Survival tales in the plains of Kajiado, and the making of the new metropoles

Section of Kitengela town, Kajiado County. [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

I spent the Easter weekend roaming the plains of Kajiado County, marvelling at the brave new world where some friends are inaugurating thriving ecosystems out of almost nothing. They are pioneers breaking paths to make homes and farms in the remote reaches of our land.

Ironically, they are in Isinya, in the middle of two areas where the county administration is purportedly creating new townships: Ngong and Kitengela municipalities. A public participation exercise, yes, that legal oddity that technocrats are finally grappling with, was happening in Ngong and Kitengela this week.

My two cents about easing the notorious Kitengela traffic is to dedicate each service lane to run in one direction only, rather than the mishmash we are exposed to. That’d invalidate the dozen traffic police officers deployed to man the roads.

The weekend excursion illustrated the sort of travails locals have to contend with. Good roads are still a rumour in Isinya, as our friend narrated, so on a recent, rainy night, he abandoned his car a stretch away and walked home.

In the dark, an animal trotted in proximity. Goat? Cow? He wondered. Wrong. It was a hyena that was circling him, no doubt drawn by the smell of dog food that the man was ferrying home for his dogs.

The trick that he employed to extricate himself from the beast requires a strong drink and a proper sitting, so I’ll spare that for now. These are the hazards that locals face constantly in the larger Kajiado. So, if roads, lights, water, sewer, and electricity sound like very fancy aspirations for the county bosses, they should at least feed the hyenas prowling the plains.