THE FIRST LADY IS A BAD INFLUENCE. February 8
Dear mama Lucy Muthoni Kibaki, I am an East African citizen. But I owe my utmost loyalty to the dignity and decency of the African people. It is in the rich and decent African culture and moral values that I derive my pride and moral authority to write to you this open letter.
In 2005, I read about you. It was on your earlier raid at the Nation Centre. Mama Lucy, I hope you still remember that despicable conduct. You assaulted a journalist, interrupted business and vandalised media equipment but got away with it, allegedly for negative media coverage.
In the African culture, the nakedness of a mother or an elder is not discussed in public. In fact it is a taboo to do so. And on that account, Kenyans and indeed the rest of Africa pardoned you.
Unfortunately, you did not stay put. On several accounts, you chose to strip yourself of every bit of dignity befitting you as the mother of a nation. Hardly two months ago, on the last Jamhuri Day celebrations, you slapped an under Secretary, Mr Francis Musyimi, at the State House garden party.
Mama Lucy, you did this in full view of cameras and the diplomatic corps. Your action amounted to contempt and total disregard of the stature and honour with which the people of Kenya held you and your family.
You abused the mandate and faith of the Kenyan people; who willingly, entrusted your husband with the highest office of the land in 2002. Imagine; you went this extra mile and sold your decorum as an African mother in place of a mere title.
You have also before taken issue with former Vice-President Moody Awori for referring to you as Second Lady -and many more.
Now you have done it again. Even the on-going skirmishes and blood letting that has bedevilled Kenya mean nothing to you.
It is now emerging that you assaulted Imenti Central MP Mr Gitobu Imanyara at State House three weeks ago. And it is very disappointing that you can still afford to look Kenyans in the face, and deny this latest incident without blinking.
You and the machinery around you are acting with impunity. You have embarrassed Kenya as a nation and disgraced Africa. I have had to lower my head in shame, as a son whose mother has been stripped naked in full view of the public.
Your actions are dangerously deviant to the moral obligation and fabric your subjects demand of you. You have printed an episode of a disgraceful legacy, stained with insolence.
You have mocked the essence of human sanctity, and insulted the pride of all African mothers. Africa expected you to be the icon of hope and a living testimony to the young African mothers who will come after you.
But you are the opposite of an African mother; full of love and compassion. I have to bend my head low in shame.
Paul Amoru
Nairobi
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The ICC
ICC MAY RUIN UGANDA’S CHANCE FOR PEACE
By PAUL AMORU- March 14
The International Criminal Court should give way for the signing of a Final Peace Accord between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army.
We have so far seen a step in the right direction, as the ICC Judges on March10, met with the LRA delegation for the first time in The Hague. This meeting must bear fruit.
The victims of the 22 year old conflict are tired. It is peace they crave for and nothing else will make sense. Let the ICC show flexibility.
Ugandans are keenly watching this space.
The Daily Monitor, March12 reported that the ICC could be softening stand after meeting the LRA team and has asked the Government Uganda to furnish it with information on the competence of the proposed war crimes courts to try indicted LRA leaders locally.
This development follows an agreement between the LRA and the government to try the rebel leader Joseph Kony in a special division of Uganda’s High Court.
However, the ICC should first rescind its warrants of arrests against Kony and his commanders. LRA leader Joseph Kony has vowed not to pen his signature on the (FPA) unless the ICC withdraws his warrants.
March 28 has already been set for the signing of the Final Peace Accord, but the ICC indictment is the obstacle, as the ICC Chief Prosecutor, Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo seems to be reading from a different script.
His grandstanding is not welcome.
The so called “international community”, for 20 years, folded their hands and watched this conflict escalate, only to show up now.
And UN’s Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland is on record describing the situation in northern Uganda as “the biggest neglected humanitarian emergency in the world”
“Where else in the world have there been 20,000 kidnapped children? Where else in the world have 90 per cent of the population in large districts been displaced? Where else in the world do children make up 80 per cent of the terrorist insurgency movement?” These were Mr Egeland’s rhetoric questions to the UN Security Council last year.
Shame, the UN Security Council had no answer.
Statistics from Ugandan-CAN and Civil Society Organisations for Peace in Northern Uganda show that 1.8 million people were still living in the IDP camps by last year.
And the rate of death from this war was three times higher than in Iraq following the US invasion in 2001.
About 737 schools in Northern Uganda, representing 60 per cent, are not functioning and about 250,000 children in the IDP camps have no education at all. By all standards, these facts are devastating.
Ugandans deserve a chance to pick up the remaining pieces of their lives. There is no wisdom in keeping the over 2 million people in this inhuman condition, just because the ICC wants the neck of two people.
Besides, who is the angel here?
The Uganda People's Defense Forces, whose primary mandate is to protect civilians, has not only failed to prevent attacks and abductions by the LRA, but has also perpetrated grave abuses against civilians that include arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killing, torture and rape in a climate of impunity.
President Museveni nursed his blind ego for two decades and did not want to talk peace. But the military option failed and that is why President Museveni sought the intervention of the ICC.
Sadly, the ICC cannot on its own effect the arrests and relies on the corporations of the member states. But Ugandans cannot afford to hope against hope.
Besides, the ICC’s role has since been overtaken by events. Firstly, the Ugandan government who run to the ICC now feels able to deal with the Kony issue locally.
Secondly, the people of Uganda want a peace and reconciliation process for a complete national healing, like it happened in South Africa, and now taking root in the neighbouring Kenya.
I cannot figure out Mr Ocampo’s wisdom when he says the ICC is not able to pull back and give Uganda, a sovereign nation at such, a benefit of doubt to find a local solution to its problems.
The ICC was established under the Rome Statute which in principle assigns the Court a role that is complementary to national systems, and comes in when a member State is unwilling or unable to carry out the investigation or prosecution.
The preamble of the same Rome Statute recognises that the ICC should be a last resort.
As it stands now, Ugandans still have several options and indeed are waiting the signing of the Final peace deal between government and the LRA on March 28.
The ICC will gravely error if it does not consider deferral of the indictments in the interest of true and meaningful justice for the people of Uganda.
Article 53 of the Rome Statute specifically allows for deferral of prosecution if such a deferral is in the "interests of victims" or other "interests of justice."
And under Article 53(4), the Prosecutor can reconsider a decision at any time "based on new facts or information."
In an article published in the Daily Nation of 24 February this year, a Kenyan writer Philip Ochieng cautioned President Kibaki who was hiding behind a constitution he earlier flawed to a peace deal.
“Man was not made for the law, but rather the law for man.”
Mr Ochieng said the Jesus of gospel serves the spirit of the law, not the letter of it. Thus, he often deliberately breaks the law so as to make its spirit more manifest.
Let’s not stand on the way of peace because we want to protect the letter in the principles of the Rome statute of the ICC.
If the people decide that the best way to deal with their past is to forgive all those who have committed crimes against civilians- it must be respected.
Paul Amoru
pamoru@nation.co.ke
Trainee Journalist
Nairobi
By PAUL AMORU- March 14
The International Criminal Court should give way for the signing of a Final Peace Accord between the Government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army.
We have so far seen a step in the right direction, as the ICC Judges on March10, met with the LRA delegation for the first time in The Hague. This meeting must bear fruit.
The victims of the 22 year old conflict are tired. It is peace they crave for and nothing else will make sense. Let the ICC show flexibility.
Ugandans are keenly watching this space.
The Daily Monitor, March12 reported that the ICC could be softening stand after meeting the LRA team and has asked the Government Uganda to furnish it with information on the competence of the proposed war crimes courts to try indicted LRA leaders locally.
This development follows an agreement between the LRA and the government to try the rebel leader Joseph Kony in a special division of Uganda’s High Court.
However, the ICC should first rescind its warrants of arrests against Kony and his commanders. LRA leader Joseph Kony has vowed not to pen his signature on the (FPA) unless the ICC withdraws his warrants.
March 28 has already been set for the signing of the Final Peace Accord, but the ICC indictment is the obstacle, as the ICC Chief Prosecutor, Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo seems to be reading from a different script.
His grandstanding is not welcome.
The so called “international community”, for 20 years, folded their hands and watched this conflict escalate, only to show up now.
