Page 80 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 14

Leadership

And yet it seems that it is writers like ample of this Karuri, who the Daily changed between 2016 and 2018
William and Joan who are somehow Mail article describes as rolling up and Kenya edged out the rest to rule
managing to magically create the ‘each day in a different luxury car’ this business.
desire in the students to cheat their and living in a luxury neighborhood,
way through school as these writ- if he was only worth US$6 million In a 2019 article on npr.org, a stu-
ers deceptively use the ‘reputable’ at the time, then we’re either missing dent was asked why she paid for her
websites to do so – even as they fail another player in the game, or the assignment to be done for her and
to resist the allure of the Americans. game is not being played where she said, ““For me, it was just that the
What a weird narrative. these media houses and experts are work was piling up,” she explains. “As
claiming that it is. 115,000 per year soon as I finish some big assignment, I get
A 2019 article by the Daily Mail worth of 10-page essays is worth assigned more things, more homework for
exposed one of the profiteers from about US$ 57,500,000 at the $50 math, more homework for English. Some
this industry, a Kenyan by the name rate, making Karuri a very small papers have to be six or 10 pages long. ...
of James Karuri, who said he had player indeed, considering that And even though I do my best to manage,
started his essay writing business ‘Kenya rules the world in this type the deadlines come closer and closer, and
while still at the university and had of work’. The Daily Mail added as it’s just ... the pressure.”
grown over time to a place where he a factoid that “One firm offered to “Technically, I don’t think it’s cheating,”
was able to employ 15 administra- create a 30,000-word PhD thesis for the student says. “Because you’re paying
tors and over 80 freelance writers. £22,416. Almost all of these compa- someone to write an essay, which they don’t
At the time of their writing, Karuri nies are based abroad, with many in plagiarize, and they write everything on
was said to have been 36 years old Kenya but others in Eastern Europe their own.”” Asked if she thought
and worth US$ 6 million and to be and India.” They didn’t mention that she was plagiarizing, she said
paying his writers about 50 US cents which this ‘one firm’ was, where it “That’s just a difficult question to an-
per page for a job worth $50 per was located, nor did they provide swer,” she says. “I don’t know how to feel
page. Karuri would have been doing any information from this ‘one about that. It’s kind of like a gray area.
this business for approximately 10 firm’ about how much they may be It’s maybe on the edge, kind of?”
years by the time of their article. earning, paying or how many luxury Besides she adds, she probably won’t
10 years and not a billion dollars in cars they may own. They did not use all of it.”
sight. For him to have made even mention which these ‘many compa-
US$ 1 million, he would have to nies in Kenya’ which the ones that A professor of ethics from the US
have written, or had his team write, were not abroad were or how much that Debora Patta interviewed called
over two thousand 10-page essays. they were earning. They only served Dr. David Rettinger, said, “We trust
Using the number of people name up Mr. Karuri and another Kenyan that our doctor has actually been to
in his team, that would be about 25 gentleman also mentioned in the medical school. Cheating leads us
essays per person. That figure does article, a smaller player, for us to to overall social corruption, because
not include taxes, rent, utilities and heap shame upon. Dr. Lancaster, in it leads us to having a cadre of
salaries paid to his team. 2018, in a separate paper on Kenya’s professionals who can’t actually do
The Daily Mail article stated that ‘contract cheating ways’ had this to the work that they claim they can
there were 115,000 cheating Brit- say: “My recent paper looking at the do.” Meaning that there are a bunch
ish students every year and that ghost writers working internationally of liars who are willing to cheat
“Demand for essays is too huge for many in the contract cheating industry their way through school – including
Kenyan businessmen to ignore. Latest found that the majority of writers those doing medical and engineering
estimates suggest that 115,000 British for contract cheating companies degrees – some of whom are now
students buy essays each year, with the true were based in Kenya.” He didn’t say working in sensitive positions that
number believed to be far higher. ‘Every- that the majority of contract cheat- could lead to or cause the deaths of
thing to do with cheating is more wide- ing companies were based in Kenya, possibly thousands or more due to
spread than we know,’ said Dr Thomas he said that the writers were. He their actual lack of skills and qualifi-
Lancaster, a computer scientist and also said in a 2016 paper published cations. And for the real graduates,
expert in contract cheating. ‘From on slideshare.net, that you can link those like William or Joan or Mary
my research, Kenya rules the world in this to from the 2018 paper, that he had Mbugua (the latter was interviewed
type of work.’” Everyone seems to be found that Indians were the high- in 2019 by the New York Times)
gunning for Kenya, but the numbers est bidders for work, followed by they are keenly aware that the edu-
are just not adding up. Take the ex- Kenya and Morocco. Perhaps things cation system in the US, the UK and

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