Text Book Centre’s 254 Kitabu Fest Unveils Insights into the Publishing Landscape

Kenya has a vibrant and diverse reading culture thriving amidst its rich literary traditions and a growing appetite for knowledge. 

In a recent study by data firm Stadi Analytics and the Writers Guild Kenya (WGK), at least 85 per cent of residents living in Nairobi, Kenya read regularly, and more than half do so daily. 

Libraries, book clubs, and literary festivals are key drivers of this reading culture, fostering a love for books among Kenyan readers of all ages and fueling the increase in authors.

Despite this increase, many authors are still not able to gain the full benefits from their art, with many taking home only 10% of the profits. 

“Being an author is difficult, almost everyone in the world would like to write and publish a book but only 1% go ahead to write and publish. Many aspiring authors are mistaken that writing is easy and that when they do write it will be the best book ever, only to realize there’s more to the business of writing,” said Larry Liza, an established Kenyan author, during an author’s forum hosted by Text Book Centre dubbed 254 Kitabu Fest.

During the forum, Risper Oluga, Text Book Centre’s E-Commerce Manager, said, “The genesis of The 254 Kitabu Fest lies in Text Book Centre’s dedication to showcasing the extensive array of local titles available. We currently stock over 1000 local authors which represent up to 50% of the titles within our store. However, not many Kenyans are purchasing these books; most of the ones that fly off the shelf are linked to the education system.”

“This inspired the development of The 254 Kitabu Fest, curated to celebrate Kenyan literature and over 1000 Kenyan authors by inspiring them to understand what it takes to be an author, how to grow and monetize, how to remain relevant and how to inspire the upcoming generation to write,”[SV1]  she added

“With the increase in digital disruption and changing consumer behaviours, authors need such forums to discuss monetization strategies and remain relevant as much as possible. This includes sharing tips on how to list books in both online and brick-and-mortar stores as well as learning how to promote our books and create demand beyond the bookstore,” added Larry.

“The 254 Festival demonstrates that the book business is a dynamic and vital part of Kenya’s intellectual landscape and underscores Text Book Centre’s foundational dedication in nurturing homegrown literary talent, a commitment ingrained since its inception over 60+ years ago,” added Risper.

During the full-month festival, Text Book Centre will host various engaging events such as book signings, parent-child readings, and launches. Additionally, the festival offers enticing discounts of up to 80% on selected books, to encourage a wider embrace of reading, making literature more accessible to all, avid readers and newcomers alike.

The 254 Kitabu Fest will culminate in an event, ‘Celebration of Kenyan Voices’ slated for the 29th of September at Text Book Centre, Sarit.

L-R: Wangeci Kanyeki, media practitioner, Larry Liza, Director World Customs Org. ESA, poet and author, and Risper Oluga, E-Commerce Manager, Text Book Centre, during a Kenyan author’s forum by the 254 Kitabu Fest, aimed at celebrating local authors.

textbookcentre.com

A TIME TO CHANGE AFRICA’S CLIMATE NARRATIVE

As African leaders gather in Nairobi to discuss the escalating climate crises, urgent action is mandatory to mitigate its effect on the whole world. The One Campaign is urging all leaders to use this pivotal moment to unite around a shared pan-African agenda – one that brings justice and prosperity. 

The Africa Climate Summit themed “Driving Green Growth and Climate Finance Solutions for Africa and the World” will also provide African leaders the platform to challenge narratives and perceptions of Africa being the constant docile recipient and showcase the continent’s strength and aptitude to take a leading role in the fight against climate change and nature loss. This moment calls for active participants in the pursuit for solutions. 

African nations are among the most vulnerable to climate change effects and have significant natural assets that could provide global climate solutions. Despite this, the continent receives a disproportionately small amount of global climate finance compared to other regions. The estimated annual cost of Africa’s climate adaptation by 2050 is US$50 billion and the region has the world’s highest potential for renewable energy.  Yet the continent currently receives US$19.5 billion per year in total climate finance and only 3% of global investment in clean energy.

ONE is therefore calling on all leaders to use the Summit as a tool to elevate the following policy changes to start the journey in building a more balanced trade and more resilient African economy: 

• For World Bank shareholders and donor governments to commit to tripling grants and loans from the IBRD and IDA, which could deliver an additional $1.2 trillion in finance by 2030.
• For donor governments to deliver on their commitment to double adaptation finance and commit to a framework for the Global Goal on Adaptation that is needs-based and includes targets and/or indicators.
• Unblock the barriers so Special Drawing Rights can be recycled through multilateral development banks and the African Development Bank in particular.

Serah Makka, Director for Africa at The ONE Campaign, said: “The key to unlocking the untapped potential of this continent isn’t handouts or second-hand solutions from rich nations. It’s removing the barriers standing in our way.

“African countries possess the tools, talent and renewable resources to fuel their own growth and be at the vanguard of efforts to tackle climate change, poverty and inequality everywhere. But they are being blocked by a broken global financial system that denies them access to the affordable finance needed to unleash this potential.