And UN’s Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland is on record describing the situation in northern Uganda as “the biggest neglected humanitarian emergency in the world”
“Where else in the world have there been 20,000 kidnapped children? Where else in the world have 90 per cent of the population in large districts been displaced? Where else in the world do children make up 80 per cent of the terrorist insurgency movement?” These were Mr Egeland’s rhetoric questions to the UN Security Council last year.
Shame, the UN Security Council had no answer.
Statistics from Ugandan-CAN and Civil Society Organisations for Peace in Northern Uganda show that 1.8 million people were still living in the IDP camps by last year.
And the rate of death from this war was three times higher than in Iraq following the US invasion in 2001.
About 737 schools in Northern Uganda, representing 60 per cent, are not functioning and about 250,000 children in the IDP camps have no education at all. By all standards, these facts are devastating.
Ugandans deserve a chance to pick up the remaining pieces of their lives. There is no wisdom in keeping the over 2 million people in this inhuman condition, just because the ICC wants the neck of two people.
Besides, who is the angel here?
The Uganda People's Defense Forces, whose primary mandate is to protect civilians, has not only failed to prevent attacks and abductions by the LRA, but has also perpetrated grave abuses against civilians that include arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killing, torture and rape in a climate of impunity.
President Museveni nursed his blind ego for two decades and did not want to talk peace. But the military option failed and that is why President Museveni sought the intervention of the ICC.
Sadly, the ICC cannot on its own effect the arrests and relies on the corporations of the member states. But Ugandans cannot afford to hope against hope.
Besides, the ICC’s role has since been overtaken by events. Firstly, the Ugandan government who run to the ICC now feels able to deal with the Kony issue locally.
Secondly, the people of Uganda want a peace and reconciliation process for a complete national healing, like it happened in South Africa, and now taking root in the neighbouring Kenya.
I cannot figure out Mr Ocampo’s wisdom when he says the ICC is not able to pull back and give Uganda, a sovereign nation at such, a benefit of doubt to find a local solution to its problems.
The ICC was established under the Rome Statute which in principle assigns the Court a role that is complementary to national systems, and comes in when a member State is unwilling or unable to carry out the investigation or prosecution.
The preamble of the same Rome Statute recognises that the ICC should be a last resort.
As it stands now, Ugandans still have several options and indeed are waiting the signing of the Final peace deal between government and the LRA on March 28.
The ICC will gravely error if it does not consider deferral of the indictments in the interest of true and meaningful justice for the people of Uganda.
Article 53 of the Rome Statute specifically allows for deferral of prosecution if such a deferral is in the "interests of victims" or other "interests of justice."
And under Article 53(4), the Prosecutor can reconsider a decision at any time "based on new facts or information."
In an article published in the Daily Nation of 24 February this year, a Kenyan writer Philip Ochieng cautioned President Kibaki who was hiding behind a constitution he earlier flawed to a peace deal.
“Man was not made for the law, but rather the law for man.”
Mr Ochieng said the Jesus of gospel serves the spirit of the law, not the letter of it. Thus, he often deliberately breaks the law so as to make its spirit more manifest.
Let’s not stand on the way of peace because we want to protect the letter in the principles of the Rome statute of the ICC.
If the people decide that the best way to deal with their past is to forgive all those who have committed crimes against civilians- it must be respected.
Paul Amoru
pamoru@nation.co.ke
Trainee Journalist
Nairobi
East African Community
WHY EAC COULD BE RUINED AGAIN.
By Paul Amoru
In the words of a German philosopher Georg Hegel, “The only thing we learn from history is that we are doomed to repeat what we don't learn from history.”
With the increasing resurgence of suspicion within the duly revived East African Community (EAC), history could again repeat itself.
On the eve of the launch in November 1999, Tanzania's Vice-President, Dr Omar Ali Juma warned the partner states not to allow the community to collapse again.
Uganda’s long serving President Mr Museveni believes that a political federation could easily drive the economic and other socio-economic integration efforts.
But his Tanzanian counterpart believes that his country has good lessons to teach her colleagues in the region, learn out of the union of Tanyanyika and the islands of Zanzibar.
While Kampala is urging a fast approach, Tanzania insists on a slow process and last month succeeded in applying brakes on a fast tacked process.
Again in another development, Daily Nation of September 14 last year carried a report that Uganda’s President feels Kenya and Uganda can move on with the plans of an East African political federation and leave out Tanzania until it is ready.
Mr Museveni reportedly sent his envoy to Kenya immediately after the extra-ordinary Heads of State summit in Tanzania with the message that Kenya and Uganda can move on with the idea without Tanzania who are reluctant to embrace the proposal.
Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Affairs, Mr Eria Kategaya on September 18 told reporters in Kampala that Uganda had not ruled out establishing a political federation with any other willing partner state.
“Tanzania did not agree with the speed but the option of beginning with those who are willing cannot be ruled out. The debate is on going,” he said.
Investigations by Uganda’s Daily Monitor revealed that one of the unresolved issues a head of the political federation is the question of political predictability among the different partner states.
While Tanzania observes a strict two five-year term limit on its Presidents, Uganda changed its constitution to revolving term limits, as Kenya successfully changed leadership.
In 1967 The East African countries decided to work together in a very close manner. The East Africans were much more integrated than even the European Community which has only joint discussions, joint subsidy policies, joint agricultural policies, but does not have joint assets.
It however collapsed after 10 years, with a number of difficulties in between. It failed because the three countries were not mature enough to have such an integrated system.
They had diverged policies. For instance, Kenya had a market-oriented policy; Tanzania had a centralized economy, more socialist-oriented; Uganda under Idi Amin had no policy at all. It was chaos.
Revived on January 1, 2005, after six years of tortuous negotiations, the E.A.C. has the ambitious goal of modeling itself on the European Union and eventually instituting a common currency and forging a political federation.
According to Dr. Michael A. Weinstein , at present the organization is primarily a customs union in which Kenya is pledged to eliminate trade restrictions on goods exported by the other two members.
Recently Trade ministers met to discuss dismantling trade barriers between the member states. Their deliberations were shadowed by trade disputes, pitting Kenya and Tanzania against Uganda, and Kenya and Uganda against Tanzania.
Analysts in the region saw signs that the same divisions that had caused the original E.A.C. to collapse in 1977 had once again opened up, threatening the success of the fresh experiment.
For example, Nairobi claims that Kenyan exports are being delayed from entering Tanzania and Nairobi's also decided to suspend imposition of tariffs on external imports of pharmaceuticals. In response, Tanzania threatened a legal suit aimed at protecting Tanzania's nascent pharmaceutical industry.
A committee on fast tracking the EAC has been gathering views from the over 120 million citizens from the three original partner states and mixed feeling were registered. About 80 per cent of Tanzanians in a referendum voted against fast racking political federation.
Strong ties among the East African states dates back to 20 century. Prior to the re-launching of the East African Community in 1999, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda enjoyed a long history of co-operation under successive regional integration arrangements.
These included the Customs Union between Kenya and Uganda in 1917, which Tanganyika later joined in 1927; the East African High Commission 1948-1961 and the East African Common Services Organization 1961-1967 leading to the previous East African Community that lasted from 1967 until its collapse in 1977.
Limited participation by people in decision-making, and a lack of compensatory mechanisms for addressing inequalities in the sharing of costs and benefits of integration ruined the gains of the community and the same signals are again visible today.
The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community emphasizes peace, security and good neighbourliness as the cornerstones of the regional integration and development process.
EAC Chiefs of police met in Arusha on June 29, 2007. The meeting considered the wide range of regional peace and security issues, as well as effective measures to combat crime in the region.
However, security and border conflict remains unanswered tale and night mare to the community. The principle of peaceful co-existence, good neighborliness and peaceful resolution of disputes as articulated in the Treaty still seems far from practice.
For example, Aid agencies in Nairobi on July 28 said over 2,000 people were displaced and several others detained in Uganda following a cross border raids by Kampala soldiers.
"Villagers at Alale and Kacheliba divisions along the Kenya-Ugandan border fled their homes following incursion by Uganda People's Defense Forces," said area lawmaker Samuel Poghisio.
Following the earlier shooting between the Ugandan army and armed Pokots raiders, Kenyan police spokesman Erick Kiraithe could not confirm the number of people.
