Wearing shorts that didn’t expose my butt was an upgrade- Popular Daktari actor Makokha

 Makokha. Photo: Courtesy

I first came to Nairobi in 1992 when I was in primary school. I came with my father who was moving due to work. I was very excited to live in Maringo estate in Eastlands.

Before the journey, I had heard that the city looked like London and everyone had a car.

Though KICC and Hilton hotel were mesmerising, what really caught my attention was the imposing statue of Jomo Kenyatta. I then began school and that’s where I met the greatest challenge.

The teachers taught us either in Swahili or English, while back home we were taught in Luhya. It took me sometime to get used to the new system. I thought my classmates were really fancy.

They had shoes and their school shorts didn’t have TVs (not torn at the back to expose protruding bottoms) like was the norm in the village.

I had a very hard time with my diet. Transiting from a diet of cassava, sweet potatoes and ugali to bread and rice was not easy. In fact, my mother was not impressed with my endless appetite. The flush toilet and shower were both novelties.

My elder sister was caught taking a bath with a basin  and showed me how to use the shower. She’s also the one who let it slip that everyone who went to the toilet after me always complained for not flushing after use. 

To make matters worse, I could not walk to the bus stop. My father had to hold my hand because I was intimidated by the the big buses.

Mathias Keya, popularly known as Alfonse dot Makacha dot Makokha rose to fame through local comedy show Vioja Mahakamani and has since reinvented himself in the number one Kiswahili comedy show, Daktari which airs on KTN.