Today is a holiday - Madaraka Day - in Kenya. It’s the 42nd anniversary of “self governance”. I headed into “town” (downtown Nairobi) on a matatu and got stuck in a huge “jam” (traffic jam). President Kibaki was speaking at a large public gathering at Nyayo Stadium. My route into town unfortunately passes by the stadium and the roads nearby were closed to traffic. Everyone was forced to use Mbagathi Road instead. Normally it’s a “dual carriageway” (4-lane, divided road). Currently, though, it’s under construction and is reduced to only two lanes (one in each direction). It’s being completely resurfaced with poured cement – a first for Kenya!
Our driver frequently jumped the “kerb” (curb) to drive on the so-called sidewalk. In the process, of course, he forced pedestrians to scatter. Traffic was “boot-to-bonnet” (trunk-to-hood or bumper-to-bumper) and only moved at a snail’s pace! Traffic police were posted all along the way, but they could do little other than to continuously wave traffic ahead.
Unfortunately all of this is not an unusual occurrence. The road system in Nairobi is woefully inadequate due to the rapid rate of urban migration during the past 20 years and the complete lack of foresight by the road department of the government.
The entire city is draped in red, green, black, and white cloth banners for the holiday. As I purchased a newspaper, I heard the President’s speech on the radio.
Anyway, I just thought I’d share that little piece of info to give you a bit of a glimpse into my daily life here in Kenya.
2 comments:
i got stuck in traffic for close to two hours.and then got as far as uhuru gardens before it came to complete stop.i just walked the rest of the way.
I've decided I like the blog thing, since you send out email alerts when there is something new. The pictures are easier to see (don't take so long to download). I'm glad to see a longer narrative on the blog. It's been awhile, and I enjoy them. Keep 'em coming. Donna :-)
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