What a paradox! Away from the principle of peace, security and good neighbourliness as the cornerstones, lack of respect for territorial integrity, raids and killings of civilians will kill the community.
What about the recent 15 Kenyan suspects gunned down in Moshi in what the police described as attempted robbery? The Kenyan authority did not loose sleep over the killings saying that some of the suspects were on their top wanted list. But apparently their families are not satisfied with those claims just as other Kenyans termed the incident a massacre.
According to East African Standard of September 7, the late Kingara’s father, Mr James Njoroge was quoted saying his daughter has never been engaged in criminal activities.
"My daughter operates two businesses at the City - a driving school and a security firm. There is no reason for her to steal," said Njoroge.
The Financial Standard of Monday September said 10 Kenyan human rights activists were locked up in Moshi, Tanzanian, after they sought permission to carry out post mortem on the bodies of 14 suspects killed.
But Oscar Foundation Executive Director King`ara Kamau said: `We wish to categorically state that the killings were occasioned by misinformation and lacked any intelligent information to justify the killings.
Suspicion and economic inequality is still a big dilemma. A little bit of patience could rebuild and heal the bruises the community encountered in 1977. Pushing the political agenda too far could ruin the community again.
What experience and history teach is this; that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.
By Paul Amoru
In the words of a German philosopher Georg Hegel, “The only thing we learn from history is that we are doomed to repeat what we don't learn from history.”
With the increasing resurgence of suspicion within the duly revived East African Community (EAC), history could again repeat itself.
On the eve of the launch in November 1999, Tanzania's Vice-President, Dr Omar Ali Juma warned the partner states not to allow the community to collapse again.
Uganda’s long serving President Mr Museveni believes that a political federation could easily drive the economic and other socio-economic integration efforts.
But his Tanzanian counterpart believes that his country has good lessons to teach her colleagues in the region, learn out of the union of Tanyanyika and the islands of Zanzibar.
While Kampala is urging a fast approach, Tanzania insists on a slow process and last month succeeded in applying brakes on a fast tacked process.
Again in another development, Daily Nation of September 14 last year carried a report that Uganda’s President feels Kenya and Uganda can move on with the plans of an East African political federation and leave out Tanzania until it is ready.
Mr Museveni reportedly sent his envoy to Kenya immediately after the extra-ordinary Heads of State summit in Tanzania with the message that Kenya and Uganda can move on with the idea without Tanzania who are reluctant to embrace the proposal.
Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of East African Affairs, Mr Eria Kategaya on September 18 told reporters in Kampala that Uganda had not ruled out establishing a political federation with any other willing partner state.
“Tanzania did not agree with the speed but the option of beginning with those who are willing cannot be ruled out. The debate is on going,” he said.
Investigations by Uganda’s Daily Monitor revealed that one of the unresolved issues a head of the political federation is the question of political predictability among the different partner states.
While Tanzania observes a strict two five-year term limit on its Presidents, Uganda changed its constitution to revolving term limits, as Kenya successfully changed leadership.
In 1967 The East African countries decided to work together in a very close manner. The East Africans were much more integrated than even the European Community which has only joint discussions, joint subsidy policies, joint agricultural policies, but does not have joint assets.
It however collapsed after 10 years, with a number of difficulties in between. It failed because the three countries were not mature enough to have such an integrated system.
They had diverged policies. For instance, Kenya had a market-oriented policy; Tanzania had a centralized economy, more socialist-oriented; Uganda under Idi Amin had no policy at all. It was chaos.
Revived on January 1, 2005, after six years of tortuous negotiations, the E.A.C. has the ambitious goal of modeling itself on the European Union and eventually instituting a common currency and forging a political federation.
According to Dr. Michael A. Weinstein , at present the organization is primarily a customs union in which Kenya is pledged to eliminate trade restrictions on goods exported by the other two members.
Recently Trade ministers met to discuss dismantling trade barriers between the member states. Their deliberations were shadowed by trade disputes, pitting Kenya and Tanzania against Uganda, and Kenya and Uganda against Tanzania.
Analysts in the region saw signs that the same divisions that had caused the original E.A.C. to collapse in 1977 had once again opened up, threatening the success of the fresh experiment.
For example, Nairobi claims that Kenyan exports are being delayed from entering Tanzania and Nairobi's also decided to suspend imposition of tariffs on external imports of pharmaceuticals. In response, Tanzania threatened a legal suit aimed at protecting Tanzania's nascent pharmaceutical industry.
A committee on fast tracking the EAC has been gathering views from the over 120 million citizens from the three original partner states and mixed feeling were registered. About 80 per cent of Tanzanians in a referendum voted against fast racking political federation.
Strong ties among the East African states dates back to 20 century. Prior to the re-launching of the East African Community in 1999, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda enjoyed a long history of co-operation under successive regional integration arrangements.
These included the Customs Union between Kenya and Uganda in 1917, which Tanganyika later joined in 1927; the East African High Commission 1948-1961 and the East African Common Services Organization 1961-1967 leading to the previous East African Community that lasted from 1967 until its collapse in 1977.
Limited participation by people in decision-making, and a lack of compensatory mechanisms for addressing inequalities in the sharing of costs and benefits of integration ruined the gains of the community and the same signals are again visible today.
The Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community emphasizes peace, security and good neighbourliness as the cornerstones of the regional integration and development process.
EAC Chiefs of police met in Arusha on June 29, 2007. The meeting considered the wide range of regional peace and security issues, as well as effective measures to combat crime in the region.
However, security and border conflict remains unanswered tale and night mare to the community. The principle of peaceful co-existence, good neighborliness and peaceful resolution of disputes as articulated in the Treaty still seems far from practice.
For example, Aid agencies in Nairobi on July 28 said over 2,000 people were displaced and several others detained in Uganda following a cross border raids by Kampala soldiers.
"Villagers at Alale and Kacheliba divisions along the Kenya-Ugandan border fled their homes following incursion by Uganda People's Defense Forces," said area lawmaker Samuel Poghisio.
Following the earlier shooting between the Ugandan army and armed Pokots raiders, Kenyan police spokesman Erick Kiraithe could not confirm the number of people.
What a paradox! Away from the principle of peace, security and good neighbourliness as the cornerstones, lack of respect for territorial integrity, raids and killings of civilians will kill the community.
What about the recent 15 Kenyan suspects gunned down in Moshi in what the police described as attempted robbery? The Kenyan authority did not loose sleep over the killings saying that some of the suspects were on their top wanted list. But apparently their families are not satisfied with those claims just as other Kenyans termed the incident a massacre.
According to East African Standard of September 7, the late Kingara’s father, Mr James Njoroge was quoted saying his daughter has never been engaged in criminal activities.
"My daughter operates two businesses at the City - a driving school and a security firm. There is no reason for her to steal," said Njoroge.
The Financial Standard of Monday September said 10 Kenyan human rights activists were locked up in Moshi, Tanzanian, after they sought permission to carry out post mortem on the bodies of 14 suspects killed.
But Oscar Foundation Executive Director King`ara Kamau said: `We wish to categorically state that the killings were occasioned by misinformation and lacked any intelligent information to justify the killings.
Suspicion and economic inequality is still a big dilemma. A little bit of patience could rebuild and heal the bruises the community encountered in 1977. Pushing the political agenda too far could ruin the community again.
What experience and history teach is this; that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
KAMPALA NIGHTLIFE BEATS NAIROBI
Why Kampala nightlife is better
By Paul Amoru
Stand anywhere in the heart of Nairobi, and throw a stone to any direction, even with your eyes closed. Chances are that it will land on a pub.
Nairobi nightlife however lacks the lustre of Kampala in spite of its casinos, countless nightclubs and fast-food outlets at the city centre.
A huge nude picture of an African woman slums you in the face right at the entrance of club Sound, just in the heart of Nairobi.
Loud music and giggles of women faintly heard at the background.
And the huge leather sofas strategically place in dark corners – are the obvious features any new comer will notice.
But sex workers in the city centre are not having it easy.
A Nairobi sex worker confessed to this writer in an interview that sometimes she needs as many as 10 customers a day in order to survive.
Ruth who preferred not to use her real name claimed the police demand free sex in exchange for “dropping charges” - and she plans to relocate to West lands and Kilimani areas.
