Kenya's Mombasa Road: That deadly road

If you've never driven long distances in Africa (Greece, too, for that matter), please read on. I just ran into a woman friend who, like myself, has driven the full length of Kenya's Mombasa Road (also known as the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway) - the only road which links Nairobi with the country's Indian Ocean coast. And if reason wins out over any fleeting thirst I might get for adventure, I seriously doubt I'll ever drive that road again in this lifetime. As a matter of fact I came across a little piece online in The East African Standard newspaper from Nairobi for 9 Feb 2006 which says "they" are now busy 'repairing' Mombasa Road. The review of progress so far was hardly enthusiastic. Done right, this project really would take months, if not a year or more. I don't need to convince anyone that I love - and care greatly about - Kenya. At the same time let's be honest. There are women and men across the world who know as well as I do of the terrifying dangers which lie in wait for anyone who dares drive the only road between Kenya's capital and its coast. Above all, and in the name of everything holy - do not drive this road at night. For great stretches there are no road lamps (translation = street lights). Along the road local folk warned us that bandits organise their "activities" on the road using cellphones to alert each other of the approach of likely vehicles. There was a major problem finding stations selling unleaded petrol (gasoline). Yet to me perhaps the worst and scariest thing is the 'shoulders' - or sides of this road - or rather what's left of them. So much of the roadbed has been allowed to erode for so long that in places along the way the drop-off of the sides of the highway can be nearly a foot (12 inches), maybe sometimes more. How many - whether Kenyans or tourists or other visitors - have been injured or killed when a tire accidentally left the jagged edge of the badly eroded road causing a driver to lose control of his or her car? That's a valid and very sobering question to ask. Then there are the drivers. Not all of them. To say the Mombasa Road has heavy commercial traffic would be a grave understatement. The truck traffic is crazy as just about every imaginable commodity is hauled overland between the coastal port and the shops, markets, homes and other businesses of the inland city. With a few prudent exceptions, most commercial drivers seem to have lost their (virtually all-male) minds. Thank God it was daylight. I was driving as we came through a rare, well-maintained stretch of the M-Road where it passes through Tsavo National Park. In the distance I watched as a gigantic lorry (truck) barreled over a hill and toward us from the opposite direction. As drivers often seem to be in that land, this one was in the grip of an obsession to overtake (pass) the car in front of him. At the rate he was hurling that truck down the road there was not enough time or distance between us for him to pass and then pull back into his lane. He was in mine and closing on us fast. In an instant there in the middle of the highway first I braked, then I slammed on the brakes and stopped completely as I realised I had to get our car off the road. Only by swerving off the highway did we avoid being crushed. To this day I wish I had the name of the company that maniac drove for. It was written on the truck but in that moment my full attention was on snatching our lives from the jaws of a highly probable and completely senseless roadway death. I love Kenya. I just wish someone in the national government would spend some of the treasury money to make that road safe, and for someone in the national tourism office and the Nairobi office of Transparency International to apply some much-needed pressure to improving the condition of this long, lethal highway. In the meantime if you plan a Kenya visit between the city and the coast - catch a plane. Do not drive the Mombasa Road.

Comments

[Dan]

In 1990, I backpacked through several countries in Africa. I made many friends along the way and at one point I befriended two female American travelers at a hostel in Mombasa, Kenya. I introduced them to a Kenyan that I had been traveling with through Namibia and Botswana. He said he would be glad to have all of us as guests in his house in Nairobi. The next afternoon, we packed into his tiny Peugeot and began the 300 mile drive across the bush to Nairobi. Without warning, all four tires of the car flattened as we approached the midpoint of our trek. Our headlights illuminated the hundreds of tacks that were deliberately laid out on the road. We soon noticed that several other cars were also disabled in this fashion. Our driver told us to wait and he disappeared into the darkness. Minutes later, a blood covered man approached us and begged for us to run. The two young American tourists began to panic and scream. It was at this time I believe to have assumed the most significant responsibility of my life. I needed to become a leader and save the three of us from a murderous gang of thieves. Despite their resistance I coaxed the girls out of the car and ran deep into the brush. I used every bit of intuition and instinct to keep their emotions quiet for the next several hours. I was able to see the thieves approach our deserted vehicle and steal our belongings. I knew that if they heard us they would kill us. Yet I remained controlled and determined to emerge safely which we did that following morning

[bankelele]

It's safe to say - avoid driving long-distances at night