Arrested
We went out on Friday with Tobias, who is on the IT staff at Alliance. We were meeting up with him in downtown Nairobi before he took us out to an African restaurant. While all six of us were walking down there in the evening, a cop yelled at me and asked what I was doing there. I said that we were walking to town and he said that we shouldn't walk by the park after dark.
At this point, he noticed Bilha, who is Kenyan, and started yelling at her in Swahili, saying something to the effect of "What are you doing bringing walking these stupid tourists by here at night?" In the time he spent yelling at us, he could have easily watched us walk to the edge of downtown, since it was only about 200 yards away. Instead, he made us take a matatu. It was probably good advice, but he also sounded drunk and was carrying a machine gun, so I wasn't going to argue.
We met up with Tobias and he ushered us onto another matatu to take us to the restaurant. All six of us got on and took a seat. Then we noticed Tobias was not on board. He had disappeared, and before the matatu drove away we jumped off to look for him. The conductor said that he had been arrested.
Apparently as he was hanging on the side of the van helping us on, the police mistook him for a n unliscensed conductor. A few years ago, the government cracked down on matatus and made the drivers and conductors wear uniforms, install seat belts, and turn down their loud music. Now they fine drivers and publish violations in the newspaper with offenses like "Rude and Arrogant Crew" or "Drunken Conductor".
We found some police and asked where to find our friend. They said to go to the central police station. Fortunately, Tobias called us and said that he was free. He paid the cops off 500 shillings (about 7 bucks) to let him go. It was absurd that they picked him up in the first place, because he was dressed to go out to a restaurant and looked nothing like a matatu conductor.
The cops were just grabbing anyone they could, throwing them in a truck, and trying to extort bribes. It's a sellers market because the alternative is to spend a night in a Nairobi jail. I couldn't believe how fast they got Tobias, though becauase none of us even saw the cops nab him.
We made it to dinner safely and ate fresh roasted tilapia with our bare hands while listening to live music. Including bribing the cops, transportation, and entertainment, dinner for 7 cost about $20.
At this point, he noticed Bilha, who is Kenyan, and started yelling at her in Swahili, saying something to the effect of "What are you doing bringing walking these stupid tourists by here at night?" In the time he spent yelling at us, he could have easily watched us walk to the edge of downtown, since it was only about 200 yards away. Instead, he made us take a matatu. It was probably good advice, but he also sounded drunk and was carrying a machine gun, so I wasn't going to argue.
We met up with Tobias and he ushered us onto another matatu to take us to the restaurant. All six of us got on and took a seat. Then we noticed Tobias was not on board. He had disappeared, and before the matatu drove away we jumped off to look for him. The conductor said that he had been arrested.
Apparently as he was hanging on the side of the van helping us on, the police mistook him for a n unliscensed conductor. A few years ago, the government cracked down on matatus and made the drivers and conductors wear uniforms, install seat belts, and turn down their loud music. Now they fine drivers and publish violations in the newspaper with offenses like "Rude and Arrogant Crew" or "Drunken Conductor".
We found some police and asked where to find our friend. They said to go to the central police station. Fortunately, Tobias called us and said that he was free. He paid the cops off 500 shillings (about 7 bucks) to let him go. It was absurd that they picked him up in the first place, because he was dressed to go out to a restaurant and looked nothing like a matatu conductor.
The cops were just grabbing anyone they could, throwing them in a truck, and trying to extort bribes. It's a sellers market because the alternative is to spend a night in a Nairobi jail. I couldn't believe how fast they got Tobias, though becauase none of us even saw the cops nab him.
We made it to dinner safely and ate fresh roasted tilapia with our bare hands while listening to live music. Including bribing the cops, transportation, and entertainment, dinner for 7 cost about $20.
posted by Steve Weis at 1:56 PM
1 Comments:
that you didn't notice your friend being arrested, makes it sound as if our police are very efficient. i just don't know whether i should be proud or not...
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