Riding wave of economic turmoil on Tuk Tuk, as one operator is driven out of business

A tuktuk stage at Mowlem in Nyamasaria, Kisumu County. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

I returned a call from a number I didn't recognise and it turned out to be a Tuk Tuk rider I encountered weeks ago in Diani. "Ni Salim," he declared and I instantly recalled his buoyant spirit and punctuality.

Also, his ride was pretty clean and his calm, gentle demeanour meant you could converse above the throttled noise from his vehicle's engine. Salim clarified that the phone dial had been accidental, at 10pm, earlier in the week, but it was just as well I had called back, he said. He had lost his Tuk Tuk to the firm that had loaned him the contraption.