A narrow escape, a black Christmas, and merits of finally getting grounded

A section of the Nairobi Expressway and Mombasa road from Ole Sereni,Nairobi interchange. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Last Saturday, as I headed to the city using the Nairobi expressway, one of the defining features of the administration of Kenyatta II—opaque in procurement and tolling logic— I shuddered to see a vehicle go up in flames. 

It was late evening, near Gateway Mall, and I caught a glimpse of its driver on the phone, calling desperately. On Monday night, barely 48 hours later, barely a kilometre from that very spot, it was my turn to scamper out of my car as its engine turned into a smouldering ruin.