All the same, Nairobi ladies have little sense of fashion. You must have noticed how they dress - branded Polo T-shirts, except a few clad in tight tops, jeans and Wellington boots.
But come over to Kampala and class will smack you right in the face. You will see babes dallying about with juicy boobs wrapped in little threads to reveal the cleavage.
Kampala ladies want to appear educated. Even the one who has barely gone beyond primary seven will try her best to pose as a university student.
As men dig deeper into their wallets in frantic effort to demonstrate capacity, the ladies on the other end will go any length to display elegance.
Ladies, who choose to stay naïve to these realities, end up isolated and conveniently shunned by men.
At one of the city pubs, a slim and gorgeous looking Brenda who was on a company t-shirt scoffed at me when I braved her.
“Hey, give me a break. Why should it matter what I choose to wear? None of your business,” she thundered back.
She quickly turns to her glass and takes an extravagant sip before beginning to puff away as her man friend watched in silence.
Next on my right was another couple kissing freely but I noticed the lady was utterly intoxicated.
The interior of most Nairobi clubs are crammed with tables and cautioned metallic seats.
Its like folks just get there to buzz and drink, every table accommodating four to five people.
Women have such sharp and untameable appetite for the brown bottles.
But in Kampala heavy drinking and smoking is still synonymous with sex workers.
Guzzling too much alcohol may be pardoned but not the sight of a young woman puffing away in public.
“Over my dead body, I cannot tolerate a smoking woman. Not once, it is a taboo where I come from,” explained Joseph who hails from the Luo community in northern Uganda.
World Health Organisation Global Status Report on Alcohol last year rated Kenya and Uganda among the countries with highest unrecorded alcohol consumption.
Away from the heart of Nairobi you won’t escape the loud downtown bars.
Sanitation is appalling as stench from sewage will follow you up in the balconies.
Towards River road, you won’t miss the sight of drunk adolescence paired with sex workers and faintly bothered about who else is passing by.
The women offer what they call “catching a quick one” as men part with about Sh20 just to touch and feel the women.
Curious but unable to engage them in anyway, I just ogled at the scene and moved on.
Bar verandas downtown also serve as places of convenience where people answer to nature’s call at will.
One guy nearly peed on my legs, I was still feeding my eyes and he emerged from the middle of nowhere already holding his gadget.
He brushed against my shoulder and unleashed the load in his bladder, I scorned at him and he got mad; “what’s wrong with you? Don’t you pee?” he roared.
Surprisingly, sex workers use the same facility to offer the much-needed services in total defiance of the oozing stench of human waste.
Most of these people are poor and so have chosen the life they can afford which has now driven them into drug addiction.
Kampala may not boast of bars strewn all over, but it is not shy of its organised and vibrant nightclubs.
Jokers Sports Bar on Buganda road is a nice place on Friday evenings with young people full of energy and life. You can challenge others to a game of pool or dance to the latest tunes on the dance floor. You can also catch champions’ league and premier league action on giant screens.
Unlike Kampala, Nairobi has struggled with a long history of insecurity, which crippled its nightlife. Even today, you can’t swagger alone on certain streets and get away safe.
Nightlife in Kampala been segmented to serve specific niche interests.
For example, at Viper Room club, every Wednesday is ladies night.
“It’s thrilling, I sleep and dream Wednesday night,” Judith from a private university in Kampala exclaimed.
“I love the whole idea of free entrance, and cheap of even free beer from men,” she explained.
Judith said every Thursday is campus night at the same club, and “you only need to produce a university identity card”.
On Friday is variety night at Club Silk. This night is for general happiness. The crowd and the dimly flickering disco lights would make it impossible to trace a chic trying to avoid you.
Then Saturdays are for oldies night. The old folks get to re jog their memories of the sweet old days.
Byaruhanga who appeared to be in his late 50s said; “It is like a trip back to the halcyon days when the deejay unleash my classical lyrics”.
On Sundays is soul night groove at Ange Noir Disco Club but Club Obligato goes for African night.
But Okecho who runs a phone shop says “Nairobi only gets to the climax on weekends”.
I visited Verandah, a night club in Nairobi at around 1am and it was all packed with revellers. Large decent dance floor - and long stools arranged at the corners.
Like in many clubs in Nairobi, the deejay kept mixing songs from every community; Kikuyu, then Akamba tunes and before you know it, you are already dancing the Luo beats.
But Moses from the University of Nairobi said the clubs lacked creativity.
“They don’t just offer what I want. It is all dull- the students may need to experience something different”, he expounded.
But Michael whom I met at hotel 6080 had a different opinion of Nairobi nightlife.
He said live performance gets exciting every Friday featuring artists like; Tony Nyandundo and Mike Rua.
“These guys inject in some flare. I like the wild crowd,” he added.
The other blend is the strip dancers in places like Liddo’s and Supper Mambo. The audience here is very mature.
Theme nights at Carnival which sometimes features Akamba night, Michael’s favourite.
“That’s all I expect from Nairobi nightlife, locals’ love- bongo flava music and RnB,” he chuckled while patting me on the back.
Michael who has also been to Kampala several times said mobility in Nairobi is not pocket friendly.
Holding my arms firmly he said; “Sometimes I spend Sh600 connecting from one club to another, I hate it man,”
But in Kampala “Bodaboda” cyclists are allowed to operate at the city centre until midnight.
It costs you like 20 bob to connect from one pub to another.
Nairobi also boasts of Karaoke nights common at joints like Harry's Bar, Grand Regency, Jockey Pub and Safari Bar.
Budding local artists showcase the rising star in them amidst wild shouts from the ecstatic female audience.
Most of these places offer a choice of cuisines, busy bar, and reggae with live music and theme nights.
Cover charge ranges from Sh280 to 1000, depending on the attraction for the night.
Wednesday night is Rock night. Saturday night is Bombay night and Sunday is 'Soul night' with beats from the 80's.
Nightlife could be good food for the soul - emotionally and even physically. Never mind even if you're not partaking of the delightful fruits of sin -boozing, dancing.
Alfred, a reporter in Nairobi said nightlife is not all about drinking and dancing.
To the contrary, he added; “it is in the bars that you get to network with people who matter”.
He said most of his friends prefer to discuss business plans in the bars.
Nightlife is also offering income to so many people who other words would be starving.
James, a security guard in Nairobi said he once lived in a family financially supported by a dancing girl.
"I know many of them, and they all have the same story to tell: taking up the dancing job to support the family because there is no male member to earn a livelihood for them," he says.
Bar dancers are despised in Nairobi and even Kampala.
But there are thousands of dancers, barmaids, waiters and bouncers including other staff attached to bars across most towns in Uganda and Kenya.
Nightlife could be foreign in east Africa but it is now a potential hub for employment and tax revenue.
By Paul Amoru
Stand anywhere in the heart of Nairobi, and throw a stone to any direction, even with your eyes closed. Chances are that it will land on a pub.
Nairobi nightlife however lacks the lustre of Kampala in spite of its casinos, countless nightclubs and fast-food outlets at the city centre.
A huge nude picture of an African woman slums you in the face right at the entrance of club Sound, just in the heart of Nairobi.
Loud music and giggles of women faintly heard at the background.
And the huge leather sofas strategically place in dark corners – are the obvious features any new comer will notice.
But sex workers in the city centre are not having it easy.
A Nairobi sex worker confessed to this writer in an interview that sometimes she needs as many as 10 customers a day in order to survive.
Ruth who preferred not to use her real name claimed the police demand free sex in exchange for “dropping charges” - and she plans to relocate to West lands and Kilimani areas.
All the same, Nairobi ladies have little sense of fashion. You must have noticed how they dress - branded Polo T-shirts, except a few clad in tight tops, jeans and Wellington boots.
But come over to Kampala and class will smack you right in the face. You will see babes dallying about with juicy boobs wrapped in little threads to reveal the cleavage.
Kampala ladies want to appear educated. Even the one who has barely gone beyond primary seven will try her best to pose as a university student.
As men dig deeper into their wallets in frantic effort to demonstrate capacity, the ladies on the other end will go any length to display elegance.
Ladies, who choose to stay naïve to these realities, end up isolated and conveniently shunned by men.
