Tales from Nairobians facing racism at home and away
The entrance to the Alchemist and Nairobi Flea Market in Westlands, Nairobi. PHOTO | ABIGAIL ARUNGA
Reports about claims of racism at the disgraced Alchemist bar in Westlands, Nairobi, have opened a can of worms and offered a chance for affected Kenyans to open up.
Kenyans have recounted humiliating tales of racial segregation in popular coffee shops, restaurants, hotels and supermarkets where Caucasian customers are often given preferential treatment.
Last weekend, managers of the Alchemist Bar were accused of discriminating against customers of African origin, preferring to attend to white and Asian revellers.
In a video circulating on social media, a bouncer was seen directing a customer to go to another queue, allegedly because of his race.
"This is racist; I swear. I wanted to record. There is a white people’s line and a black people’s line," a man was heard saying.
This led to the closure of the nightclub, pending investigations by the Nairobi County government.
"After careful consultations with the Nairobi County government, the Alchemist has agreed to close its doors while a thorough investigation is conducted over the next few days," the bar announced.
But to some Kenyans, racial discrimination is a is widespread evil in the tourism and hospitality industry, with locals subjected to profiling and often getting poor services and general neglect while foreigners receive top-notch treatment.
After living in the United States for three years, George Mwangi returned home for the Christmas holidays.
He was excited to be back home, touring the coastal region to sample its beachfront hotels.
He expected to get treatment that matched the amount of money he had paid.
But he got a rude shock at one hotel where he had gone to have lunch with his friends.
Were busy
“We arrived at the hotel and sat there for 20 minutes. At first, we thought they (waiters) were busy until a waiter passed us and served the Caucasian customers who had come in after us. I remember my friend stood up and almost caused a scene,” Mr Mwangi said.
But he is not alone. Sheila Nanjala feels that workers in most five-star hotels tend to believe that African women who patronise their facilities are searching for white men.
“It is hard for us ladies because most think you have come in to look for a white man. You enter a hotel and they look at you weirdly. I have experienced that a lot, but thank God I used to visit the place with my husband, who is black by the way,” Ms Nanjala said.
“Racism happens everywhere, not in the hotels alone. You will experience them in the supermarket, any local shops, schools everywhere. I don’t know if their bosses tell them or it’s something that they pick up. It’s bad, especially in the tourism sector.”
Lewis said that while studying in the United Kingdom 10 years ago, he encountered subtle racism in London where pedestrians would sometimes change their direction especially after spotting him.
“Some also refuse to take the seat next to you on the Tube (underground train) if it’s the only one available. But where I really experienced racism is in Edinburgh in Scotland where some people tried to remove me from a pub where I had gone to sample their scotch whiskey,” he said.
“My female colleague had a woman brazenly tell her that she couldn’t sit next to her during one of the comedy shows.”
On one occasion, he said, a young boy on a bicycle emptied a bottle of water on his head while he was walking home one evening.
But he said he had a more traumatic incident five years ago at a five-star hotel in Nairobi where he had taken his wife to celebrate their anniversary.
Queued behind them
“I went to Norfolk hotel and there was a mzungu (white) couple being attended to. I queued behind them. Then another mzungu couple came and stood behind me. The attendant craned to apologise to the couple behind me: ‘I'll be with you in a moment.’ Had the couple wished to be attended to ahead of me, they'd have but they let me go first,” Mr Lewis said, adding that it dawned on him later that he had just been discriminated against.
For years, Kenyans have lamented being discriminated against in hotels. In fact, in his best-selling memoir Dreams from My Father, former US President Barack Obama recounts being segregated when he visited the New Stanley Hotel in Nairobi with his half-sister Auma Obama. They were among white tourists.
"They were everywhere – Germans, Japanese, British, Americans – many of them dressed in safari suits like extras on a movie set," he writes.
“Just then, I noticed an American family sit down a few tables from us. Two of the African waiters immediately sprang into action, both of them smiling from one ear to the other.”
He recalls that they tried to catch the attention of other waiters, to no avail, and eventually left in a huff, with Ms Auma returning to give the waiters a piece of her mind.
Nairobi hotel
But Kenyan waiters say they offer preferential treatment to Caucasians because they leave them a bigger tip than local customers.
“I work at a restaurant and I see it all the time. I work as a waiter and the Caucasians give larger tips than the locals. I think that’s why we prefer serving them more, which is something that we got there,” said Njeri, a waiter at a Nairobi hotel.
The Kenyan Constitution prohibits direct or indirect discrimination against any person based on race, sex, pregnancy, marital status, health status, ethnic or social origin, colour, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, dress, language or birth.