“No country must choose between improving the lives of their people and protecting the planet. If the rest of the world truly gets behind Africa they can help unleash a green economic revolution that will drive growth and prosperity across the continent and help the whole world to rise to the biggest shared challenges we face.”

Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, Africa Union Commissioner in charge of Agriculture, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment,  said : ”Africa accounts for the smallest share of global greenhouse gas emissions, at just 3.8 percent, in contrast to 23 percent in China, 19 percent in the US, and 13 percent  in the European Union. Yet, the continent is the most vulnerable to climate change hazards. 

Ahead of COP28, Africa needs to negotiate not from a victim perspective, but from a solutions perspective. We need to work together as a continent. We have all the resources needed to mitigate climate change challenges. 

Development partners need to also honor their promise made in the  Paris Agreement of investing $100 billion in mitigating Africa’s climate challenges. We have not seen the investment yet.” 

Left to Right: Ms Anita Soina, A Climate Justice Advocate,Ms Serah Makka, ONE Africa Executive Director and ·   Dr. John Asafu-Adjaye, Senior fellow, Africa Centre for Economic Transformation during the One Campaign media briefing at the start of the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi Kenya.

About The ONE Campaign:

ONE is a global organization campaigning to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030, so that everyone, everywhere can lead a life of dignity and opportunity. We are nonpartisan and pressure governments to do more to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, and empower citizens to hold their governments to account.

Read more at www.one.org.

KENYA’S BIGGEST BUY NOW, PAY LATER COMPANY, LIPA LATER SPONSORS LOCAL AMATEUR RALLY DRIVER

Lipa Later, a payment option that allows customers to purchase commodities, electronics and household items through affordable monthly instalments has sponsored Zameer Verjee, a local rally driver who will be racing in the 2022 Safari Rally. Zameer Verjee will be racing in a Lipa Later branded Subaru Impreza STI N10 sporting the number 105, and this will be his inaugural Safari Rally. Zameer Verjee is a regular in the local autocross scene, racing in a 2WD buggy. 

The Studio A-Z Racing ace driver Zameer Verjee, will be looking to bring his winning ways from the Autocross circuit, to one of the hardest rallies not only of the local circuit but of the international WRC calender the iconic Safari Rally. This year, the Safari Rally taking place from the 23rd to 26th will have some of the longest competitive stages totalling over 350kms run over three days on stages around Naivasha.

“This has been something I have been looking forward over the years and i am very excited to be participating in the 2022 Safari Rally for the very first time ever. My gratitude to Lipa Later for coming in to partner with me on this very exciting venture. We have done our recce, gone through the road book and the car in good shape so we cautiously optimistic, we can race and finish” said Zameer Verjee.

According to Lipa Later’s CEO, Eric Muli “We are happy to partner with Zameer Verjee and the Studio A-Z Racing team to help make their dream come true in participating in this year’s Safari Rally. We are looking to move into the motorsport arena very soon and this partnership shows we are very open to seeing how we can grow by supporting upcoming local talent. We wish Zameer Verjee all the best as he takes part in his inaugural Safari Rally.”

The 2022 Safari Rally (also known as the Safari Rally Kenya 2022) is a motor racing event for rally cars to be held over four days between 23rd and 26th June 2022. It would mark the sixty-ninth running of the Safari Rally. The event would be the sixth round of the 2022 World Rally Championship, World Rally Championship-2 and World Rally Championship-3. The 2022 event would be based in Nairobi and is set to be contested over nineteen special stages covering a total competitive distance of 363.44 km

Zameer Verjee, The Studio A-Z Racing ace driver stands next to his Lipa Later branded Subaru Impreza STI N10, which he will be using to race in this week’s Safari Rally.

Zameer Verjee, The Studio A-Z Racing ace driver stands next to his Lipa Later branded Subaru Impreza STI N10, which he will be using to race in this week’s Safari Rally.

About Lipa Later

Lipa Later is a buy now, pay later platform that allows retailers to sell goods and services to consumers in affordable monthly instalments.  It is the leading third-party instalment plan for retailers in East Africa and currently operates in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Nigeria.  The company’s product offering allows for both online and offline integration with retailers and both online and offline sales platforms including mobile wallets for consumers.  For more information, please visit https://lipalater.com.

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Lipa Later partners with Carrefour to enable customers to shop now and pay for their shopping later.

Nairobi, November 1st, 2021: Lipa Later has officially partnered with Carrefour, one of Kenya’s biggest retailers in Kenya to roll out the LipaVismart product powered by Lipa Later for all Carrefour customers. This strategic partnership offers an installment plan or monthly payment plan of all items within Carrefour (electronics, gadgets, appliances, furniture, perishables, consumer items, etc.) where customers can buy items they need, and payback in monthly installments. LipaVismart will be available in all Carrefour stores countrywide and will soon be extended to Carrefour Stores in Uganda.

With LipaVismart at Carrefour, the credit limit will be up to a basket size kes 500,000. “We understand shopping is an almost daily thing, we have therefore made sure that once you start making monthly payments, you get back part of the amount you paid to go back towards the limit you use for shopping,” said Claudine Gakundi, Country Manager Lipa Later. Once a customer signs up online or at any outlet, they receive an instant approval with their available credit limit that they can use at any of the Carrefour outlets. The customer will have up to 30 days to make their first payment but are able to take the item home there and then.