At one of the city pubs, a slim and gorgeous looking Brenda who was on a company t-shirt scoffed at me when I braved her.
“Hey, give me a break. Why should it matter what I choose to wear? None of your business,” she thundered back.
She quickly turns to her glass and takes an extravagant sip before beginning to puff away as her man friend watched in silence.
Next on my right was another couple kissing freely but I noticed the lady was utterly intoxicated.
The interior of most Nairobi clubs are crammed with tables and cautioned metallic seats.
Its like folks just get there to buzz and drink, every table accommodating four to five people.
Women have such sharp and untameable appetite for the brown bottles.
But in Kampala heavy drinking and smoking is still synonymous with sex workers.
Guzzling too much alcohol may be pardoned but not the sight of a young woman puffing away in public.
“Over my dead body, I cannot tolerate a smoking woman. Not once, it is a taboo where I come from,” explained Joseph who hails from the Luo community in northern Uganda.
World Health Organisation Global Status Report on Alcohol last year rated Kenya and Uganda among the countries with highest unrecorded alcohol consumption.
Away from the heart of Nairobi you won’t escape the loud downtown bars.
Sanitation is appalling as stench from sewage will follow you up in the balconies.
Towards River road, you won’t miss the sight of drunk adolescence paired with sex workers and faintly bothered about who else is passing by.
The women offer what they call “catching a quick one” as men part with about Sh20 just to touch and feel the women.
Curious but unable to engage them in anyway, I just ogled at the scene and moved on.
Bar verandas downtown also serve as places of convenience where people answer to nature’s call at will.
One guy nearly peed on my legs, I was still feeding my eyes and he emerged from the middle of nowhere already holding his gadget.
He brushed against my shoulder and unleashed the load in his bladder, I scorned at him and he got mad; “what’s wrong with you? Don’t you pee?” he roared.
Surprisingly, sex workers use the same facility to offer the much-needed services in total defiance of the oozing stench of human waste.
Most of these people are poor and so have chosen the life they can afford which has now driven them into drug addiction.
Kampala may not boast of bars strewn all over, but it is not shy of its organised and vibrant nightclubs.
Jokers Sports Bar on Buganda road is a nice place on Friday evenings with young people full of energy and life. You can challenge others to a game of pool or dance to the latest tunes on the dance floor. You can also catch champions’ league and premier league action on giant screens.
Unlike Kampala, Nairobi has struggled with a long history of insecurity, which crippled its nightlife. Even today, you can’t swagger alone on certain streets and get away safe.
Nightlife in Kampala been segmented to serve specific niche interests.
For example, at Viper Room club, every Wednesday is ladies night.
“It’s thrilling, I sleep and dream Wednesday night,” Judith from a private university in Kampala exclaimed.
“I love the whole idea of free entrance, and cheap of even free beer from men,” she explained.
Judith said every Thursday is campus night at the same club, and “you only need to produce a university identity card”.
On Friday is variety night at Club Silk. This night is for general happiness. The crowd and the dimly flickering disco lights would make it impossible to trace a chic trying to avoid you.
Then Saturdays are for oldies night. The old folks get to re jog their memories of the sweet old days.
Byaruhanga who appeared to be in his late 50s said; “It is like a trip back to the halcyon days when the deejay unleash my classical lyrics”.
On Sundays is soul night groove at Ange Noir Disco Club but Club Obligato goes for African night.
But Okecho who runs a phone shop says “Nairobi only gets to the climax on weekends”.
I visited Verandah, a night club in Nairobi at around 1am and it was all packed with revellers. Large decent dance floor - and long stools arranged at the corners.
Like in many clubs in Nairobi, the deejay kept mixing songs from every community; Kikuyu, then Akamba tunes and before you know it, you are already dancing the Luo beats.
But Moses from the University of Nairobi said the clubs lacked creativity.
“They don’t just offer what I want. It is all dull- the students may need to experience something different”, he expounded.
But Michael whom I met at hotel 6080 had a different opinion of Nairobi nightlife.
He said live performance gets exciting every Friday featuring artists like; Tony Nyandundo and Mike Rua.
“These guys inject in some flare. I like the wild crowd,” he added.
The other blend is the strip dancers in places like Liddo’s and Supper Mambo. The audience here is very mature.
Theme nights at Carnival which sometimes features Akamba night, Michael’s favourite.
“That’s all I expect from Nairobi nightlife, locals’ love- bongo flava music and RnB,” he chuckled while patting me on the back.
Michael who has also been to Kampala several times said mobility in Nairobi is not pocket friendly.
Holding my arms firmly he said; “Sometimes I spend Sh600 connecting from one club to another, I hate it man,”
But in Kampala “Bodaboda” cyclists are allowed to operate at the city centre until midnight.
It costs you like 20 bob to connect from one pub to another.
Nairobi also boasts of Karaoke nights common at joints like Harry's Bar, Grand Regency, Jockey Pub and Safari Bar.
Budding local artists showcase the rising star in them amidst wild shouts from the ecstatic female audience.
Most of these places offer a choice of cuisines, busy bar, and reggae with live music and theme nights.
Cover charge ranges from Sh280 to 1000, depending on the attraction for the night.
Wednesday night is Rock night. Saturday night is Bombay night and Sunday is 'Soul night' with beats from the 80's.
Nightlife could be good food for the soul - emotionally and even physically. Never mind even if you're not partaking of the delightful fruits of sin -boozing, dancing.
Alfred, a reporter in Nairobi said nightlife is not all about drinking and dancing.
To the contrary, he added; “it is in the bars that you get to network with people who matter”.
He said most of his friends prefer to discuss business plans in the bars.
Nightlife is also offering income to so many people who other words would be starving.
James, a security guard in Nairobi said he once lived in a family financially supported by a dancing girl.
"I know many of them, and they all have the same story to tell: taking up the dancing job to support the family because there is no male member to earn a livelihood for them," he says.
Bar dancers are despised in Nairobi and even Kampala.
But there are thousands of dancers, barmaids, waiters and bouncers including other staff attached to bars across most towns in Uganda and Kenya.
Nightlife could be foreign in east Africa but it is now a potential hub for employment and tax revenue.
NAIROBI CITY
Nairobi is a city with a population of over 3million people during the day. Such a huge population demands a huge amount of resources and services. But given limited resources and poor planning, such a large population puts pressure on the city, writes Linda Mange’ni.
One of the sectors most affected by the population pressure is the transport industry. Although Kenya could be one of the countries with the most vibrant transport sectors in the region, the service still falls short of the demands of a rapidly growing population, especially in urban areas.
Exacerbating the problems in the transport industry is the poor state of the country’s infrastructure. In Nairobi, city roads have remained for many years, in a deplorable condition. This state of the road network has made doing business expensive since investors incur high costs of maintenance.
Indeed, potholes, badly re-carpeted highways, poor drainage systems, un-serviced traffic lights and poorly demarcated roads have led to accidents, loss of lives and car damages. During the rainy season, poor drainage makes Nairobi roads a nightmare for motorists, a number of them suffering various mechanical problems as a result.
And to add pain to injury, the recklessness of the drivers who flout traffic rules, tamper with speed governors and overload the passenger service vehicles (PSVs), add costs to the entire economy. Moreover, the escalating insecurity in the country, with rampant highjacking of PSV vehicles, known here as matatu, makes investing in the transport industry such a risky undertaking.
The industry is also famous for lack of self-control, leading to chaotic scenes, with thugs taking advantage of the mess to extort bribes and imposing pseudo fees on the industry.
In an interview with Business Week last week, the chairman of Kenya’s Transport Licensing Board (TLB), Mr. H.A.M Ole Kamwaro, said that the local authorities have the responsibility of putting order in the industry by providing security and collecting revenue from the bus parks and matatu terminals.
This however remains lacking with local authorities unable to enforce any control. Most bus parks and matatu terminals remain in a state of confusion because the city council law-enforcement personnel are unavailable to provide law and order.
As a result, armed groups of hoodlums, that government has banned, have many times taken advantage of the confusion to impose fees on matatu owners. In Nairobi, areas such as Dandora and Githurai, have experienced deaths in common clashes between these groupings. Most notable groups are Mungiki and Kamjeshi, all declared by government as unlawful groups.
