By Maureen Mudi

It raises a column of white dust as it approaches from afar. A group of passengers who had waited for it for the last three hours gather their luggage together as one of them comments: "It has finally arrived."

A white Mitsubishi Pajero pulls up at Mtangawanda jetty on Faza Island and the driver alights telling the passengers: "Ingieni haraka twende, leo nataka kurudi safari mbili." (Board quickly, today I want to make two trips).

Only passengers who had reserved their seats will board. The others who alight from boats at the jetty must walk to their homes.

The car, which the islanders just refer to as ‘the Pajero’, is the only one in Faza Island, Lamu District, where a fierce fire recently rendered half the island’s 4,500 residents homeless.

Dhows are the main mode of transport to Faza Island.

The passengers disembark from a four-hour boat ride from Lamu Island then walk to Siu village, but a lucky few get to board the vehicle into which the driver sometimes crams as many as 10 to 12 passengers for a 10-kilometre journey.

Engine boats used to take passengers from Lamu to a landing close to the inhabited part of Faza Island, but siltation on the shores has left Mtangawanda bay the only suitable place to alight from.

A four-wheel drive vehicle is the only means of motorised transport plying the island’s murram road. Motorbike taxis, which have become common elsewhere, are yet to be introduced in the far-flung island. Only a few donkey carts come to the rescue of passengers, but majority of them have to walk.

The Pajero may look old, but it has carried many dignitaries who often visit the island, including US embassy officials and the Iranian ambassador on recent tours. During the 2007 election campaigns, it was the only transport for ODM campaigners who landed twice on the island from Nairobi.

"When they arrive in helicopters and they want to be taken to particular places in Faza, I am always at hand," says Mr Haidar Omar Said Bakor, the owner of the vehicle. In such cases, sometimes he does it for free.

"There used to be a police vehicle on the route, but it did not last a year before it broke down and was written off," he says.

Another vehicle that was to be brought to the island courtesy of Kenya Red Cross Society is used at the Mokowe jetty, on the Lamu island side.

There is no petrol station in the area, not even in the main Lamu Island and the owner of the vehicle, which plies the dusty road everyday, has to send for fuel from Malindi, which is delivered for him in boats from Lamu. Bakor has been behind the wheel on that road for three years.

He says: "I do not operate like a matatu. My main work is to help the sick by taking them to Mtangawanda and back and also attend to other urgent matters concerning the islanders. Sometimes I don’t make the trip for three days or more since fuel is very expensive, but still I like helping."

Mr Haidar Omar Said Bakor during the interview. His car is the only means of motorised transport plying island’s murram road. Photo: Maarufu Mohammed/Standard

Mostly, he carries groups of women and children and lets the men hit the road.

Due to the transport hardship in the area, Bakor only requires that passengers or patients meet the cost of fuelling the vehicle. At times, he charges a nominal fee to ensure the vehicle stays on the road.

Some days he may charge Sh100 per person, on other days Sh150, depending on the vehicle’s running expenses, but often he ferries sick people for free if poor families cannot to pay him, he says.

Bakor told The Standard the Roads Ministry spent Sh18 million to build the road that runs from Mtangawanda to Faza village two years ago.

Bakor has had to learn automotive repair skills in cases of breakdown. He is the only mechanic for his vehicle.

The father of three also worked as a driver at the African Line before moving to Pate Island.

Rainy seasons pose one of the greatest challenges since the road becomes impassable.

Nominated MP Shakilla Abdallah, who is from the area, urged the Government to help repair the Mtangawanda-Kizingitini road that would open up the area to the world.

According to Lamu Chief Jamal Mzee, those who do not alight at Mtangawanda go up to Siu channel using small canoes that carry people from the main passengers boat to the village. They pay a further Sh50 for a journey that lasts 30 minutes.