can afford, that if they care at all. By the way, what is the special lure of Java? The name? The association with Indonesian exoticism? The Sun Microsystems Trademark? The waitresses? What does Java or Del Monte give so many people? If these justifications for loyalty are compelling to the public, it will matter little whether the proprietor is a genocidal bastard or a mere shop-lifter.

Remember large sections of the Kenyan middle class voted Odinga because he was brave, new, younger, etc. We are not yet sophisticated enough, or altruistic enough to make moral decisions, not even such minor ones, especially not against powerful institutions. Remember also Kenyans are among the world's most pro-American people.
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go away
written by Daniel.Waweru , August 04, 2008
We are not yet sophisticated enough, or altruistic enough to make moral decisions, not even such minor ones, especially not against powerful institutions. Remember also Kenyans are among the world's most pro-American people.

It's rational for Kenyans to be among the world's most pro-American people: one of our own (I speak loosely) is running for the Presidency of that country; the Americans have been very generous in their funding of anti-AIDS programs in Kenya; and an entire stratum of our post-independence professional class was formed at American universities.

As for the claim that Kenyans are unable to organise their consumption patterns for moral reasons, the history of Castle lager in Kenyan provides a decisive counterexample.
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written by Stephen Wanyama , August 05, 2008
It's rational for Kenyans to be among the world's most pro-American people: one of our own (I speak loosely) is running for the Presidency of that country; the Americans have been very generous in their funding of anti-AIDS programs in Kenya; and an entire stratum of our post-independence professional class was formed at American universities.

As for the claim that Kenyans are unable to organise their consumption patterns for moral reasons, the history of Castle lager in Kenyan provides a decisive counterexample.
You go away. American interests continue to ensure Kenyan poverty, being tied to America has endangered Kenyan lives, and it is definitely not a moral decision given what America is doing and continues to do around the world. A more sophisticated understanding of moral decisions than a mere, they once did us some good would be useful. Any news out of Geneva? Castle? What did that have to do with morality? Or is silly nationalism now morally sound?
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on boycotts & a civil tradition
written by Ngigi , August 05, 2008
Philo,

Fantastic piece I must say. If the world is to learn something from me (hubris check here!) it is that the power of one, is the power of many. I am, apparently, very good at personal boycotts. I have not purchased Delamare products or Java coffees since the game ranger & little girl were er...apparently denied rights to life & wholesome sexuality. I do it not so much as to bankrupt the fellows ( as is happening with the Delamare dairy operations) but because there is much to admire in the civil law tradition. Where the evidence suggest it, it is more prudent to judge people as guilty before proven otherwise.

This approach ensures that people - natural or legal - take positive steps to assure that public that their practices are ethical and beneficial.

Unfortunately, Java will not witness a mass boycott in our society because Nairobi coffee culture is in large part a self-actualisation facade. A certain class of people feels that they have to coffee, to be made. Moral atheism then takes a venal course through Mama Ngina, Kimathi, Loita & Muindi Mbingu streets carrying with it any attempts at rational reflection on the consequences of human actions.

I wonder how many journalists have pondered over the question of why it costs Ksh. 150 for a cappucinno while a farmer in Kiambu, 15 km away, earns less than Ksh. 30 for a kilo of cherry. This while, KPCU management is being forced out by an irrational & utterly rapacious board. Maybe they discuss these things at Savannah or Dormans now that Lavazza is gone.

Ngigi wa Kamau
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pro-USA
written by Daniel.Waweru , August 05, 2008
You go away. American interests continue to ensure Kenyan poverty, being tied to America has endangered Kenyan lives, and it is definitely not a moral decision given what America is doing and continues to do around the world. A more sophisticated understanding of moral decisions than a mere, they once did us some good would be useful. Any news out of Geneva? Castle? What did that have to do with morality? Or is silly nationalism now morally sound?

Your argument was that Kenyan support for America, and the love affair that we seem to have with America, is proof of our lack of moral sophistication. That argument fails the laugh test. We've been beneficiaries of a great deal of American aid - especially concerning AIDS - and technical expertise. Smith Hempstone stood up to Moi, publicly and unashamedly. There's the Obama factor, as well as the fact that many of us, like Obama Sr., were trained in America. Our immediate experience with the Americans has been overwhelmingly positive. Quite rationally, Kenyans, like others, give priority, when deciding whom to like, to their experience, or the immediate experience of those close to them.

