Where Kenyans feel at ‘home’ abroad

By Omulo Okoth

Patrons laugh heartily cuddling various bottles of their favourite drinks. From Tequilla to Bud Lite, Budweiser, Heineken and even our own Tusker Export.

William Mukabane

Not surprisingly, Safari DC has become a must-stop for politicians on foreign mission, diplomatic staff, tourists, athletes plying their trade abroad, professionals on transit and regular visitors.

Ultra-Obama supporters love to congregate here to appraise his performance and revel in his success story. His pictures and that of his family, including his Kenyan relatives, are plastered all over the walls.

Other heroes whose pictures have pride of place on the walls include Martin Luther King, Tom Mboya, Jomo Kenyatta and Kwame Nkrumah.

Mukabane went to the US in 1978 and did odd jobs to support himself. Later, he did a course in classical French cuisine and worked for various hotels in Washington DC as an executive chef.

"Although I cooked good food in big hotels, I always missed the kind of food my mother used to cook and I realised many East Africans felt the same way, so I convinced Alice to open this restaurant," says Mukabane.