I almost left Nairobi for good after losing three phones and a laptop

Shirlene Ishenyi is a prominent thespian, singer, and TV host. The 21-year-old bilingual fashionista appears to have it all figured out, but she reveals that her experience in Nairobi was a nightmare. “After finishing my secondary school I packed and left for Nairobi. My smart self had secured a scholarship to study French at the Alliance Française.”

In 2018, the bubbly TV personality made it to Nairobi. Her immediate shock was the number of people she saw living on the streets. It felt like the entire Kakamega county population was stuffed in the CBD, she says as she compared the city to her hometown.

“Before I got the hang of Nairobi, the kanairo streets had done me a good one,” she admits. “Everyone was in a hurry and seemed to mind their business. The cars were a sight to behold,” she says, adding that she had to deal with culture shock.  

Fortunately, she later got enrolled in Kenyatta University and her first time experiencing Thika superhighway is one she will not forget. “I was my visually impaired friend’s walking aid. I was holding my friend in one hand and had my phone in the other. Let’s just say I managed to cross the road with my friend but no phone.”

On a different day, she sat in a matatu listening to music while scrolling her phone. “Someone snatched the phone through the window and I was left with my earphones.”

The once naïve girl from Kakamega has also fallen prey to cons. “A man walking ahead of me dropped a large envelope, and I picked it up. As I handed over the envelope, he began explaining something I don’t remember when someone appeared and snatched my phone.”

A few weeks down the line saw Shirlene parted with her laptop and she almost left Nairobi for good. She says, “It was too much for one person who was new in the city.”