When chaos on the streets of Nairobi is a welcome relief

Since August 9, the city centre has been akin to a ghost town, until Wednesday this week when the usual chaos returned in full swing, that is. As other businesses shut down, adopting a wait-and-see attitude following the General Election, media houses, of course, were operating on full-time basis, 24-hours, to be specific, the country, after all, had to stay informed, and it is the media’s job to do this.

On any given day, it takes me an average of one hour from home to work - another hour or so is eaten up by the return journey. For seven days, however, from Tuesday last week when we cast our vote, my journey to and from home was cut in half, a maximum of an hour to and fro work.

It was blissful. It also seemed that all the rogue drivers were home watching TV since there were no speeding vehicles overtaking from the wrong side or suddenly cutting you off. I could also count the number of boda bodas on the road, and those that I saw were surprisingly well-behaved. I think traffic jams bring out the worst in some of us. Who would have thought that driving in Nairobi could be a pleasurable experience?

But what was really amazing, unreal even, during those seven days was how serene the city centre looked and felt. There was no human traffic to talk of and there was parking everywhere you looked, you could have even parked in the middle of a street and no one would have noticed since there were no vehicles to talk of, and therefore no vehicle to obstruct.

Plus the city council askaris and the attendants who check whether you have paid for parking were nowhere to be seen. There were also no hawkers in sight, as a result, the pavements were clear, which was strange. Street preachers had also taken a break, and street families were also missing, and for the first time in a long time the streets were clean. Yes, it was a ghost town, like I’d mentioned earlier, and what I would not have given for things to remain this way!

Come Wednesday, the congested, polluted, noisy Nairobi was back. The Kenyan electorate had seen the light and decided that they were not going to slaughter one another or destroy property just because a politician they voted for did not win a seat.

They had decided that there were bigger things to worry about, such as the steadily rising cost of living that has made a majority of Kenya’s families unable to afford a decent life, with many going hungry or forced to forgo some needs to be in a position to afford the most basic things. Need I mention a fragmented education system?

I had never thought that one day I would be appreciative of the commotion and disorder that defines Nairobi, but this Wednesday, as I finally got into the city centre after over an hour of braving especially bad traffic and even worse drivers, I was grateful of the confusion and disarray around me because it meant that ‘things’ were back to normal. Kenyans could continue earning a living, and our children could finally go back to school. And yes, there wouldn’t be a repeat of 2007-2008 crisis that will forever be etched in our minds.

The writer is editor, Society & Magazines, Daily Nation. Email: cnjunge@ ke.nationmedia.com