“LipaVismart powered by Lipa Later offers the lowest interest rates in town, at 2.3% per month, with no other fees charged. Customers have an option of choosing the duration they would like to make their affordable monthly repayments for the items they have bought, and this ranges from  3, 6, 9 or up to 12 months,” said Eric Muli CEO Lipa Later. “Partnering with Carrefour, will offer customers immediate access to the products they are looking to purchase, and conveniently make the payments later,” he added.

On his part, Franck Moreau Country Manager- Carrefour East Africa said, “We are very excited to partner with LipaLater to roll out LipaVismart in all our outlets in Kenya and very soon across the region. This partnership will help our customers be able to get the products they need from all our outlets to help them improve their lives even as they pay over a period of time in monthly installments.” 

The LipaVismart product powered by Lipa Later is available to both employed and self-employed customers shopping at Carrefour.

Franck Moreau Country Manager- Carrefour East Africa and Eric Muli CEO Lipa Later during the ceremony to mark the rollout of the LipaVismart product powered by Lipa Later for all Carrefour customers at Carrefour, Two Rivers.

                                                              -ENDS-

For media enquiries, please contact:

Claudine Gakundi|LipaLater|cgakundi@lipalater.com | Tel: 0795829819

Paul Karingithi  |Brandspark PR |paul.karingithi@brandspark.co.ke | Tel: 0721678828

About Lipa Later

Developed by Odyssey Capital, Lipa Later is a credit service that works with retail partners to finance the acquisition of consumer goods for customers across the African region. Lipa Later is a risk free, point of sale credit option that allows retailers to sell goods and services to consumers with repayments made in affordable monthly instalments. It is the leading third-party instalment plan for retailers in East Africa currently operating in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Our product offering allows for both online and offline integration with retailers and both online and offline sales platforms for consumers. We currently offer this highly innovative service in the above regions, and have plans to expand to Nigeria within the year. We allow you to own and have unrestricted use of what you want while you pay for it in affordable and flexible monthly instalments.

About Carrefour

Carrefour, one of the largest French hypermarket chains in the world, was introduced to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market in 1995 by Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, retail and leisure pioneer across MENA. Carrefour currently has 13 outlets in the Kenyan market and are looking to continue opening more outlets.

Great Run 18…and the Proton Saga.

The Great Run 18 was going to be the most ambitious Great Run yet and the route as outlined was going to be quite a drive. But I’m getting quite ahead of myself…who/what is the Great Run? The Great Run is a mid to long distance driving event for any form of motorized transport. It is a chance for both driver and vehicle to cover hundreds of kilometers and take in some of the best roads in the country in the company of like-minded individuals. 

Additionally the Great Run is a charity event where we decide to take the longest route across Kenya to a children’s home – because that’s the fun thing to do – We get to spend time with the children, chat and play with them. The team assesses the home’s needs prior to our visit and tries to raise the necessary support through the ‘Jaza Lorry’ Campaign, and follow up with the home to see how they are doing over the years. So far 17 different homes have been recipients of donations and gifts from the Great Run community which does 2 different runs every year.

So Great Run 18, was going to be a special one as it was taking us to a part of the country that is a reserve for 4×4’s. So the route would take us from Nairobi to Nakuru past Kabarak towards Marigat. We would then climb to Kabarnet and see the majestic Kerio Valley, which we would proceed to climb and get to Iten(home to most of our marathon runners) then Eldoret town. Our rest stop for the first night would be the agricultural town and headquarters of Trans Nzoia county, Kitale town. The middle of the year Great Run is usually for the tarmac gang, which means most of it is run on roads that are passable by saloon cars or your daily drive to the office. 1500kms to Northern Kenya and to the shores of one of Kenya’s largest freshwater lakes, what’s not to love.

Our chosen car for this journey was the all new 2021 Proton Saga Saloon car. Your normal office to work car would it survive 1500kms up some very steep hills in the rift valley and the hot climate in Lodwar? I guess we would have to find out. Our unit was locally assembled in Mombasa and therefore came tropicalized for the Kenyan market. 

Day 1

Our journey started from the Waterfront mall where we had our briefing before driving out of Nairobi via the Southern bypass then up to Mutarakwa to avoid the highway that is currently being expanded. We then used the highway from Limuru to Flyover which we took to Njabini, Engineer, Ol Kalou and Nakuru through the Lanet route. First stop over Westside Mall in Nakuru for refreshments and to stretch as we took up the next stretch. We used the Kabarak, Mogotio, Marigat road that was just a straight line of asphalt meaning we could really let the Proton Saga show us what it’s made of. The Proton did surprise us with its burst of power and stability on the road, keeping up with larger engined rivals on the great run. Just before Marigat we turned to climb up the hills towards Kabarnet and on these steep climbs the 1300cc engine was holding its own, with adequate power to power us up the winding road to the very top.