On some routes such as the Jogoo Road route, passengers pay double the fares during the rainy season because of the demand and supply market situation. Kamwaro mentioned that the markets control the fares depending on the fuel costs and the demand and supply
Last year Kenya’s transport industry experienced great changes for the better, when the then minister of transport, Mr. John Michuki, put down his foot in order to enforce adherence to set traffic rules including the use of seat belts and speed governors as well as officially recognised number of passengers in each matatu. Drivers and conductors were to wear uniforms and identification tags while commuter taxis were to have a yellow strip for easy identification.
This move put the Kenyan transport industry into some resemblance of order. However, the enthusiasm that this exercise started with is slowly running out-of-steam. Although passengers were expected to wear seat belts then, this is one of the rules adversely flouted now.
Equally, conductors and drivers now hardly wear uniform or identification tags while the enforcement of speed governors has virtually died out or where vehicles are fitted with them, drivers normally tamper with the governors to allow speeding. Experts say Kenya still has a huge shortage of commuter buses and taxis to satisfy the rising demand for transport. It is a common scene, each morning and evening, to see long queues of passengers waiting for buses and matatu. Moreover, the traffic jam menace makes the situation worse since buses and matatu caught in the jam, take longer hours before making a return trip.
Analysts say it is crucial that government seeks investors whose interest in the industry is not just putting buses or matatu on the road, but investors with a long-term plan that will address the systemic transport problems not just in Nairobi but in the entire country. It is also crucial that government addresses the issue of infrastructure decay and a demanding tax regime, if investors are to be attracted to the industry
Recently, the Minister for Transport, Mr. Ali Chirau Makwere, proposed the introduction of higher capacity matatu to replace the current 14 and 24-seater ones. But the proposal has met with a lot of opposition from the owners of matatu.
Kenya has an estimated number of 40,000 matatu, a majority of them 14 and 24-seater. Concern raised by the matatu owners is what pace government would opt in replacing the matatu, whether there would be compensation since most of these matatu are gotten through loans; and in general what would government do with that large number of matatus.
Although the proposal has not been gazetted yet, government says it is one of the anticipated solutions to address transport needs of a growing population especially in the capital, Nairobi.
This will at the same time reduce on the number of commuter taxis plying city routes and causing huge traffic jams. To encourage investment in the higher vehicle capacity there should be attractive incentives that will attract investors.
Mr. Dickson Mbugua the chairman of the Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) views the move from 14-seater to higher capacity matatu as an investment that will benefit the matatu investors reasonably. A high turnover, low wear and tear and low motoring costs will be some of the benefits that are expected from the new initiative.
Mbugwa sees government considering offering compensation for the 14-seater owners in order to boost the financial strength of investors to enable them move to higher capacity matatu.
He also proposes a soft credit facility such as low interest rates and longer payment periods. The government could also lower import duty to reduce the cost of buying new vehicles as part of attracting more investors.
The cost of acquiring a brand new matatu from General Motors (one of Kenya’s leading car dealers) ranges between Ksh.2.5 million (US$34,700) and Ksh.2.7 million ($37,500) for a 29-seater, Ksh3 million ($41650) for a 33-seater and Ksh4.2 million ($58,300) for a 51-seater bus.
On the other hand, a 14-seater 7-year old second-hand matatu costs only Ksh1.3 million ($18,000).
James, 40, a matatu driver in Nairobi’s Jogoo Road route, says that the introduction of the high capacity matatu will improve the transport service in the in the city. “It has a big capacity compared to the 14––seaters, so it will definitely transport more people.” To engage in the matatu business one needs approximately Ksh31,000 for vehicle inspection license, road license, insurance and PSV license.
It is essential to note that it will take a long period of time to phase out the low capacity vehicles. The transport players speculate that 5-7 years characterised with proper planning, improved infrastructure, government credibility, and proper financing is the time needed for the exercise.
The government needs to come up with an elaborate plan and financial scheme for a smooth transition.
Brazil moved from a low (14-seater commuter taxis) to higher capacity (62-seater commuter taxis) in 15 years, beginning in 1983 to 2000. South Africa too started transforming its commuter taxi service, from 14-seaters to 35-seater ones, in 2001.
One of the sectors most affected by the population pressure is the transport industry. Although Kenya could be one of the countries with the most vibrant transport sectors in the region, the service still falls short of the demands of a rapidly growing population, especially in urban areas.
Exacerbating the problems in the transport industry is the poor state of the country’s infrastructure. In Nairobi, city roads have remained for many years, in a deplorable condition. This state of the road network has made doing business expensive since investors incur high costs of maintenance.
Indeed, potholes, badly re-carpeted highways, poor drainage systems, un-serviced traffic lights and poorly demarcated roads have led to accidents, loss of lives and car damages. During the rainy season, poor drainage makes Nairobi roads a nightmare for motorists, a number of them suffering various mechanical problems as a result.
And to add pain to injury, the recklessness of the drivers who flout traffic rules, tamper with speed governors and overload the passenger service vehicles (PSVs), add costs to the entire economy. Moreover, the escalating insecurity in the country, with rampant highjacking of PSV vehicles, known here as matatu, makes investing in the transport industry such a risky undertaking.
The industry is also famous for lack of self-control, leading to chaotic scenes, with thugs taking advantage of the mess to extort bribes and imposing pseudo fees on the industry.
In an interview with Business Week last week, the chairman of Kenya’s Transport Licensing Board (TLB), Mr. H.A.M Ole Kamwaro, said that the local authorities have the responsibility of putting order in the industry by providing security and collecting revenue from the bus parks and matatu terminals.
This however remains lacking with local authorities unable to enforce any control. Most bus parks and matatu terminals remain in a state of confusion because the city council law-enforcement personnel are unavailable to provide law and order.
As a result, armed groups of hoodlums, that government has banned, have many times taken advantage of the confusion to impose fees on matatu owners. In Nairobi, areas such as Dandora and Githurai, have experienced deaths in common clashes between these groupings. Most notable groups are Mungiki and Kamjeshi, all declared by government as unlawful groups.
On some routes such as the Jogoo Road route, passengers pay double the fares during the rainy season because of the demand and supply market situation. Kamwaro mentioned that the markets control the fares depending on the fuel costs and the demand and supply
Last year Kenya’s transport industry experienced great changes for the better, when the then minister of transport, Mr. John Michuki, put down his foot in order to enforce adherence to set traffic rules including the use of seat belts and speed governors as well as officially recognised number of passengers in each matatu. Drivers and conductors were to wear uniforms and identification tags while commuter taxis were to have a yellow strip for easy identification.
This move put the Kenyan transport industry into some resemblance of order. However, the enthusiasm that this exercise started with is slowly running out-of-steam. Although passengers were expected to wear seat belts then, this is one of the rules adversely flouted now.
Equally, conductors and drivers now hardly wear uniform or identification tags while the enforcement of speed governors has virtually died out or where vehicles are fitted with them, drivers normally tamper with the governors to allow speeding. Experts say Kenya still has a huge shortage of commuter buses and taxis to satisfy the rising demand for transport. It is a common scene, each morning and evening, to see long queues of passengers waiting for buses and matatu. Moreover, the traffic jam menace makes the situation worse since buses and matatu caught in the jam, take longer hours before making a return trip.
Analysts say it is crucial that government seeks investors whose interest in the industry is not just putting buses or matatu on the road, but investors with a long-term plan that will address the systemic transport problems not just in Nairobi but in the entire country. It is also crucial that government addresses the issue of infrastructure decay and a demanding tax regime, if investors are to be attracted to the industry
Recently, the Minister for Transport, Mr. Ali Chirau Makwere, proposed the introduction of higher capacity matatu to replace the current 14 and 24-seater ones. But the proposal has met with a lot of opposition from the owners of matatu.
Kenya has an estimated number of 40,000 matatu, a majority of them 14 and 24-seater. Concern raised by the matatu owners is what pace government would opt in replacing the matatu, whether there would be compensation since most of these matatu are gotten through loans; and in general what would government do with that large number of matatus.
Although the proposal has not been gazetted yet, government says it is one of the anticipated solutions to address transport needs of a growing population especially in the capital, Nairobi.
This will at the same time reduce on the number of commuter taxis plying city routes and causing huge traffic jams. To encourage investment in the higher vehicle capacity there should be attractive incentives that will attract investors.
