Big in America?? No. But...

Ben Carson: Big in Kenya

The presidential candidate might just be the most popular self-help author in East Africa.

By Justin Lynch

AIROBI—Every morning, Peter Johnstone arrives an hour early at the Text Book Centre bookstore where he works here in Kenya, to read Ben Carson’s autobiographical books. Sometimes when it’s slow, Johnstone will covertly read Carson’s books while standing to fool his boss into thinking he is working.

As he leads me to where Carson’s books are displayed, a man in a brown leather jacket is already there, reading the back covers. Johnstone tells me that Carson’s books are some of the most popular in the store. He’s currently trying to make his way through Think Big, but is worried he might not finish before his short-term contract at the bookstore ends in January. After that, Johnstone won’t have access to Carson’s books, which are likely too expensive for him to buy.

“They are very inspirational. The one I am reading right now, it emphasizes his background and his family,” Johnstone says.

Americans who aren’t familiar with evangelical literature mostly know Carson as an obscure and slightly mysterious figure—celebrity doctor-turned-conservative presidential candidate whose early surge to the top of the Republican polls has mystified many U.S. observers. But here in East Africa, it would surprise no one. Dr. Ben Carson, who cancelled his visit to the country last week, citing security concerns, is a towering figure—a motivational Christian author who spearheaded the region’s popular self-help genre and whose dramatic success story is an inspiration to countless readers. His books—Think Big, Take the Risk and Gifted Hands—are best-sellers, required reading in high schools and, according to a former editor of a major paper here, bookshelf staples, while black market copies of these tomes outsell others in Kenya’s bustling street markets.

President Barack Obama, whom Kenyans revere, might have an edge on Carson in terms of celebrity; but the retired neurosurgeon’s books, with their powerful Christian messages, steadily outsell the president’s more cerebral ones.

They have a deeply personal resonance in the country: As is the case with many Kenyans, when Johnstone reads Carson’s autobiographical books, the main character isn’t actually Ben Carson. The books mirror so many facets of Johnstone’s life that it’s easy to think of himself as the main character. Like Carson, Johnstone is a Christian. Like Carson’s rise from the streets of Detroit, Johnstone hopes he can hustle his way out of the nearby Kibera slums. Like Carson’s mother, Johnstone’s is strict and believes strongly in the value of education.

When I tell my Kenyan friends that most people in the United States only know Carson through his politics and not his books, they are universally shocked. Still, many here remain convinced that anyone who has overcome so much in his or her life must also be able to make a good president.

“‘I don’t know so much about his political career or field,” Johnstone says of Carson, “but one thing I am sure about is that he has been through a lot, and that can actually make him a good politician.’”

He pauses, and asks, “What do you think are the chances of him actually getting elected?”

Carson’s book Gifted Hands was published in 1990. It is an account of his early life—growing up on the rough streets of Detroit and struggling in school—and his path to finding purpose as a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon. His next two books, Think Big and Take the Risk are motivational and infused with Christian principles. The three are popular throughout East Africa.

“The poverty background [in his books] is almost the same as what you can find here in Kenya. They make people feel—“Yes we can!” says Joel Kichwen, head of marketing at Biblica, who publishes Carson’s books in East Africa. Kichwen tells me his job is easy—the books sell themselves. “The youth can identify with [Carson] because he talked about what he did when he was young, and it relates with school kids who are at the bottom of their class.”

Rose Birenge, director of publishing at Biblica, says that faith and inspirational books are among the most popular in Kenya because of the nation's rampant corruption. The police frequently solicit bribes, and rarely a day goes by without local newspapers reporting some kind of alleged graft. “The mentality of this generation is like, ‘If you can uphold values, we will be OK as a country,” Birenge says. Carson’s books “bring values of hard work.”

Besides the Bible, Carson’s work is the most popular book Biblica sells (except for a few churches, the company is the only authorized seller in East Africa)—but Nigerian counterfeiters have recently eaten into their profits.

There’s one area of downtown Nairobi where these boot-legged Ben Carson tomes are particularly prolific. Aggressive vendors swarm the overcrowded streets and make even the most trivial knick-knacks seem like they are customized for each passerby. In this land of mismatched shoes and plastic toys that look vaguely dangerous, one thing is unmistakable: Dr. Ben Carson, inspirational author, dominates.

One street vendor after another in downtown Nairobi tells me that Carson’s books are among the most-popular books they sell. (Almost none of the 30 or so vendors here sell Carson’s books that are published by Biblica.) One street vendor, Kevin Onyinkwa, tells me that the local Somali diaspora has recently taken a particular interest in Carson’s books.

