So how safe is Nairobi? I tend to forget sometimes that this is a big city with typical city problems. Unfortunately last night I was witness to one of them. Very long day at work and was exhausted and glad to be home. I tried to stay up and watch the British election numbers coming in but they kept pushing back the expected poll times so I gave up and went to bed. You know that stage of falling asleep when you’re on the edge of a long languid fall into deeply restful sleep. I was actually smiling while I drifted away when I heard what I now know were gunshots, then a loud bang, silence and another loud bang and the sound of an engine stuck in high rev. I lay there, my eyes wide open and my forehead wrinkled in thought. I knew that the disturbance had come from the entrance of the apartment complex, which was a bit away from my apartment itself so I wasn’t scared or startled. I just remember lying there and hearing that engine turning furiously but clearly going nowhere. I then started to realize that there had probably been an accident.
The apartment complex is built in a valley with more and more buildings coming up and approaching the river that runs through the bottom of the hill. The driveway through the area is "S" shaped all the way around as a straight drive would be too steep for most cars. When I heard that engine roaring I just thought that it might have been a drunk driver who misjudged the corners and speed and probably smashed into a wall. (You tend to see a lot of paint scrapings around the walls that frame the driveway because some designer so fit to make the road barely passable for two vehicles.
So I lay there depending whether I really wanted to go find out what was happening as it had been going on for five minutes flat now. I heard some neighbors yapping away loudly so I groaned and dragged myself about of bed, groping for my glasses, cursing the neighbors, as they were loud as hell. I looked outside and I saw them standing around gesturing in the direction of the entrance. I got my key and ventured out, not really sure what I would expect. I walked up the driveway and had to look away because of the blinding headlights shining down the hill. As I got closer, I saw that indeed a vehicle had come through the main gates but instead of turning left immediately to proceed down the drive, it had rammed straight ahead into the low concrete wall that framed the drive, gone through and the front wheels were spinning in mid-air, completely off the road. There was a lone passenger in the car; he appeared unconscious as his head was just lolling about. It was then I figured out the continued revving of the engine was because his foot was jammed on the accelerator. I asked the one sole person who’d ventured out into the night with me what had happened and she gave me a horrible but brief recap.
Apparently the man had approached the gate at high speed, yelling out the windows that he was being followed by car-jackers and was pleading with the askaris (watchmen) to open the gates and let him in. The askaris were understandably nervous and hesitated but then there were gunshots and the man rammed into the gate. The askaris then opened the gate and the driver crashed through and ofcourse in the panic drove straight-ahead and crashed into the barrier. Car jacking is fairly common in Kenya, as I know it is in most cities in the world. Just like anywhere else it happens, they target specific cars and apparently they usually follow the intended victim home a couple of times to figure out their driving style. There have been many sad incidents though where they (car jackers and robbers) lurk in the shadows as most Nairobi suburb streets are extremely poorly lit if at all and when the gate is being opened, they’ll jump out and either force their way into the car or the compound to get in the house. Sometimes people get killed and if you’re lucky, they’ll take just the vehicle and leave you in peace. Usually these cars have been targeted from the time they come into the country into Mombasa from mainly Dubai and they get "scoped" out. I think (not sure, have to check) the most stolen vehicle is a Toyota brand and also SUVs are usually targeted. In this case, the man’s car was more like a CUV, not sure what the brand was but nothing overtly stylish or expensive about it but it was evidently targeted.
I asked the lady who was telling me the story where the askaris had now gone as the gates were shut. She told me she didn’t know, she thinks they went to the police station. I looked back at the car that was now smoking and you could smell the heated engine. More and more people came out but were understandably afraid of approaching a vehicle that might blow up at any time. I rushed back to my apartment so that I could get a fire extinguisher if that did happen and also to get my brother who was blissfully asleep. I got him and we came back and there were more resident out there but no one approached the car. I asked anyone if the cops had come yet (a full 20 minutes had now elapsed since I heard the first bangs and by the way, I live less than 5 minutes from the police station.) One of the residents, actually the one who’s vehicle received a large shower of concrete chunks had actually jumped in his car with an askari and driven to the police station to go get help. He said when he got there, there was one desk sergeant who reeked of alcohol and was asleep. He told him about the accident and told him to send help and the officer shrugged and said, "I’m the only one here, what do you want me to do?"
They pleaded for a while to get him to call someone or do something but the man was clearly inebriated. So they drove back to the compound and parked at the entrance to deter anyone else from trying to come in. There were about 15 of us now out there, struck speechless at the thought that the same police station that’s next to the apartments that gives us an added assurance and certainly forces a higher rent, might as well have not been there. There was an almost audible whir of our minds at work, trying to figure out who to call next. I looked at the back of his car to see if he had the rescue insurance that I carry. I cannot stress enough how you need to have insurance in this country. There is a nationalized health care of sorts but to count on it is not wise. I carry a great insurance, a company called AAR who are known nationwide and were actually started doing "bush" rescues and were among the first who airlifted patients out. There service is impeccable and if they are your cover, you’re assured of excellent care. Ok, I sound like their marketing department but no really, they are quite good.