Mr. Dickson Mbugua the chairman of the Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) views the move from 14-seater to higher capacity matatu as an investment that will benefit the matatu investors reasonably. A high turnover, low wear and tear and low motoring costs will be some of the benefits that are expected from the new initiative.
Mbugwa sees government considering offering compensation for the 14-seater owners in order to boost the financial strength of investors to enable them move to higher capacity matatu.
He also proposes a soft credit facility such as low interest rates and longer payment periods. The government could also lower import duty to reduce the cost of buying new vehicles as part of attracting more investors.
The cost of acquiring a brand new matatu from General Motors (one of Kenya’s leading car dealers) ranges between Ksh.2.5 million (US$34,700) and Ksh.2.7 million ($37,500) for a 29-seater, Ksh3 million ($41650) for a 33-seater and Ksh4.2 million ($58,300) for a 51-seater bus.
On the other hand, a 14-seater 7-year old second-hand matatu costs only Ksh1.3 million ($18,000).
James, 40, a matatu driver in Nairobi’s Jogoo Road route, says that the introduction of the high capacity matatu will improve the transport service in the in the city. “It has a big capacity compared to the 14––seaters, so it will definitely transport more people.” To engage in the matatu business one needs approximately Ksh31,000 for vehicle inspection license, road license, insurance and PSV license.
It is essential to note that it will take a long period of time to phase out the low capacity vehicles. The transport players speculate that 5-7 years characterised with proper planning, improved infrastructure, government credibility, and proper financing is the time needed for the exercise.
The government needs to come up with an elaborate plan and financial scheme for a smooth transition.
Brazil moved from a low (14-seater commuter taxis) to higher capacity (62-seater commuter taxis) in 15 years, beginning in 1983 to 2000. South Africa too started transforming its commuter taxi service, from 14-seaters to 35-seater ones, in 2001.
LIFE OF A CAB DRIVER IN NAIROBI
LIFE OF A CAB DRIVER
By PAUL AMORU
Last month, a New York cab driver was honoured and hailed for taking an elderly couple on the longest taxi ride in the city's history.
Douglas Guldeniz drove the pair from Queens’ New York, to their retirement home in Arizona, a total of 2,500 miles.
The mammoth road-trip earned Guldeniz the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission's 'Going the Extra Mile' award. He was one of 60 other New Yorkers lauded for outstanding service.
This got me mulling over a lot of stuff - why the culture of rewarding hard work is still alien in Kenya. Except if you were probably the founding President.
In the culture that espouses excellence, even a sweeper, if he works diligently, goes down the books of history as an achiever.
It is thus intriguing that our social and political systems shun this cardinal principle – which is the epitome of human dignity.
Maybe Kenya is still poor and needs time to develop. But that has little to do with the principle of justice and fairness.
In any case, our very own city has over the years metamorphosed into one of the top world cities, rising from a brackish uninhabited swampland - to a thriving modern capital.
But it’s anybody’s guess why the city's infrastructure has failed to keep pace with the rapid growth.
The worst nightmare for motorists is the traffic, and it requires several lessons in patience and serenity to avoid developing stress or ulcers.
Despite the traffic menace that most of us conveniently crave to avoid, David Karanja, a cab driver in Nairobi has no escape.
Unlike our elites who bask away in the comfort of air-conditioned offices, it is on these rutted roads that David crafts a living for his family.
David resides in Maragwa -the present Muranga South with his wife Irene and their two-year-old daughter.
After three years behind the steering wheel, he is worn out but hopes to press on.
He had the advantage of pursuing a certificate course in Pharmacy at Nairobi Technical College after Form four.
But nothing like a job was forthcoming. “I could not find a job one year after college, so I did another course in driving,” he explains.
Hoping to pursue the career in pharmacy, which he studied in 2003 and close to two years later still jobless, David did not tire.
He approached K/REP bank for a loan of Sh20, 000 that he used to open a small drug shop upcountry.
The shop picked up in months and David was fast becoming a small village tycoon of sort at his rural home.
But uncertain of what was best for him; he was later to fall prey to some advice that is yet to work for him.
“A friend advised me to buy a car and join the taxi business in Nairobi, he said I would make more money,” he recalls sadly.
So David closes his shop, sells a few items from home and used all his savings to acquire a second hand Nissan Sanny, which he now rides on the muddled streets of Nairobi.
I took interest to find out the experiences of cab drivers and how they are managing.
A number of them like Moses who operates at Tuskys branch- rank - two was quick to inquire whether I could get for him a job at Nation.
Others were so indifferent and said they hate speaking to journalists. But I insisted and even asked about their families.
A number of those I talked to, are sole breadwinners at home. But their wives and children unfortunately spend several nights alone.
David says he has had a lot of troubles with his wife Irene regarding his job. Ranging from the time he gets to be home and strange calls he receives at night.
For example, he works for 24 hours before taking another 24 hours of rest. “But even when I go home I feel very tired and does not give my wife much time,” he confesses.
This is not going down well with David’s madam, even Moses and Harun Mbugua; another cab driver had a similar tale.
“You know, our customers are sometimes these malayas (sex workers),” says David, and he has a problem with them calling him even when off duty.
The sex workers call him right in the dead of the night and the phone lands in the hands of his wife.
“Hullo, hi darling, come pick me at Madhouse,” that is now the prostitute and guess what, it is David’s wife on the other side of the phone.
Putting David in an awkward spot of beginning to explain to the mother of his child, why she should no fret; “That is the nature my job, those malayas are just my customers and that is where I get the money to give you”, stuff like that.
But he says his explanations at times falls on deaf hear; “these women from shags (up country) don’t understand the language of sweetie,” he adds.
David has also been seeing a lot of crazy stuff at Florida F1 now nick named Madhouse.
He says it is common to find more than ten women in their early twenties fighting over one old “musungu” (white man).
He however feels that men who go to Madhouse must be very rich. “The sex workers charge Sh2000 for just one hour”.
Then the man will have to buy the beers, pay the cab and book a room. “You see, the common man cannot afford,” he adds.
But one episode David won’t forget in a hurry happened in August last year. “I was at Java house, on a Friday night,” he recalls.
Inviting me to sit in his car he narrated his tale that fateful night; he say two “Jamas” approached him to give them a ride to Kinoo – some place after Westlands.
He says Kinoo is usually not a safe destination at night, but he needed the money so could not resist the temptation.
The strangers he had for passengers remain silent all through the ride and it got David nervous, but little did he know they were scheming how to strike!
It was already 3:00am. In the dead of the night and all was quiet, the roads deserted but only him, with the strangers he called clients.
“Stop”, one of the Jamas yelped at him and in no minute, the other grabbed him by the collar leaving him helpless and pleading for mercy.
The next thing he remembers were a few heavy punches unleashed on his face.
David at this point was silently connected to his maker at least to accept his soul. But what bothered him was how his family would receive the news of my death the following morning.
The men took all he had including the phone and threw him out of the car.
“I don’t know where they wanted to go with my car, but God helped me and the car broke down, few meters from where they had dropped me,” he says.
David later restarted his car when it cooled and returned to town a big loser but at least with his dear life.
Harun Mbugua another cab driver at the 680 branch shared the same sentiments.
According to Harun, at least every week he hears of a carjacking incident and it recently happened to his friend who surprisingly he declined to name.
Harun has been in the taxi business for the last 18 years and he is married with four children.
Like David, he is unhappy with the traffic jam in Nairobi, which he believes is getting out of hand, and causing them unnecessary loses
Most of the cab drivers I talked to blame private cars for the jam in the city.
City officials estimate that the number of private cars registered in Nairobi has tripled in the past five years to nearly one million.
Taxis in Nairobi have no meters, and if you fail to negotiate earlier, you will be at the mercy of someone that needs to make their house-rent before dark.
A trip within the city centre and other locations vary with distance to be covered but cost around Sh200 -1000.
It’s been noised many a time how taxi drivers fall prey to unsuspecting ‘customers’. But many of these men and women will tell you that it is part of their daily operation.
The recent post election animosity was among the challenges they faced as drivers who earn from the public’s daily movement.
There was a decrease in the number of tourists and this put some of their colleagues out of employment.
