4 + 1/2 min. read
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Nairobi (c) Wambui |
The following day, I’m feeling especially emotional and it’s
not just the fatigue. Despite ACLALS’ hectic schedule, it’s been a singular positive experience. At the same time, if anyone asks me what I thought
of Nairobi, I wouldn’t have seen enough to comment much.
My flight back to Brussels leaves Jomo Kenyatta airport close to midnight. In theory, I have a whole day to sightsee.
In the meantime, I’ve organised a
meet-up with an old colleague/friend, Priya, who grew up in Kenya. We haven’t
seen each other in the flesh for well over 15 years.
We meet at the plush Sarit Centre, coincidentally close to the hotel. We only have a couple of hours together, as Priya has to attend a memorial for an infant family member. It’s somewhat indicative of the rollercoaster her life has been in the intervening time. When we met, we were trainee lawyers at the same organisation. We’ve since both switched professions. Priya tired of UK life and relocated back to her native Kenya, only to be now ambivalent about her decision. She claims that South Asian Kenyans are still treated as foreigners and easy targets for bribe requests, no matter how many generations their families have lived in the country or how well they speak Kiswahili. (Aware of the privileged position South Asians have enjoyed in East Africa in the past - not to mention incidents of anti-Black sentiment - I'm chary of such observations but keep my peace. I don't want to sound dismissive). Disillusioned with the levels of corruption in the legal sector, Priya decided to qualify as a counsellor. Over time she has built up an international NGO-based clientele. It has nonetheless taken a serious dent since Trump and other Western states’ decision to cut back on overseas aid.
Priya laments the ever-deteriorating political situation in Kenya, dismayed with what she considers president William Ruto’s descent into autocracy. We reference the police murder of Albert Ojwang – allegedly over a tweet – how this contributed to recent Gen-Zed protest (which we both support) and the government’s deliberate disinformation over the death toll – something to which ACLALS conference keynote speaker, Mukoma wa Ngũgĩ also referred. More unrest is expected the day after I fly out and the city is preparing for it. That could be why I suddenly start seeing more men in army fatigues carrying rifles. The advice is to remain indoors.
After a brief window trying to condense nearly 20 years of
life’s valleys, peaks and in-betweens, Priya and I part ways. I hope to have a
good reason to come back to Kenya within a reasonable timeframe, so things are
less rushed.
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Nairobi (c) Joseph Ndungu |
I seek fleeting comfort in some cookies and a blueberry milkshake from the Sarit food court, working on my blog whilst observing the many cute tots in the vicinity - of which there’s no shortage in Nairobi - as well as the wonderful aesthetic diversity of Kenyans.
Following Anwar’s helpful instructions, I manage to make it to and from the Sarit Centre without getting too lost. On one unplanned detour, I’m assisted by a boutique owner selling African prints that are so pretty, I can’t walk past without dropping in. I have a brief but unexpectedly affirming conversation with her. We exchange details.
I reconnect with Geraldine back at the hotel, after what has been for her a frustrating day. She does finally sort out some accommodation for a steal at a high rise in an animated neighbourhood, close to the airport. The downside is there's only one lift, supposed to service several hundred people and stopping practically on every floor. The alternative is a vertigo-inducing stairwell with a great view but low walls and no guardrails.
G and I brave it anyway for the panoramic vista on the top floor. If the café/bar on
the rooftop is a bit dinghy, the view of the city is worth the climb.
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Sarit Centre (image courtesy of Up Kenya) |
I can’t hang around too long, what with my experience of Kenya’s lengthy airport security process. It’s easily one of the most fastidious of any country I’ve visited. I am told that the same rigour is applied to domestic rail travel, owing to Somalian terrorist group Al-Shabaab and their affiliates causing murderous trouble in the region.
Whilst Geraldine orders me a cab, I take in the lively surroundings. There’s a variety of busy pop-up like shops lining the streets, noisy traffic, loud music and other reassuring signs of life. Out of nowhere, an owner-less ox ambles down the road, as if it’s the most natural sight in this highly urbanised context. Apart from me nobody seems to bat an eyelid, including G. (She'll later explain that these bizarre bovine solo rambles are a regular occurrence in the vicinity.) I’m glad I accompanied G to her new digs. It’s a local side of Nairobi I wouldn’t have otherwise had the chance to see.
My taxi arrives and Geraldine and I bid each other a fond farewell. The cab driver, as usual, is polite. However, the ride to the airport is a little hair-raising – even by the standards to which I’ve become accustomed. Nairobians drive like stunt(wo)men. A number of times my heart has leapt to my mouth after a near miss. Pedestrians seem almost as audacious.
At the airport, lining up for the first of a number of security checks, I converse with a US-based Kenyan taking the same flight. She happens to be a nurse. Kenya’s loss is North America’s gain. I think of the brain drain and share a little about my research and why I have been in Kenya this past week.
With this conversation, it feels like the trip has somehow come full circle.