Nairobi, Sept. 13 -- In a bustling Mombasa office of a renowned shipping company, a mid-level executive named Ahmed frequently discusses his theories that the company's top management is out to get everyone.

He is confident, almost too confident, and never hesitates to share his intricate theories with colleagues. But he also demonstrates his confidence during meetings about work matters even in areas where he is not an expert.

He thinks he knows everything all the time. In terms of company conspiracies, he believes that the higher-ups have a secret plan to cut jobs massively and redirect all funds to an undisclosed project, and he claims to have pieces of elusive evidence to back it up but never shares his purported evidence with anyon...