But Michael Mungai 29 who operates at Norfolk hotel has his job to thank for the exposure he has acquired since he started driving his cabs.
‘I learn a lot and get to know a lot of places”, he says.
Steven Matheri 45, also operating at Norfolk Hotel has been a cab driver for 15 years. He operates with in Nairobi and has been at the city’s major hotels carrying tourists.
He regrets that there is no more monopoly of the market like it was 15 years ago
“New cars have come up and this takes away our market”, says Matheri.
The fact that he owns an old car means that there are fewer chances that he will be picked or given an assignment by a tourist from a hotel.
Regarding insecurity, he says, ‘we just carry on with our work amid the challenges, just like other jobs do have’.
Nairobi, also, has ‘cabs’ running on three tyres. The tri cycles, also known, as tuk tuks are relatively cheaper than cabs.
The explanation of the operators suggests that people just love the tuk tuks because they are relatively cheaper for a typical trip.
Their trips are with in Nairobi CBD and usually charge Sh100.
By PAUL AMORU
Last month, a New York cab driver was honoured and hailed for taking an elderly couple on the longest taxi ride in the city's history.
Douglas Guldeniz drove the pair from Queens’ New York, to their retirement home in Arizona, a total of 2,500 miles.
The mammoth road-trip earned Guldeniz the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission's 'Going the Extra Mile' award. He was one of 60 other New Yorkers lauded for outstanding service.
This got me mulling over a lot of stuff - why the culture of rewarding hard work is still alien in Kenya. Except if you were probably the founding President.
In the culture that espouses excellence, even a sweeper, if he works diligently, goes down the books of history as an achiever.
It is thus intriguing that our social and political systems shun this cardinal principle – which is the epitome of human dignity.
Maybe Kenya is still poor and needs time to develop. But that has little to do with the principle of justice and fairness.
In any case, our very own city has over the years metamorphosed into one of the top world cities, rising from a brackish uninhabited swampland - to a thriving modern capital.
But it’s anybody’s guess why the city's infrastructure has failed to keep pace with the rapid growth.
The worst nightmare for motorists is the traffic, and it requires several lessons in patience and serenity to avoid developing stress or ulcers.
Despite the traffic menace that most of us conveniently crave to avoid, David Karanja, a cab driver in Nairobi has no escape.
Unlike our elites who bask away in the comfort of air-conditioned offices, it is on these rutted roads that David crafts a living for his family.
David resides in Maragwa -the present Muranga South with his wife Irene and their two-year-old daughter.
After three years behind the steering wheel, he is worn out but hopes to press on.
He had the advantage of pursuing a certificate course in Pharmacy at Nairobi Technical College after Form four.
But nothing like a job was forthcoming. “I could not find a job one year after college, so I did another course in driving,” he explains.
Hoping to pursue the career in pharmacy, which he studied in 2003 and close to two years later still jobless, David did not tire.
He approached K/REP bank for a loan of Sh20, 000 that he used to open a small drug shop upcountry.
The shop picked up in months and David was fast becoming a small village tycoon of sort at his rural home.
But uncertain of what was best for him; he was later to fall prey to some advice that is yet to work for him.
“A friend advised me to buy a car and join the taxi business in Nairobi, he said I would make more money,” he recalls sadly.
So David closes his shop, sells a few items from home and used all his savings to acquire a second hand Nissan Sanny, which he now rides on the muddled streets of Nairobi.
I took interest to find out the experiences of cab drivers and how they are managing.
A number of them like Moses who operates at Tuskys branch- rank - two was quick to inquire whether I could get for him a job at Nation.
Others were so indifferent and said they hate speaking to journalists. But I insisted and even asked about their families.
A number of those I talked to, are sole breadwinners at home. But their wives and children unfortunately spend several nights alone.
David says he has had a lot of troubles with his wife Irene regarding his job. Ranging from the time he gets to be home and strange calls he receives at night.
For example, he works for 24 hours before taking another 24 hours of rest. “But even when I go home I feel very tired and does not give my wife much time,” he confesses.
This is not going down well with David’s madam, even Moses and Harun Mbugua; another cab driver had a similar tale.
“You know, our customers are sometimes these malayas (sex workers),” says David, and he has a problem with them calling him even when off duty.
The sex workers call him right in the dead of the night and the phone lands in the hands of his wife.
“Hullo, hi darling, come pick me at Madhouse,” that is now the prostitute and guess what, it is David’s wife on the other side of the phone.
Putting David in an awkward spot of beginning to explain to the mother of his child, why she should no fret; “That is the nature my job, those malayas are just my customers and that is where I get the money to give you”, stuff like that.
But he says his explanations at times falls on deaf hear; “these women from shags (up country) don’t understand the language of sweetie,” he adds.
David has also been seeing a lot of crazy stuff at Florida F1 now nick named Madhouse.
He says it is common to find more than ten women in their early twenties fighting over one old “musungu” (white man).
He however feels that men who go to Madhouse must be very rich. “The sex workers charge Sh2000 for just one hour”.
Then the man will have to buy the beers, pay the cab and book a room. “You see, the common man cannot afford,” he adds.
But one episode David won’t forget in a hurry happened in August last year. “I was at Java house, on a Friday night,” he recalls.
Inviting me to sit in his car he narrated his tale that fateful night; he say two “Jamas” approached him to give them a ride to Kinoo – some place after Westlands.
He says Kinoo is usually not a safe destination at night, but he needed the money so could not resist the temptation.
The strangers he had for passengers remain silent all through the ride and it got David nervous, but little did he know they were scheming how to strike!
It was already 3:00am. In the dead of the night and all was quiet, the roads deserted but only him, with the strangers he called clients.
“Stop”, one of the Jamas yelped at him and in no minute, the other grabbed him by the collar leaving him helpless and pleading for mercy.
The next thing he remembers were a few heavy punches unleashed on his face.
David at this point was silently connected to his maker at least to accept his soul. But what bothered him was how his family would receive the news of my death the following morning.
The men took all he had including the phone and threw him out of the car.
“I don’t know where they wanted to go with my car, but God helped me and the car broke down, few meters from where they had dropped me,” he says.
David later restarted his car when it cooled and returned to town a big loser but at least with his dear life.
Harun Mbugua another cab driver at the 680 branch shared the same sentiments.
According to Harun, at least every week he hears of a carjacking incident and it recently happened to his friend who surprisingly he declined to name.
Harun has been in the taxi business for the last 18 years and he is married with four children.
Like David, he is unhappy with the traffic jam in Nairobi, which he believes is getting out of hand, and causing them unnecessary loses
Most of the cab drivers I talked to blame private cars for the jam in the city.
City officials estimate that the number of private cars registered in Nairobi has tripled in the past five years to nearly one million.
Taxis in Nairobi have no meters, and if you fail to negotiate earlier, you will be at the mercy of someone that needs to make their house-rent before dark.
A trip within the city centre and other locations vary with distance to be covered but cost around Sh200 -1000.
It’s been noised many a time how taxi drivers fall prey to unsuspecting ‘customers’. But many of these men and women will tell you that it is part of their daily operation.
The recent post election animosity was among the challenges they faced as drivers who earn from the public’s daily movement.
There was a decrease in the number of tourists and this put some of their colleagues out of employment.
But Michael Mungai 29 who operates at Norfolk hotel has his job to thank for the exposure he has acquired since he started driving his cabs.
‘I learn a lot and get to know a lot of places”, he says.
Steven Matheri 45, also operating at Norfolk Hotel has been a cab driver for 15 years. He operates with in Nairobi and has been at the city’s major hotels carrying tourists.
He regrets that there is no more monopoly of the market like it was 15 years ago
“New cars have come up and this takes away our market”, says Matheri.
The fact that he owns an old car means that there are fewer chances that he will be picked or given an assignment by a tourist from a hotel.
Regarding insecurity, he says, ‘we just carry on with our work amid the challenges, just like other jobs do have’.
Nairobi, also, has ‘cabs’ running on three tyres. The tri cycles, also known, as tuk tuks are relatively cheaper than cabs.
The explanation of the operators suggests that people just love the tuk tuks because they are relatively cheaper for a typical trip.
Their trips are with in Nairobi CBD and usually charge Sh100.
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