It is a warm Sunday afternoon and I am walking along the streets of Nairobi. A good number of people are from church, looking innocent and soothed into joining the heavenly trains.
The men of cloth might have done well in church. The scriptures note that the Angels would be delighted to receive one into the kingdom of God. Now in this case, they will be more than delighted as the number of people who have received the word that lifts them up closer to God is huge.
In town, fathers are doing well by either taking children to Uhuru and Central park for leisure time (few people know where the boundary between the two parks is, ha-ha). There, children get decorated on their faces, I hear they call it face decoration, I call it face destruction,… they acquire balloons which burst as soon as their fathers pay for them wste of resources hah?, as some are in dhows to be shown the stagnant waters of the park.
I think they would enjoy cruising from Homa Bay to Mbita through the lake. Some are in merry-go-rounds and having fun. It is good for their brains as the following day they will be getting to bookwork and that one mutaiji teacher (Each school has at least one)
After the parks they settle somewhere along Tom Mboya or Moi Avenue. Chicken, French fries (chips) and soda are ordered. This leaves the fathers’ pockets derelict (I pity fathers sometimes). I call it digging one grave to fill an empty one.
Something then detains my thinking, it’s the food. The chips are served hot and oily. Some red colored paste is applied. I am told it’s called pili pili and another tomato paste. Salt is added. Then toothpick is used instead of a fork, though one must be careful not to take much to avoid pricking their own hands due to Newton’s Third Law (I leave that to scientists).
For quite a long time I have the observation of what is used in cooking these foods. Somewhere along Moi Avenue (name withheld for fear of business defamation) the cooking oil looks stained. Black particles can be seen in it. They must be remains of the previous ingredients.
At this time one ought to realize that what they are eating is not safe. The same oil used to cook today can be used tomorrow and for the rest of the week. My little chemistry reminds me that it creates radicals which are sources of ailments in the long run. Their carcinogenic nature causes cancer and atherosclerosis. The two lead to increased cholesterol levels that block arteries and veins. The result is a heart disease.
The problem could be avoided if our hotels knew how to reuse these oils. The best thing is to store the oil in a closed container once it cools, recheck the color of the oil. If it is dark and turning to grey, it would require changing.
It is time that Kenyans changed their lifestyles. The foods they eat will have effects on their physical bodies. They are too oily and made from impure oils. If the physical body is affected, all other mental and psychological faculties become ineffective. The result is slow but sure death.