Anyway, the man didn’t have any sign of that sort of cover visible on his vehicle. We were all wondering out loud who to call. I thought about 911 but oh yeah, I’m not in Woo anymore. As we began to ponder this more and more, the car, which was still running, started to power down. It eventually ran out of gas it seemed as it completely shut down. His lights were still on as well as his radio. I went round to the driver’s side and saw the bullet holes through the back window. I wasn’t sure but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t hit and had just knocked himself out when he hit the wall. I looked closely at the car and realized it was my neighbor from across the street. I’d seen his car many times as he pulled in, in the evenings and sometimes in the morning and I could have sworn I saw a little girl in his car in school uniform on Tuesday. I stared at the car some more and was more convinced that it was indeed our neighbor. I told my brother this and he too started to recognize the car. Just then, a police truck showed up with a couple of officers brandishing these massive guns and in my limited knowledge I can only describe as AK looking. They jumped out, asking where the car, which was right in front of them, was. We all said, "right in front of you," incredulous that they’d shown up a full half hour after someone had gone to fetch them. Get this; they were the cops from the neighboring precinct. (Not sure what the Kenyan term is.) I asked in disbelief where the hell our cops were but they were not to be bothered and my brother quietly reminded me, that I was not in Potomac anymore. I shut up and watched as they strutted around the vehicle, guns in hands, residents in pajamas watching from a distance. They tried to open the doors but they were locked and the man inside still wasn’t responding. They then asked…if anyone had a flashlight. Ummm, it’s midnight, you’re a cop, you have all this weaponry hardware but somewhere among your arsenal a flashlight isn’t part of the package.
My brother ran back to the apartment to get his flashlight while I watched the cops. They were still trying to figure out how to open the door and were arguing among themselves. Some one had the bright idea to knock out the back window that had been shot at but no one thought to collect evidence or any such thing. They then unlocked the car but the way it had been wedged between the wall, there was room only to open each side a couple of inches. At that time I began to wonder, where the hell is the ambulance. Again….insurance, you must have it. The ambulance has to be called separately and is not attached to any police station. Actually, the police stations don’t appear to have any medical units as such. So this man could have broken his neck but no collar was being produced to protect him from any unnecessary movement. My brother and other residents returned with flashlights to give to the cops and they began to argue about which side to remove him from. The thing that pissed me off and I’m absolutely livid about is that they then turned to us, the residents, standing in our pajamas and told us to remove the man from the vehicle. They actually directed it at all the males in the group and one pointed at my brother and told him to come remove the man. I blurted out, "But that’s your job, why should he remove him?" In my mind I’m thinking communicable diseases, there’s shattered glass and jagged edges all over, no medics, no gloves, nothing yet you want my brother to remove a total stranger. Yes, yes, I know, selfish it seems but you should have seen how those cops rolled in, swinging their guns and acting like fat cats. I kept calling my brother aside as they tried to get other residents to join in and gradually more of my mates began to question why they weren’t doing their job. Gradually, they stopped trying to order the residents around and instead pulled the man out himself. They dragged him out, four cops holding a limb, his head dragging on the floor below him. I don’t think he was shot though as there wasn’t a drop of blood anywhere and for that I was grateful. He’d also been wearing his seat belt but his airbag (if there was one) hadn’t gone off. They took him out to their truck and I shit you not, opened the back and put him in like a sack of potatoes. They rearranged his limbs so they could shut the door and once that was done, they got on their walkie talkies and nobody made any effort to get in and drive him off.
At this point, MY precinct's vehicle rolls in and we were not amused. The adrenaline rush of fear had been replaced by a seething anger at these officers. There was a study done about a month ago and the Police have come in yet again as the most corrupt division/office in the country. They almost always expect bribes and will create false charges when they’re not paid. My own father has been a victim of this so as much as I’d like to say they are not all corrupt, they’re certainly not discriminating when it comes to whom they want bribes from. So our boys in blue with guns show up, chatting away on radios, taking personal calls on those units as well and asking about the vehicles. They were fucking pompous asses. I can’t delicately put it because to me they were super assholes. We started to demand why they hadn’t taken the man to the hospital and us our voices grew louder, they finally got in their vehicle, with plenty of space in the backseat, injured victim on the floor of the car in the back and they drove off at a very leisurely pace, over what I can assure you are extremely bad road….no collar, back boards, no medical attention.
After they’d left, I followed the officers down to what I believed was his apartment but no one answered the door. We sat there and chatted with other neighbors, discussing the general safety of Nairobi and the conclusion was that we live in a good neighborhood that’s well protected and is really better off than most places. I would love to name my neighborhood but I’d rather not but I will tell you if the diplomats, aid workers and other foreign nationals who chose to live there for the one of the same reasons we did: proximity to a police station, you better think about how much you can really count on a work force that is so incredibly incompetent yet get paid to do so.
I couldn’t sleep for two hours after that and I would have given anything to be able to swallow a Valium but I settled on aspirin and breathing exercises. I’m not as frightened as I was; as random as the attack may have been, it’s the vehicles they want the most, not the passengers. If that’s the case, I now love and appreciate my brother’s wheezing, ancient and bitchy Peugeot, No one will dare touch that car.
Lessons learned:
If you’re driving home and it looks like someone has been following you for quite a while, drive to the police station.
Always alternate your route and the times you get home..
This really is a good country. It’s just has a shaky infrastructure.
It's the weekend. Yay.
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