Kenya video gamers face uphill battle to make their mark
For
years, the virtual world of video games was the only place where Kenyan gamer
Brian Diang'a felt safe from his abusive, alcoholic father and their unhappy
home in Kibera, Africa's largest slum.
"Gaming
was my only escape," Diang'a said, describing a childhood mired in poverty
and violence.
Popularly
known by his online avatar Beast, the 28-year-old discovered video games when
he was nine.
"My
dad had become an alcoholic and he would come back home in a drunken stupor and
beat up my mom. Home became somewhere I did not want to be."
His
daily visits to gaming dens worried his mother, who believed they were a bad
influence on her son and a distraction from his schoolwork.
"I
would receive a beating from my mom every time she found me in these gaming
parlours," Diang'a said.
Far
from being a gateway to the world of drugs and crime, his childhood pursuit has
instead taken him to tournaments and offered lucrative opportunities to work
with tech brands.
Today,
he earns around 50,000 Kenyan shillings ($430) a month in a country where youth
unemployment remains a huge problem.
Diang'a
never imagined that his childhood passion could lead to a professional career,
until 2013.
"I
bumped onto YouTube videos where I saw gamers abroad playing Mortal Kombat –- a
game that I frequently played to pass time –- and getting paid up to $5000 to
compete," he said.
So
he decided to try and join their ranks.
Unconventional career
Diang'a
is one of several Kenyan gamers trying to find their feet in a multi-billion
dollar industry that is slowly making its way onto international platforms such
as the inaugural Commonwealth esports championships, which is expected to
feature Kenyan participation.
But
they are outliers in a society that has traditionally seen academic performance
or exceptional athletic ability as the only route to success.
Law
graduate Sylvia Gathoni says her gaming accomplishments still surprised her
parents.
In
2018, Gathoni, who plays Tekken under the name Queen Arrow, became the first
Kenyan gamer to be signed by an international team, and is currently contracted
to US-based UYU.
"The
older generation has been wired to think that to be successful you have to go through
a specified path which is -- go to school, work hard in your academics and then
pursue a particular career," Gathoni said.
Instead
the 25-year-old has travelled around the world to take part in international
tournaments featuring some of the biggest names in the industry including
France's Marie-Laure Norindr, better known as Kayane.
'No structure'
But
the sector still faces major hurdles in Africa.
The
continent has struggled to capitalise on its large youth population -- 60
percent of Africans are aged under 25, figures that usually attract sponsors
drawn to the prospect of a young, growing fan base.
Many
players battle slow internet speeds and time lags compared to their overseas
counterparts, who live in developed countries where the vast majority of game
servers are located.
Gamers
and their dens also encounter police scrutiny in Kenya where the law does not
differentiate between esports and gambling.
"In
my research, I found that the law needs to catch up with technology -- there
are a lot of loopholes," said Gathoni, who hopes to specialise in esports
law so she can get involved in policy-making.
Furthermore,
while Kenyan gamers regularly meet to play informal tournaments and win cash
prizes, the absence of any structure makes it difficult for them to pursue the
sport professionally.
"There's
no structure at the moment, it is simply a group of friends who come together
to play," said tournament organiser Ronny Lusigi.
"For
video gaming to transition into esports, it has to be organised and competitive,"
he said.
Nevertheless
Diang'a, who now mentors young gamers in Kibera and organises tournaments
around Kenya, hopes to see video gaming "explode in Africa".
"Gaming
kept me sane while everything was falling apart. I want to see more people
enter this culture of gaming," he said.
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