The view from Kabarnet across the Kerio Valley and to the other side of the Rift Valley, where Iten nestles on the edge is a view to behold. The beauty is indescribable but we had to make a move to descend into the valley through one of the winding roads that you find in Kenya that gives you a very good view but tests your response times and the brakes on your car. Up ahead was one of the ascents of a lifetime, possibly 30kms of continuous climbing up the escarpment to Iten. The ascent to Iten is largely done in single file with the car continuously downshifting for more power but keeping the power output well within the range to tackle anything we threw at it. As we crested the escarpment with the sun almost setting we had a last look at Kerio Valley as we headed into Eldoret Town. We stopped in Eldoret to refuel both car and body and set on for the last 50kms to Kitale, our first stop on this leg of the Great Run 18.

Day 2

Woke up in the Kitale with another possibly 250kms to go to Lodwar with a stop in Kapenguria at the Sunflower Children’s Home. We drove out of Kitale after breakfast and our convoy of around 40 cars plus a truck, a Fuso FI truck made our way to Kapenguria. The 50 kms were a breeze and we did bring traffic to a stand still in Kapenguria as they were in awe of 40 odd cars all with number stickers rolling into town. The Sunflower Children’s home were also amazed as they were expecting at most a car or 5 cars not 40. The welcome was amazing as we explained what we do and they introduced the home, presented some songs and dances and we had a good fellowship together. We danced and sang together then proceeded to offload the truck that had carried all our donations to the children’s home. After a round of photos it was time to take the next leg of our journey, from Kapenguria to Lodwar a place very few of us had been before. 

The journey took us down a 17km downhill stretch as we left the highlands around Kapenguria to the valley’s of West Pokot heading to Turkana county with the border point at Kainuk.The road, newly tarmacked had sections we needed to space out due to loose gravel but other than that the roads were smooth with very little traffic. In all the small towns we passed, the convoy of 42 odd cars stopped activity and had people marvelling as to where this convoy of well marked and branded cars was going. 17kms of downhill stretches meant we needed to use a combination of our brakes and engine braking to get the most of the car but also preserve our brake pads. The scenery here was majestic with the hills giving way to the endless plains and lange’s which are like inverted bumps. The Proton Saloon was at home in this environment making up speed in the straight sections but also negotiating the lange’s with the grace and poise of a car in its environment.

The Turkana Tourism team was very excited to welcome us at Kainuk, the town centre marking the entry into Turkana county. Here we were flagged off into Turkana county and we were officially in county number 23 and Kenya’s second largest county. This is the farthest the Proton Saga had come but we still had another 167 kms to go including a 37km diversion where the tarmac road is currently under construction. The tarmac roads on this side are well graded and we were pretty impressed by the infrastructure connecting us to the northern part of the country. 

The weather is hot and dry, and keeping hydrated with water was a must. It also gave us a chance to test the Proton’s Aircon system making sure it kept us cool. Our fuel consumption was averaging around 15km/l and the car was handling the different driving conditions pretty well. The diversion meant we had to test our suspension quite a bit but the ride was solid and quite comfortable. Also additionally the Proton comes with a very spacious boot that fitted all our suitcases and bags plus any other produce we bought on the road like the watermelons from Kapenguria. The last 60kms were a good, just done tarmac road and we arrived in Lodwar at sunset.

Day 3

Sunday morning in Lodwar and after breakfast we met up to make the trip up to Eliye Springs which was 63kms north of Lodwar. This would be done mostly offroad and we set off to the lake Side, Eliyee Springs on the shores of Lake Turkana. After a fuel stop and tire pressure check we were on our way to the lake. The first 20 kms were okay but as we got closer and closer to the lake we began driving on more sandy ground that needed more power especially for the saloon cars to maintain traction and reduce the incidences of getting beached. The Proton Saga performed very well and we got to Eliye Springs in around an hour, our first sighting of the turquoise blue clear waters of Lake Turkana. 753kms after we started we were lakeside in a 5 seater 1300cc powered Proton Saga saloon can that was assembled in Mombasa near the Indian ocean. The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming in the fresh waters of Lake Turkana and basking in the amazing lake views it offered. As evening approached we drove back to Lodwar and watched the sunset as we reminisced on a wonderfully spent day by the lake.

Day 4

We left Lodwar at 5am to embark on the journey back to Nairobi, 700 odd kms away. I guess we can safely say the Proton Saga had completed its first coast to coast trip across Kenya and what a way to get it done. Many thanks to Great Run 18 and Simba Corp for this trip and giving us the Proton Saga to go up north.

You can book a test drive of the new Proton Saga Saloon here.

Saga

More information about the Proton Saga here

Saga

Golfing in Covid-19 times

Golfing has been one of those sports I have been working paying the regular for the last 3 to 4 years. I started it as a hobby pushed on by some of my friends who on vacation, I would accompany them for a round or 2 of golf. One round at the quite difficult to master leisure Lodge golf course, my caddy told me I should give it a go since I already had a few of the basic covered.

In this Covid-19 times working from home from March 16^th, golf has been my regular exercise and get out to the house plan. I do regular walks 2 to 3 times a week but a drive to the golf course to the other side of town every Saturday has been my way to unwind after a week mostly at home coordinating work and Zoom school schedules for my 3 kids.

