Among the many new laws that Kenya has drawn, disdained, passed and withdrawn in this period, most have missed a code of ethics approved by the Parliamentary Commission of Common Sense and Civilisation in Nairobi. It is a regulation on what to put (and not) in your suitcase before leaving for Kenya.

In fact, in addition to the bans, which according to the rapporteurs will make a holiday in Kenya even more memorable, fines and penalties are also being considered.

The Happy Traveler Act, as the regulation is called, - in Italian ‘Codice del Viaggiatore Felice’ - has surprising contours. Above all because it is not equalled by any other country in the world. In short, the state that leads East Africa again earns a record that we sincerely hope can be imitated elsewhere. The Happy Traveller Act will come into force in Kenya from 1 January 2025 and before being promulgated it was discussed and scrutinised by dozens of actors: not only county governors, hotel and B&B managers, representatives of travel and safari agencies, airlines and tourism boards, but also diplomatic delegations from the countries with the most visitors to Kenya (among which, fortunately, Italy is not missing), frequent travellers and above all beach operators' associations.

The objective of the code, as stated in the document presented a few days ago in Nairobi is: ‘to establish the conditions to offer all women and men returning home the best possible travel experience’. And it is precisely from this objective that one can see the willingness to follow the dictates of the President to relaunch and thus fortify his much cherished Tobong'u Lorre! - that ‘Welcome Home!’ in the Turkana language that was already used during the launch of the much-debated ETA (the new electronic travel authorisation effective from 2024).

Going to Kenya, the cradle of humanity to which we belong, is not just a journey but a true return to the origins and hence from this assumption comes the need for a Law that will make the return wonderful for all. Before going into an analysis of the articles to which travellers will have to pay most attention, it is worth emphasising that the Code is also unique and interesting from two further perspectives. Firstly, because it not only determines offences and consequent sanctions, but also qualifies a list of praiseworthy and correct behaviour for which rewards and benefits are provided.

In addition, the Happy Traveller Act will be valid from the check-in counter at the ports and/or airports of departure and therefore travellers, if they contravene the provisions, may be denied boarding to Kenya. But not only that: thanks to the involvement of partner countries, any contraventions could generate penalties, even heavy ones, applied by the country of origin when the tourist returns home. Bearing in mind these certainly unusual but very interesting details, we propose a brief analysis of the most interesting articles.

Among the list of prohibitions and offences, we find in Article 7, Paragraph 3, the Importation Prohibition of Tractiousness and Haughtiness.

This is not to override the traveller's freedom to complain, but is intended to punish pejorative comparisons between Kenya and the country of origin. All travellers who are found criticising the slow service at the chiringuito on the beach will be left free to complain in peace, but beware of those who add insulting phrases such as ‘in Italy they would all have lost their jobs by now’. In this case, the offence of arrogance will be committed and the manager of the chiringuito will be able to appeal to the security services which, if the crime is established, may agree with the country of origin, in this example Italy, to withdraw the traveller's passport.

The logic is: since you value your country so much, let's make sure you stay there.

The offence will occur among others in scenarios in which the tourist judges and compares bumptiously the driving style of his safari driver, the quality of the work of electricians, bricklayers or plumbers, the prices of niche, fresh and imported products.

Also in Article 7 but in Paragraph 4, we read the Prohibition of Public Display of Pietism, with an aggravating circumstance where minors are present. Here the penalties apply mostly locally and in proportion to the budget and lifestyle of the tourist on Kenyan soil. Let us try to explain further: the tourist who exclaims, looking at a hut in a village on the road to Tsavo, ‘Look, they don't even have a bathroom to wash in!’ will be summoned to court to prove how many litres of water he used the night before to shower in the resort.

The punishment will be determined by the consumption in litres, less aggravating circumstances, which are listed in a very detailed annex. Having had running water available, not having turned off the tap between soaping and rinsing, having access to both hot and cold water are all elements that by way of counterbalance increase the penalty, all aimed at promoting awareness. The resort will turn off the taps of the traveller who will be asked to shower in the sea, using only solid soaps at least until the return home. Beware of the across-the-board aggravating circumstance of Pietism offences: adding exclamations such as ‘Poor people’ or similar will result in a fine in addition to the disciplinary one.

Other offences for which there are fines and penalties:

Importing or buying children's sweets on site (penalty is dental costs)

Prohibition of disturbing the public peace by shouting Rafiki and/or Hakuna Matata on the beaches (aggravation from costume to briefs - especially if white - for men)

Prohibition of disparaging assumptions (they don't know... / they still die for...)

Prohibition of criticism of culinary preparations from one's home country cooked locally by restaurants unequivocally run by locals (supageti arabbiatta is sufficient to determine the parentage of a restaurant. If one orders them anyway and then complains the penalty is to organise specific training on that recipe to the entire team of that restaurant and those within a 7 km radius) ...

But there are also prizes and special mentions:

Measures in the field of promoting the import of genuine and dispassionate curiosity

Measures on the promotion of local cuisine (with increasing benefits for those who try increasingly extreme and questionable dishes)

Measures to promote attitudes of patience and acceptance among foreigners

Urgent measures to spread the Swahili language among travellers

Urgent measures to increase unconditional respect imported by travellers

Promotional actions for tourists who respect the terrestrial and marine environment

Above all, I forgot the most important detail...the Parliamentary Commission of Common Sense and Civilisation, does not exist. There is only good advice among us.

--- Michele Senici, 1993. Educator, teacher, project coordinator. I opened Casa Hera in Diani because I did not know where to continue my life. Have I realised this now? Certainly not, but that's OK, at least I observe, I think, I write.