With his five-year-old daughter beside him, Jospeter Mbuba stacked slices of bread near the three cups of “real Kenyan tea” and described his childhood in his poverty-stricken homeland of Kenya.
But the election of a new president, who promises to fight corruption and make education accessible, has given the Kenyan students at LSU hope for a better future when they return.
Mwai Kibaki was sworn into office on Dec. 30, 2002, as Kenya’s third president. This marked the first time since their independence 63 years ago that the people of Kenya have elected a leader not attached to the unpopular Kenya African National Union party.
Kibaki takes over a country still struggling economically and suffering from accusations that elections in 1992 and 1997 were rigged by then- president Daniel arap Moi.
Mbuba, a third-year graduate student in sociology, said rampant favoritism among government officials created a corruption problem in Kenya.
“Money was finding its way into pockets,” he said. “There were many people at the top. The government was too huge.”
The Washington Post reported that corruption was such a problem, many countries cut their funding to Kenya, and the International Monetary Fund withheld its financial aid.
Mwamburi Mcharo, a graduate student in horticulture, said he hopes Kibaki’s moral integrity is better than the previous leaders.
“Our previous regime wasn’t concerned with implementing economic policies,” he said.
As a result of the corruption, much of the population lives on $1 a day with no running water and no electricity, The Washington Post said. Hundreds of Kenyans die from HIV-related illnesses, yet many hospitals are equipped with only rubbing alcohol and aspirin.
The ruling party had become so unpopular with the people, Mbuba said, 14 of the opposing parties came together with the sole purpose of ousting Moi from office.
Kibaki made some promises that were extremely attractive, Mbuba said.
In addition to fighting corruption, Kibaki promised and delivered free public education for everyone.
Mbuba’s parents, who are small-scale coffee farmers, managed to pay the fees so that he and his seven siblings could attend school, despite the financial constraints.
“My parents did not have a sizable income, but they would sell some livestock to pay fees. I barely made it through,” he said.
They would even sell unripened crops in advance to make their payments, Mbuba said. He spent every evening and weekend in fields at his home.
As one of the top two students in college, Mbuba was given a job, but employment in Kenya is hardly guaranteed.
“If I had been number three, I would still be looking for a job,” he said.
But Mbuba, like many Kenyans, now has hope that opportunities will flourish under the new president.
“General elections are characterized by violence,” Mbuba said. “But this election, not even an egg was broken.”
Simon Mwongela, a graduate student in chemistry, illustrates the Kenyan attitude toward the future.
“We are hoping that things are going to change,” Mwongela said. “There’s a lot of promise for our country.”