Thursday, June 7, 2007

Nairobi: Love it or hate it

Our overnight in Dar delivered another downpour. In fact, back at the beach on Kendwa, Zanzibar, the rain provided the chance for an International Yahtzee tournament, when Deb & I (New Zealand & Australia) took on an entertaining Dutch couple, Puck (preparing her thesis in micro-economics)and Martin, and an interesting Ethiopian, Shiferaw, who did his Masters in Environmental Studies at Dublin Uni.

We planned a stopover in Moshi en-route to Nairobi. We travelled the eight hours on the comfortable Scandinavian Coaches. At the bus terminal, before departure, I spotted a Newsweek magazine on the stand with a cover picture of Jacques Chirac and heading 'European Dinosaur' and wondered what he was doing making news again. Closer inspection revealed a May 2005 cover date!!!

Arrived Moshi feeling clean, still fresh and not physically crippled. We outdistanced the rain, arriving on a fine, and clear, afternoon with good views of Kilimanjaro for the last hour. We went for sundowners and sunset views of Kili on a rooftop bar of a nearby hotel.

Next day the rain caught up again. But we like the feel of Moshi and stayed another night - the tooth can wait. You can't begrudge Africa getting good rain. In fact, a self-invited guest (i.e. safari or Kili climb peddlar) during our morning coffee reckons "No one will be hungry this year." If true, that's fantastic. I expect he means in his local area.

I go for my third African haircut while in Moshi. Not much can go wrong with a no. two comb all over. But a slight apprehension when entering this 'very local' establishment when the sign outside states 'Barbing Shop'. They actually pride themselves doing mzungu haircuts.

Leaving Moshi, we pass through Arusha and Masai territory. These vibrant red/blue/purple checkered cloak wearing tribesman with bracelets, necklaces, anklets and large holes in enlarged earlobes make an impressive sight. The romantic travel guides will refer to them as warriors but really they are just ... jokers. In fact, cattle grazers, and the 'spears' they carry are no more than tools - sticks to poke their cattle. But the sight of one in full garb including his stick over his shoulder riding a bicycle is a delight.

The tooth has caused little interruption. My recommended dentist couldn't see me for a week and a half. A joker at our hotel recommends another. She's a local woman, Mary Ndueti, she's great, and she sees patients on 'first come - first served basis'. So Tuesday see her, get X-rays (she writes the charge on top of the referral form - "you can't trust anyone in Nairobi"), get post implant Thursday, temporary cap Friday. We'll catch the train to Mombasa and Lamu (recommended by our friends Rachel and Nick, back in Wellington) out on the Indian Ocean coast. Get back to Nairobi Sunday, 10 days later, get permanent cap on the Monday, and head to Uganda Tuesday. (We'll be back in Nairobi end of June, and head back for some unfinished business in Tanzania.)

Before coming to Nairobi everyone warned us to be careful - "it's not called Nai-robbery for nothing". Sure there's touts with all sorts of interesting introductions to their scams. But, hey. But we're Urban Creatures. We love a daily paper, cafes, bars, restaurants, book shops, cinemas etc. So Nairobi is turning out just fine. We're having a blast. We're staying fringe CBD, and the young professionals who politely greet us as we sit down at nearby tables at restaurants and bars are nothing but charming.

But things in parts of Nairobi and Kenya are sinister. Here's a selection of just three days' of Nairobi's Daily Nation newspaper.

(Sunday) Shocker. A matatu (minibuses)driver and conductor are beheaded by members of the outlawed Mungiki sect. The sect is causing no end of trouble. They are conducting stand over tactics for protection money from matatus. Seven drivers/conductors killed in past four days. Three hundred people have been arrested, the Internal Security Minister, John Michuki, said: "We will straighten them and wipe them out. I cannot tell you where these who have been arrested in conjunction with the recent killings are. What you will be hearing is there will be burials tomorrow (!!!)." This comment caused outrage in Nairobi over next few days.

(Monday) Police search for killers of a provincial police officer's aide

(Tuesday) A lone Mungiki sect member shot and killed three policemen, and injured another, and stole their guns. In hunting the lone gunman, police shoot 21 suspects in Mathare, a slum area of Nairobi.

(Wednesday) Despite 21 shot, only six bodies turn up at the mortuary. Questions are asked.

(Thursday) The Standard newspaper: Shocking Murder: Mungiki members behead a man and perform indescribable acts on his lifeless body as police retrieve missing officer's head, only a day after a bloodbath that claimed 34 lives. (More sect members were shot.)

I'll spare describing the photos for you. Editorials of all papers are along the lines 'stop this Mungiki madness now'. MPs are being questioned on their connections with the sect - apparently they do favours for the sect in return for standover tactics at election time.

More stories:

Man kills his wife after quarrel over kitchen utensils. He pleads guilty to manslaughter - 'he was provoked'. Judge orders he serve a sentence 'from now until the court rises'. He was sentenced at 10:00, the court rose at 12:45pm that day. Two-and-three-quarter hours in jail. He vows to continue using utensils even though threatened by a curse from his villagers.

Yet a man, Samuel Lekai, has been sentenced to death for stealing mobile phones from two women!!!

A woman has been detained for hacking her husband to death, after he sold a family goat for 1000 Kenyan shillings (US $1 = 66Ksh) and spent the proceeds on beer and cigarettes. God knows what sentence she will receive.

A primary school pupil shot dead by cattle rustlers. He was trying to track down 30 cattle missing from his village. The rustlers are being pursued across the Kenya-Uganda border.

A man's 'eyes popped and he collapsed' after coming third in a food eating contest. He choked on bread and was rushed to hospital. He was resuscitated and returned to collect his prize.

The presiding judge of the Constitutional Court in Nairobi has wiped out the Ksh 200 million court costs bill slapped on Kwale District villagers. They had won Ksh 7 million compensation for land worth Ksh 9 million, confiscated by the state to establish a titanium mining project expected to yield Ksh 12 billion. Work that one out!

There's pages more on fraud, forgery, and corruption. And a warning on highway robbers. There's elections at the end of 2007, and a candidate has fled the country seeking asylum in Canada??

I also see the lefties are protesting at G8 and demanding more aid for Africa. Meanwhile editorials here in Africa are saying provide us with ways to look after ourselves - stop making us dependent on handouts. Besides, the lefties should be asking where all the aid has been going. The past Ugandan health minister faces trial for scarpering with US$5 million of AIDS support funds. A Kenyan policeman has been given a verbal warning for his standover tactics trying to obtain his cut of a village's famine relief food supplies.

We're finding Africa just a fantastic place to visit, but I'd hate to be a local living here.

Max
aka Mad

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