You argue that American policies, and our affiliation to them, harm our interests. That may be true, but it doesn't show your point; to do so, you would have to show that the benefits from our relationship with America are outweighed by the disbenefits (or that it is rational to think so) . You've come nowhere near doing so.
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written by Stephen Wanyama , August 06, 2008
Walmart throw great parties for their staff I hear. How very generous of them, and how understandable that their employees should be nice and good fans of the company. Similarly, Java, Del Monte, Delamere dairies etc make good coffee, juices and canned fruit, yoghurt, etc. Del Monte and the Delameres contribute a lot in the way of clinics and scholarships too, I am told. So we can turn a blind eye to all else and focus on the good, people like Philo have not after all been harmed themselves by the Javan have they?

Waweru a more sophisticated response please. The American system continues to keep millions of Kenyans indigent, even as the odd one or two benefits from their military aid and kindly scholarships. The effects of the Fed's tax on the globe (through fiat currency), or restrictions to free trade (including subsidies) or their endless wars and the effects these have on global life outcomes, etc. But then again, why get sophisticated about it, we can just be happy that we can get eye candy and cappucinnos in the ambience of Java. You sir are the proof itself.
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moral relativism
written by Stephen Wanyama , August 06, 2008
Waweru, I doubt very much either that Kenyan pro-Americanism has anything to do with US assistance to Kenya, that would mean similar love for the Japanese, the Germans or the Scandinavians. Also, we are hardly the largest recipients of American largesse, many (doubtless more civilised) countries with much more of this, show greater ummmm, restraint in their approbation. Cf. Japan, South Korea, Germany, etc.

Even worse, this chumminess with the US gave us the Kenyatta state (and its extreme rightward shift), gave us the quite simply egregious aggression against the Somali people and like I said above, global economic conditions that make prosperity close to impossible for many poor Kenyans.

But love need not be rational, and morality too is very relative. Still, it should not be too much to ask that a middle class Kenyan hold views a little more intellectually complicated than those of your average Kenyan. (Obama Snr!! God!) Back to the thread, No One Makes You Shop at Walmart.
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controlled extremist
written by Philo Ikonya , August 13, 2008
Thanks Ngigi for an encouraging response. I have been off mail for sometime and I was glad to read a straightfoward, not fumbling for philosophy and stand response from you. Yes, we are togethere on belief in personal boycotts or even just a small group thing. I believe in the power of individuals. I am not even a coffee person and I got more acquainted with coffee out there after coming from Kiambu. That is where I learnt what a cappucino is and what it is vc expresso. Such places are not for me even now. I attended a coffee forum early this year. It was an initiative of a group called Ufadhili that deals with social responsibility. I have not heard from them on Java! It is amazing. In the forum, some coffee farmers said they were getting 10bob still not more than 14 in the places that were doing well. I need to find out the current... so, it is even worse. And we watched a documentary on the coffee farmer and it was pathetic (set in Nyeri and in Kiambu).

I have been thinking that maybe to appear sane I should not question the 'innocent tillp guilty' rap but i stick to it cos on this side of theworld and elsewhere the innocent seem to be perpetually guilty of some crimes. They take the punishments all the time. I met someone at Savanna today. He likes it. But the guilt haunts me. It is about the cost. Particularly today, a street girl of about 15 ( there are more of them since the IDPs issue which am so mad about I think to camp at the Mathare, ( Nakuru too) still existing camp often but with a large group of women- still doing groundwork) had been pestering me for 5 shillings just outside. It pains me to know the prices in there.... and her out there. And that I cannot do anything for her with five shillings ( she will just go high on something to forget life, i did not give) and worse still, that the owners of many big places around and holders of big accounts will take her body tonight and pretend to take her out of poverty as they give her Aids) yaani, sometimes it does not fit in my little head and heart!

cheers.... am a controlled extremist ( proven i think)
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