Playing at Golf Park, at the Ngong Racecourse has been quite enjoyable even with the different measures put in place. The social distancing, playing as a two or three ball, suspension of all tournaments and handicaps and no caddies. It has meant changing your golf bag for a lighter much easier to carry one or finding a trolley so you can push/pull your clubs around the 18-hole golf course which is around 9km…give or take.

So, what has changed in my golf game in the last 3 months?

1. A greater appreciation for caddies – Caddies do a lot of work, spotting balls advising on the right club to use and helping carry all our golf clubs around for 9km. Most of all for keeping us company as we try to will a small white ball to agree to land where we want it to land with little or no practice due to our work schedules.
2. Golf kits are heavy- I have started wondering why I need to go play each round with 13 or 14 clubs in my bag, whereas I will only use 5 or 6.  Since now I have to carry the clubs, I’m only going with the essential ones, the ones I will definitely use not the ones I might just use.
3. Its not how far, it’s how many – Golf is an interesting sport as you need to find your own unique playing style and there is no one size fits all approach to golf. My approach before was always to try and see how far I can hit the ball, now I have learnt that my approach needs to approach each hole by trying to figure out how many times I need to hit the ball to get it into the hole. E.g I struggle with my driver shot – currently using a 3 wood as my driver so I don’t get the ball to go very far, but I know I can recover on my second and third shots.
4. I’m really enjoying each golf round- Golf is my release and I go out to enjoy the game and the walk. My little island of some freedom and lots of fresh air.

photos from Pexels by tyler hendy & Jopwell

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To Durban and back…the long way back

Leg 6- Lilongwe – Dar es Salaam

So being the kind of traveler I am, and my life can I test to this I don’t always book in advance. So, on this leg Lilongwe to Dar, I knew the bus company Taqwa the better of the 2 I had been led to believe left Lilongwe every other night but I had no idea where to get the bus from. The cost was approximately Ksh 3,500/= per person. When our bus arrived at the InterCape booking office in Lilongwe from South Africa I asked the driver if he could point us in the direction of the bus to Dar. Right at that moment on the highway leading out of Lilongwe was a Taqwa bus and our very kind South African bus driver bundled us into a taxi with the instructions to the taxi driver to get us onto the Dar Bus which was going to stop half a kilometer ahead to fuel.

Haya sisi hao with the cab guy following the bus.’ True to it we caught up with the bus at the next petrol station and the cab guy helped us put our luggage in the bus as I was haggling with the conductor on the fare. Once done we climbed aboard the bus and settled in our seats seat 33 & 34 respectively which were 2 seats from the back seat. So a few more passengers got in and in 30 min we were on our way. The Taqwa bus, was a Nissan Diesel bus sold by CMC Nairobi and Body fabricated by Master Fabricators. It was created on a double axle truck body which wasn’t the most comfortable for long distance bus journeys, but the seats reclined, and they were quite comfy. No charging ports on this bus so our phones were off and since it was dark already, we settled to sleep.

We woke up early morning around 6am, bus was parked at the Songea border waiting for the border point to open. It was a bit cold and foggy so wore our jackets and set out to see what awaited us. There was a line of trucks but ours was the only bus at the crossing this early in the morning and I was looking forward to seeing what the process of going through immigration would be. At 7am the Songwe border post opened and we filed in and gave in our passports. Since we are from Kenya, we had to fill in an exit form that we gave in with our passports. They took all the passports and then told us to wait and proceeded to sign and stamp the whole lot though it took almost another 30minutes before they came back outside and started calling out names & handing back the passports. Once we got our passports, we needed to walk across the bridge on the Songwe river to the Tanzanian side to get stamped in.

On the Tanzanian side the process was a bit different, we needed to line up and file in one by one, which made me miss the Namanga border point where its one building and the border posts are right next to each other. Anyway, we lined up and since it was early morning, it was quite a long line. They checked our temperature, got us to register our names on a big red book then line up to get an entry declaration form which we filled. We then proceeded to the counter to get our passports stamped and we were back into Tanzania. I thought this was the halfway point, I mean around 6 hours from Lilongwe, Dar can’t be that far, right?

Wrong…Lilongwe to the Songwe Border post was 620km a 6 to 7 hour bus ride which was at night so we were pretty much asleep. Songwe- Dar Es Salaam, 895km, almost the same distance as Nairobi to Dar es Salaam so it was possible going to take another 15 hours.

Back on the bus and we started our journey through Southern Tanzania, which was green and very beautiful. Tea plantations and countless farms with matoke all along the road. We had someone to change money and get our phones all set up on the airtel network so we could communicate. At Mbeya the money and phone guy got off and the breakfast guy got on. With a few buckets of chicken, roast potatoes and some matoke he came through the bus taking orders and dishing out the food in paper bags. As the bus needed only to make the scheduled stops so no breakfast stop just breakfast on the move.

