It is not in doubt that Kenya, and in particular, Nairobi is one of the most unsafe cities to drive. In fact i was surprised when Nairobi did not appear in the series "Don't drive here!", aired some months ago by one of the local television channels. Many of the so-called 'dangerous' places to drive, such as Mumbai would probably have paled in comparison to the antiques and creativity we see from motorists everyday on our patchwork of Chinese and "kazi kwa vijana" roads.
But I suppose there's no need to despair because there are probably other reasons that caused the producer of that most wonderful show not to come to Africa. And besides, we have already made our colorful name in many other famous -and rather infamous ways all over the globe.
However, while watching that show, my mind never ceased to stray and imagine just how an episode about driving in Nairobi would be like. How about starting from the lovely epidermis of our roads? What a lovely full-body massage one gets while travelling around the city! I have recently noticed that the inhabitants of the Thika Rd. environs have been getting a little grumpy lately, perhaps an upshot of the lack of the body-stimulating massages the rest of Nairobians get. Next- and this is salient- is the hordes and hordes (and i mean hordes) of dirt bikers and stuntmen who double up as messengers in motorcycles? And i bet almost every Nairobian has a pet-peeve or two about this one. Why would they? One might ask, but consider just how law abiding these guys are: always late to obey traffic lights (better late than never, huh?); massaging our ears as we walk with all manner of music; helping pedestrians flex and stretch every sinew and fiber of their being as they scamper to avoid being liquidated; no wonder they recently claimed that their female passengers were molesting them. They must have even bumped up the Chinese economy one Yuan or two because of all the motorbike purchases.
Seriously, i do understand that the bikers on our roads need to make a living. But they also need to be mindful of other road users, motorists or otherwise. I also understand that we're all in a hurry; trying to beat that deadline; clinch that deal; even wow that date. But bikers, you have no more right to use the roads than i do. Observe traffic rules and regulations and respect other motorists lest you end up in a can of beef.
This is a prescient article. Circa eight years later, the sector has once again been highlighted by the media due to an incident on Wangari Maathai Rd., in which a female motorist was stripped to her birthday suit by the bikers following an accident. And as the inept Kenya government is wont to, it hyper-reacted and hit back by arresting the boda boda riders and forcing them to be registered afresh. Which raises the question: what have they been doing all this time (since this article was written, and indeed way before?); why have they waited this late to attempt any kind of reform?
ReplyDelete