Subtitle:
The Day the President Came to Town
We had been
warned. On assembly the day before the students were told that President Uhuru Kenyatta
would be arriving in town, but under no circumstances were they allowed to
leave the school to view the spectacle (yeah, right!!).
So, on
Saturday morning Des and I decided to walk to the market (2 km each way) to get
some photos printed (15 shillings each on an Epson printer at the local
photocopying, printing and laminating shop). She also likes to buy the Saturday
“Daily Nation” which has a high level of journalism and a very good farming
lift-out called “Seeds of Gold”.
About 600
metres from the academy is the local primary/high school. Their field was the
location for the great man’s arrival by helicopter. There were hundreds of
people gathered around, on the opposite side of the school from where we were
passing.
As we
approached the market we noticed that there was a very prominent police
presence – like about two every 20 metres along the road. Rather than carrying
the traditional rifle (which is intimidating enough), these police had machine
guns. Trucks rumbled past, the back full of heat-packing troopers. Yes, this
was not a normal day in Kamukuywe.
Many shops
were closed and the traditional street sellers conspicuous by their absence.
Today was not a day for commerce, it was a day to dress in your best clothes
and clamour to get a glimpse of the President. One friend of ours also
suggested that many people from the interior had never seen a helicopter.
Fortunately
our photo shop was open. Frederick is the efficient proprietor and within 15
minutes I had my photos. Exiting the shop we noticed that no one was crossing
the road. Police had formed a line along the road and all pedestrian traffic
had been halted. Moments later the convoy started – two rows filling the road
with Mercedes, Toyota Prados, and large SUV’s of uncertain origin. Interestingly,
they were all black; what is it about official convoys that necessitates black
cars? Next past was a black SUV with a man hanging off the side. I wondered
whether he had been watching too many American movies. Nevertheless this seemed
to be a signal that the man himself was about to pass by. Sure enough, three or
four cars later another black SUV motored past with Uhuru in the passenger
seat. Smiling widely and waving constantly, for a second he seemed to look in
our direction. Des fumbled for the iphone to take a picture, but alas, the
moment had passed.
The road
cleared, and we were allowed to cross. As we walked back towards the centre of
the market we noticed a huge crowd of people walking from the school on one
side of town, towards the Governor’s house, on the other side (as this was
where the President was heading for an official function). The procession must
have resembled the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt – a constant stream of
people, determined to reach the promised land. Crafty locals chose to hire a
motor bike to beat the crowds, so the road now became filled with the sound of the
two-stroke menace. These drivers (who I am sure have no licenses) ignore all
road rules, preferring to take the closest route between point A and point B.
Once out of
the market our walk back to the academy was fairly easy. Still there were many
people waiting near the helicopters, preparing for the President’s return.
It was all
too exciting for us muzungus. We went back to our house and read the paper.
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