The bus crew put for us a few movies and music videos that kept us entertained as the scenery outside kept on changing from the tea highlands and matoke plantations to the savannah land and game reserves along the way. The roads were good and we were stopped a few times for overspending especially in the town areas where the maximum speed was 50kph. We stopped twice once to fuel and a bathroom break around Morogoro. We finally got to Dar Es Salaam at 11pm at night after a journey of close to 1500kms.

What were my key lessons on this leg of the trip?

• A lot of business travel happens between Dar es Salaam and Lilongwe more so because Malawi is a landlocked country. The bus had a lot of traders going to by goods in Dar for their businesses in Lilongwe.

• Travelling in Southern Africa is easy, and everyone is willing to help. They will answer questions and make sure you have what you need.

• I loved the friendly nature of all the people we met and even though sometimes we didn’t speak the same language we found a way to communicate

• The road network is quite good and you can actually drive through all these countries with a normal car.

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To Durban and back…the long way back

Leg 5- Johannesburg – Lilongwe

 

Our stay in South Africa was over and it was a good one albeit getting to see sides of Johannesburg, that make our very own Kirinyaga Road look super safe and a place one can walk anytime day or night. We were leaving early Sunday morning on a bus to Lilongwe some 1800kms away. We checked out of our hotel Sierra on Mains and ordered an Uber to Park Station. The uber dropped us outside Park Station with our luggage that we then needed to carry across the road to the station. We were taking the Intercape Bus to Lilongwe a Man Irizcar Mainliner built and imported from Brazil. https://www.intercape.co.za/

The boarding process was quite a task as they had one line for everyone who was boarding with luggage that needed to be weighed and paid for taxes and everyone else with personal luggage. After like 20min of waiting we got on board with our luggage and settled down on our seats for the 36hour journey. The seats were super comfortable with USB charging ports, good entertainment, ample space and an airplane styled loo at the very back. We promptly set off on the journey at 8.30am. The bus had 2 drivers one who doubled up as the bus conductor. He came round to make announcements predominantly in Chichewa and for our benefit English since we were from Kenya and he knew no Kiswahili. After a perusal of our documentation, he was concerned that we might need to get a visa for Zimbabwe and Mozambique Entry. We told him according to our research a visa wasn’t needed for both Kenyan nationals. We were to find out that wasn’t necessarily true…

 

We drove out of Johannesburg heading north towards Pretoria, Polokwane, Musina heading to the Beitbridge Border Crossing into Zimbabwe. Driving north past Pretoria the road/journey was dotted with big large-scale farms and with small townships interspersed in different areas. Polokwane was our first major city after Pretoria and we passed on the outskirts of the city but were able to see the city and the Peter Makaba stadium one of the 2010 World Cup Stadiums. We had Lunch/Dinner at a diner right before Musina and the Beitbridge crossing.

 

 

 

So at Beitbridge, we all left the coach and walked to the South African immigration office to be stamped out of South Africa. The process was quite orderly and, in a few minutes, we were all stamped out. Took another 30 minutes for the bus to be cleared and we did a little shopping and enjoyed the last bits of the sunset. We were then given the all-clear and we got on onto the bus to cross the Limpopo River and into Zimbabwe. I should explain the bus from South Africa comes with a trailer behind it full of goods going into Malawi and the goods sealed in south Africa only pay customs in Malawi. I figured it had something to do with both countries being members of SADC.

 

Into Zimbabwe and our conductor was apprehensive that Zimbabwe would insist on us having to get a visa, though our search online indicated differently. Anyway, we all trouped into the Zimbabwe immigration office where we the non-SADC country people had to fill in declaration forms saying how long we intended to be in the country. A week we said and we handed our forms and passports that then were duly stamped. The staff at the immigration centre, though before they stamped the second passport were a bit confused by its appearance. We must have been the first people through that post with the new generation East African Passport which they thought was an ECOWAS passport. Not sure ECOWAS has a regional passport but it did elicit quite the discussion and the boss was called who then was able to inform the frontline staff that was indeed the new generation EAC passport. Fully stamped in we got back to the bus but had to sit outside as it was undergoing inspection.

On the other side was a line of trucks that were crossing the border and for the 2 hours, we were waiting for the bus to be inspected the trucks kept coming. The Zimbabwe border crossing was a bit more chaotic with people sitting around waiting for the buses to be inspected to continue their journey and the area being dusty with the heavy presence of police officers. We got into the bus to proceed with our journey in the night and most of our journey in Zimbabwe was at night. As we left the immigration station the road was quite bad with a number of diversions that seemed to go on forever. We made one stop in Harare at the Intercape Harare office for a bit of leg stretching and a bathroom break. So far we were 14 hours into our journey with another 22 hours to go and 2 countries to cross into.

Sunrise and we were north of Harare on a tarmac road heading to the border with Mozambique. It was a wooded area with hills, villages and baobab trees, lining the road as we wound our way further and further away from Harare towards the Nyampanda border point. Didn’t see too much of Zimbabwe especially due to most of it was night travel but the scenery towards the border town was quite scenic.

