My maiden ride to Nairobi was on an
OTC bus from Subaland, Homa Bay. To say the truth, I had no idea where in
Nairobi I was headed when I left my village for the city. I just got into the
bus in the hope of bumping into an uncle of mine who lived in Nairobi at the
time. I really wanted to see Nairobi, and that is what brought me to the city.
My visit lasted only a week, and soon it was time for me to return to the
village. I went back home a happy young man. It was a great achievement. You
know, when you are born and raised in the village, you dream about living in
the city. You just didn’t have the same dignity when some of your classmates,
villagers and age mate had been to Nairobi while you were still clueless about
the capital bwana! So I said to myself, ‘If my dad is not going to allow me, I
will sneak and go to the city.’ And that’s exactly what I did after high
school.
I left my village in the company of
a friend who unlike me, had been to Nairobi before. The city was magnificent.
The present day Moi Avenue which was then called Government Road, had
spectacular buildings with sparkling glass windows and shining roofs. My
arrival in Nairobi was however not very smooth, as University of Nairobi
students were rioting at the time and battling the police on the streets. I was
totally confused by the chaos. It is at that point that I promised myself to
one day join the university and taken on the police like the students, which I
eventually did. Gerald Otieno Kajwang’ is a Kenyan politician and the current
Senator for Homa Bay County.
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