I first came to Nairobi in 2008 after my hit song Kigoma. That was actually my first foreign event and even though I had been to Mombasa before, I had never ventured beyond the coastal town.
Those days, Nairobi artistes were the kings in East Africa, if not the whole of Africa. I still don’t know how they were overtaken. Anyway, one thing about Nairobi is that it’s very cold. I still don’t know why it’s called the city in the sun. And why is everyone always in a hurry? Where are they rushing to? I even got dizzy at some point because my eyes could not keep up with their fast movement!
Nairobians are very keen on hospitality, especially if they are the ones hosting you. However, there were many who were not sure it was really me and only whispered their suspicions and walked away. If it was in Dar-es-Salaam, people would have walked straight to me and asked: “Hey, are you Ali Kiba from TV?”
I was very impressed by the fact that Nairobi streets had names and even more excited when I saw Dar-es-Saalam Road. In Tanzania, our roads didn’t have names at the time.
Ali Kiba Saleh Kiba was in Kenya courtesy of Coke Studio.
He spoke to Cate Mukei.