 

The Zimbabwe – Mozambique border was a tat bit underwhelming as it was just a barrier on the road with vehicles parked on the side of the road. Reminded me of crossing through to Uganda at Busia over 18 years ago. So we got out of the bus around 9.30am and carried our rucksack and filed into the Zimbabwe side to be stamped out. From here we walked the short stretch to the Mozambique side to be stamped in. As usual, we were given a declaration form on entry to ask how long our intended stay in Mozambique was. We filled in all our details gave in our passports and were stamped into Mozambique our 3^rd country to travel through. Mozambique is a very big country and our bus was crossing through the northern province, the Tete Province. Tete Province is reported to have great coal deposits with over 6.7 billion tonnes and is rumored the province could produce 25% of the world’s coal by 2025. In the same province we crossed our second big river after the Limpopo, the Zambezi river which I do remember from GHC and Geography in Secondary school.

 

Mozambique’s Tete province is sparsely populated and with few villages that can be seen from the road. The road is tarmacked and okay with a landscape resembling our savannah with rolling hills in the distance. There have been mass resettlements in this province as different mining companies move in to begin mining the coal available. Tete province also has the Cahora Bassa Dam is the largest hydroelectric power plant in southern Africa and the most efficient power generating station in Mozambique.

We were now on the road towards the Dedza border point between Mozambique and Malawi having traveled for 7 hours across Mozambican territory. So we got the Dedza border point and we all trouped out of the bus to the immigration office to get our passports stamped. As usual, we filled our exit forms and filled in one by one to get our passport stamped. When it was our turn the guy at the counter referred our passport to his colleague who was sitting at the desk…the boss. The boss had a look at our passports then came to the counter and called us aside. He said he was to send us back to point of entry since we didn’t get a Mozambique visa which was 7 and a half hours in the opposite direction. We did inform him that we were duly stamped in, but he would hear none of it and was still threatening to detain us and put us on the next bus taking us to the point of entry. After 15 minutes of pleading, he said we had to get a visa and each was 50USD, dismissing the fact that Kenya & Mozambique had signed an agreement exempting us from requiring a visa. He said 2 years later the agreement had not been implemented in Mozambique.

So he allowed us to cross to the Malawi border side to find the cash since we had it on a Visa card. We explained the situation to the conductor who graciously gave us his phone and we got into contact with a friend who was based in Blantyre. After explaining the situation she sorted us out and after withdrawing the cash and converting it we crossed back to the Mozambique side with the bus agent to sort out the situation. We got back to the immigration office again and started the process of applying for the visa. So, the immigration boss took our passports and sent the bus agent to go photocopy them. As we were waiting, we started talking about our families and respective countries and we became friends. He told us about his family, Tete province, Mozambique and how he has always wanted to come visit Nairobi but hadn’t gotten the chance just yet. He was quite impressed that we were going back to Nairobi from Johannesburg by bus and that we were getting a unique opportunity to see Africa up close.

So the bus agent came back with our passports and the photocopies. The immigration guy proceeded to stamp them and the photocopies, handed us our passports and the 100USD and sent us on our merry way wishing us all the best in our journey ahead. 2 and a half hours later we crossed into Malawi, having been saved by the fact that the bus was still clearing customs on the Malawi side. We went to the Malawi immigration office, and after filling in the entry form were stamped into Malawi. Customs check on the bus took another 30 min and we took the opportunity to sample some local cuisine which was chicken and some fries made by the roadside in some interesting looking oil. The stomach prevailed though, and we dug into so well needed comfort food. The remainder of the journey from Dedza to Lilongwe was quite uneventful and, in another hour, and a half we were in Lilongwe the capital city of Malawi the 4^th country on this leg of the journey.

 

Next week – Lilongwe to Dar es Salaam by bus….

To Durban and back…The long way back.

Leg 4- Durban – Johannesburg

 

This has taken a while and my sincere apologies for that. Here is the rest of the story.

 

Our hotel in Durban, the Durban Manor Hotel and Conference Centre was a quaint little quiet hotel that was opposite a park and a harbor. It had a double bed, a reading table, a shower, and a loo and a TV with DSTV. We dressed and went for continental breakfast which was quite nice, and it came with brewed coffee that helped us wake up. Now we were Durbanites so we strolled to the Durban Convention Centre, seeing Durban in a different light. Durban was a clean city, with some nice white Taxi’s (mathree’s in Kenya) playing some very loud Kwaito music. That did remind us of home and our very own mathree’s that we love and hate at the same time.

 

So at the ICC, we interacted with the young creatives who had different projects on display and some of the panelists from the day before. The energy was amazing and being among different creatives -illustrators, photographers, poets and graphic designers was super amazing. As this was our last day in Durban we decided to go out and explore back to the promenade and the beachfront.

 

Specifically swim in a public pool by the beachfront, go into the ocean and experience the Durban water and some beachside amusement park. Haven’t been to the new Mama Ngina Drive in Mombasa but in my mind,  they need to make it close to what they have on the Durban Beachfront.

