This is Why People Daily is Kenya’s Free and Most Expensive Newspaper

Nairobi residents can for sure assert that People Daily is a free newspaper as we have always seen them issue their publication free of charge; no payment needed for one to grab a copy. But a second analysis of People Daily will confirm to you that the newspaper is NOT “free” after all.

Every morning one gets into the city centre just along the way mostly near roundabouts you are likely to meet People Daily venders randomly issuing free newspaper to motorists. Have you ever taken your time to analyze the way they issue those “free” newspapers? If you have by now you will probably note that they don’t issue them randomly at all; it is a well calculated step. You will note that the newspapers are only given to people driving/who are in personal vehicles and NEVER on the public vehicles or rather matatus.

I have witnessed a couple of times matatu passengers mercilessly pleading with the vendors to give them the “free” copy only to be ignored as if they are not seen or something. Having plied both Jogoo and Mombasa roads in the morning at different times; I noted People Daily’s vendors on the roundabout near city stadium where jogoo road joins Landhies road and at Nyayo stadium roundabout deliberately deny passengers on the various matatus a free copy of their newspaper. However motorist on their private cars were given copies and it even shocked me to see the vendors actually ‘hawking’ the newspapers on the windows of private cars while matatu passengers were begging to be given one.

The whole incident just reminds me of India’s caste system where those at the bottom of the hierarchy are less humans. People Daily claims to be giving anybody a free publication but in essence it is only promoting social stratification in the country; to them matatu passengers are just a ‘nobody’ as they are only concerned with people who according to them have the money. It is usually perceived that anybody who drives a private vehicle is somehow rich and this is best confirmed by the discrimination People Daily is consciously or unconsciously promoting.

By the way I am not the only one who has noted this; several people too have witnessed for themselves and have shared their stories as well. This article is not to tarnish the reputation of People Daily but it is written with an intention of correcting a social wrong/discrimination. That is just my opinion, what is yours?