Think Big and Gifted Hands occupy two of the premier spots in Onyinkwa’s lineup on the sidewalk. Coincidentally, they have been placed near Why We Want You to Be Rich by Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki. Onyinkwa even sells a TV adaptation of Gifted Hands on DVD where Carson is played by Cuba Gooding Jr.

Onyinkwa tells me that Carson’s book sales have gone down since his presidential campaign started to get media attention in October. Still, he is wild about Carson and his chances of being elected as president. His argument centers on how Carson has overcome so much in his life that even though he doesn’t have political experience, the former neurosurgeon could figure it out.

“I will vote for Ben Carson!” Onyinkwa proclaims at the end of his speech.

A security guard listening to our conversation corrects him. “You can’t vote in the United States.”

“I would vote for him,” Onyinkwa shoots back, just as confidently.

The street vendors here tell me that Carson’s books are popular for a few reasons. Kenyans seek out self-help and inspirational reads, the most popular genre they sell. Carson’s ability to infuse Christian principals without lecturing makes his books popular, as well. Kenya is deeply religious, and when Pope Francis visited Nairobi in November, the city practically shut down.

“I think it’s because his books are very easy to read,” says one vendor, displaying a collection of self-help and high school textbooks on a flattened cardboard box. “People who are beginners will read this, and then move on.”

Many in this hardworking downtown district tell me they also can relate to Carson’s scrappy upbringing. Ester Wabgari, a route controller for a minibus company, tells me that she’s reading Gifted Hands for the second time—she read it in high school many years ago. She likes the books because she, like Carson’s mom, is a single mother. The paperbacks, Wabgari says, showed her how to find purpose despite her struggle.

According to Kevin Kelley, the U.S. correspondent for Kenya’s largest newspaper, The Daily Nation, Carson’s views square with the average Kenyan. “There is no real left and right in Kenyan politics, it’s tribal,” he says. “Kenyans would probably have no problem, and welcome Carson’s stand on abortion, for example. He doesn’t seem to be an enthusiastic supporter of same-sex marriage also, so that would be OK with most Kenyans,” Kelley adds.

But it’s not really about the politics.

Carson’s popularity here is reminiscent of another African-American candidate for president—Barack Obama. Before he announced his run for the presidency in 2006, Obama visited his Kenyan relatives. Obama’s step-grandmother, Mama Sarah, still lives in the village of Kogelo, and his father was Kenyan and a member of the Luo tribe.

Early this month, Carson also scheduled a visit to Kenya, along with stops in Nigeria and Zambia at the end of the month. “My ancestors are from the Kenya-Tanzania region, the Turkana tribe. I’ve had all of that traced back,” Carson told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.

And yet, despite the popularity of Carson’s books and overlap of political views here, the candidate was criticized in the nation for his geographical flub: The Turkana people don’t live along the border of Kenya and Tanzania—they live in northern Kenya. In a country where tribal identity is perhaps just as important as national identity, Carson’s error was lampooned in the press and became a joke among Kenyans I talked to. It would be similar to saying that New York lies on the border to Mexico. There also are doubts about Carson even being a Turkana.

In 2009, Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research Henry Louis Gates, Jr. published the results of Carson’s DNA testing as part of a series that explored the ancestors of prominent African-Americans. It found that Carson was a descendant of the Makua people in northern Mozambique on his father’s side. The testing found that on the matrilineal side, he did have some Turkana roots, in addition to six other tribes across Africa. To put Carson’s Turkana claim into context based on this evidence, it is like Elizabeth Warren’s assertion that she is a Native American because she might be 1/32nd Cherokee.

“The revelation that he is just wrong about the geography and about the ethnicity, I would think that many Kenyans say that the guy doesn’t know what he is talking about,” Kelley says.

His reputation is big enough to survive that gaffe.  And yet, by the same calculation, Carson’s political campaign could be the death knell for his self-help success.

A few stories above the Fontana Bookshop in Nairobi is the headquarters of the Catholic Church in Kenya. Outside the shop is a giant “Welcome Pope Francis” sign, and the inside of the book shop is lined with pictures of Pope Francis and Pope Benedict.

The shopkeeper, Sarah Mbugua, tells me that Obama’s books were popular when he visited the country this summer, but sales have gone down since. Carson’s books, on the other hand, are consistently popular.

I tell her that Carson canceled his visit because of security concerns, and ask her whether she thinks Carson would be a good president.

She shakes her head so vigorously, I think it might snap off. She doesn’t care much about Carson’s qualifications, but she is concerned about her bottom line. If Carson loses, readers might not continue to view him in the same way. His failure could undermine his perpetual success story.

“For most of us in Kenya, we know him through his books. So when he shifts from that profession to something to do with politics, if he doesn’t win then it will mean he won’t have the same status here.”