 

 

Our return trip to Johannesburg was by bus and we booked a Translux bus. After our Citiliners experience, we thought we were in for the same kind of experience, but we were sorely disappointed. The bus was late, and it was old and clearly had seen better years. The phone charging outlets were not working, and the staff wasn’t the most helpful. We settled into our seats and prepared for the 6-hour journey back to Johannesburg. The journey was uneventful as we were asleep for most of the journey. We arrived at Johannesburg Park Station at 6am in the morning. We alighted from the bus and used the app to see how much and uber would cost us to Sierra on Mains, our hotel in Randburg. We then used this information to bargain for a good price with a taxi driver at ParkStation as they don’t allow Uber’s to pick passengers at the station.

 

Sierra on Main’s was a nice hotel situated in Randburg, Johanessburg that we booked and paid for via Agoda an online travel site. The hotel was quite impressive, and the room was spacious with a bathroom with a bathtub. After the long journey, we were indeed grateful for the bathtub to soak in and take away all our tiredness. After spending much of the day lazing around, we decided to take a walk. We walked to the counter and ask the lady if there are any malls around that we can walk to see. She told us the malls would be close to closing, at 5pm on a Saturday and she wouldn’t recommend us walking anywhere. She proposed we take an uber to Sandton to the mall as it was the one place that closed later.

 

 

We took an uber to Sandton, walked around to see the various stores and shops. Things here are good quality and not as pricey as when you find them in a high-end mall in Nairobi. We even saw a bitcoin ATM. Right after we were invited to a Braai by some Kenyan friends and introduced to flavoured gin and a conversation on some very good South African Golf courses.

 

Next week – Johannesburg to Lilongwe by bus….

 

 

 

To Durban and back…the long way back

Leg 3- Durban – Day 1

 

We arrived in Durban in the wee hours of the morning and took an Uber to the hotel. A difference I noticed with South African uber drivers is they don’t call you but message you on the app.  On arrival at Durban manor and Conference Centre the hotel checked us in and in minutes we were in our room fast asleep. The room was quite nice with DSTV a very cozy bed, a reading space with a kettle and a lovely bathroom.  It was nice to sleep on an actual bed as much as I slept on the bus.

Our Afia made it all the way to Durban from Nairobi…

The Loeries take place at the Durban Convention Centre, which according to google maps was around 1.2kms from our hotel. So, we decided to take a walk since it would be a good way to see more of Durban. Also, we had about 2 hours before our sessions at the Loeries so the walk would do us a bit of good. We left the hotel and following the map below we made our way to the Durban ICC. My first impressions of Durban was the fact that it was very clean, nice, sunny and very well organized from a pedestrian view. Being a Thursday morning, it struck me as a busy town but not too far from Nairobi City Centre though the drivers obey the traffic lights and there are no boda boda’s.

In 30 min time, we were at the Durban ICC which is right next to the Hilton Hotel Durban. We walked in got our registration sorted, got some merchandise including a funky Vodacom branded travel mug and a t-shirt. We then got to mingle, get free coffee from Vodacom, get a back massage at the JC Decaux Stand, get a photo done at the South African Tourism stand and take photos at the Dove photobooth.  Our 2 masterclasses were Shared Value by Vodacom, JC Decaux and Shared Value Africa and Advertising Leading Society by Dove & UN Women.

 

The Shared Value masterclass was an eye-opener as first it did a lot to demystify the differences between CSR, CSI, and Shared Value. Shared Value is when a company develops a product or a service to solve a consumer problem. There we some good examples of Vodacom providing school reading materials in South Africa but one of the best Examples was our very own Safaricom with m-pesa and all the m-pesa offshoots. JC Decaux an OOH company has created out of home advertising spaces that help solve a problem in the society like solar-powered public toilets or public bicycles in cities like Luxemburg. Shared Value Africa is currently working with African companies to help them understand how to integrate shared value into the different products and services they provide.

 

After the masterclasses, we left the Durban ICC to go explore the Durban beachfront. Durban’s Golden Mile, also known as ‘the mile’, runs the length of the Durban beachfront in the city. It includes the promenade and starts roughly at South Beach and uShaka Marine World ending at the Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World to the north. It includes Battery beach, Snake Park, Bay of Plenty, North Beach, Dairy, Wedge, South and Addington and the added safety assurance of shark nets and lifeguard patrols.

 

https://www.sa-venues.com/attractionskzn/durban-beachfront.php

The Promenade is what I believe the Mombasa county government should do at Mama Ngina drive in Mombasa. It has parks, paved spaces for walking, running, cycling and skating and piers that let you walk right into the ocean. With restaurants along the promenade, the eThekwini municipality has also made sure the promenade is safe, well lighted and clean. They also have some public pools which are very clean right next to the Durban Fun-world meaning that the beach has people up and about till late into the night. Next, to the promenade are grass lawns where different people come to play football and other team sports. We walked down the promenade from the old Botanical gardens all the way to the uShaka marine world and the Moyo Restaurant at the pier.

At the Moyo Restaurant, we tried the Bunny Chow which is a Durban dish. The Ushaka Lamb Bunny Chow constitutes of a half loaf with the inside part removed and replaced with curry and to go with it some Shisanyama. The food was super delicious, with the location and service top-notch. We then took a walk back to our hotel having walked a total of 8.4kms around Durban. Durban felt quite safe and it was nice to walk around and many different places.