And The Hustler of the Year 2025 Award goes to

A knife sharpener advertises his services on a bicycle in Kahawa Sukari, off the Thika Superhighway. [XN Iraki, Standard]

Nairobians decided against their will to ‘kill’ Christmas. The city was bustling with life.

A drive through Muranga Road, Ronald Ngala, City Hall Way, and Moi Avenue in the central business district (CBD) left no doubt that the legendary migration from the city this year was exaggerated. 

Probably Nairobians didn’t do their maths. Christmas ‘eaten’ together with extended families and friends is cheaper; economies of scale come into play.

Foodstuffs are cheaper in the countryside, including meat. Add cheap labour too. 

My visit to a supermarket around 11am on Christmas day found queues as Nairobians shopped; another piece of evidence that Nairobians and pseudo-Nairobians hung around.

Pseudo-Nairobians were not born in Nairobi but try to be more Nairobian in deed and character than the natives. Their accent and mannerisms easily expose them.  

The cost of transport from the city is overrated. That can be spread out through carpooling. But hustlers, battered by economic headwinds, have no time for such calculations, more so when January 2026 is beckoning.  

Beyond family meetings, Nairobians love the recognition they get in the countryside (shags).

They have their moment of fame during the festive season; their money and attire stir up the villages.

In the city, everyone is too busy to recognise anyone! Meeting old classmates, friends, and extended family creates lasting memories.

It’s also nostalgic, of the old days, when chapati was only eaten on Christmas day. 

Some hustlers took advantage of Nairobians reluctance to leave the city. Two hustlers won my Christmas award. The runners up were the owner of a pick-up carrying a live goat and firewood towards Mwíhoko (hope in Gíkúyú) on Kahawa Sukari Road, off the Thika Superhighway. The winner was the owner of a bicycle parked off Kahawa Sukari Road at Velma shopping centre, which had a signboard ‘Knife Sharpener’.    

I called the contact number, which turned out to be that of Robert from Rwathia in Murang’a, and formerly a cobbler at Kahawa Wendani. 

Covid-19 made him start his new trade. He was sharpening knives in Mwihoko when I called him, coincidentally, where the pickup carrying a goat and firewood was heading!  

The bicycle signboard demonstrates why hustlers thrive; they are in tune with seasons and reality. 

One hopes Robert will one day join the Rwathia tycoons. He feared disclosing his local name and what he does; that could deflate him among his peers who consider him a successful Nairobian.  

Can you nominate your hustler of the year? Please justify. Happy New Year to all citizens of planet Earth.