“Kinshasa Makambo”

In my last article, I was on my way to Kinshasa, I got held up by issues beyond my own control. As I told you, the flight was late into Kigali and when we got to Bujumbura, the “Airport Petrol station attendants” were fast asleep such that, it took nearly an hour to shake them out of their slumber. Most probably, those poor chaps had consumed a bottle too many of the famous ARMSTEL Bok or someone had doped them so as to frustrate my trip. Definitely, we Africans have to explain or justify each and everything that occurs under the sun and stars. Despite arriving in Nairobi past the time of my flight and missing it, there was no problem at all, the Airline took good care of me, they arranged for my transport to the Hotel, footed my hotel bills that included a nights’ accommodation, a lunch and dinner. All in all, I was well taken care of except that; they denied me my daily dose of ARMSTEL or its cousins TUSKER etc. I was taken to none other than the Nairobi’s “LAICO Regency”. The LAICO Regency Hotel, Nairobi’s Five Star deluxe hotel, is situated in the heart of Nairobi, on a prime site. This 5star deluxe hotel boasts 196 double rooms and suites on twelve floors overlooking an imposing central atrium, at the base of which is the beautiful atrium garden. The LAICO Regency Hotel is only 15 Kilometres from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport via Taxi/Shuttle. The hotel is within walking distance of the Centre of Nairobi’s business and shipping area and a short trip from the Nairobi National Park and other attractions. The next morning, I was up and ready to hit the road or rather, the air. The Airport Shuttle was at the Hotel by 06:00am on the dot and we set off for the airport. On our way, we passed by the Nairobi Hilton Hotel, located in the city’s heart, the Hilton Nairobi hotel is next to the craft market and 25 minutes’ drive from Jomo Kenyatta International Airports. Here we picked some other travellers that had been booked in. We proceeded to the Airport and had to stop at the PANARI Hotel too; I will not bore you with the nitty-gritty of what happened and did not happen here. What mattered is that we were at the Airport in time for our Kinshasa flight. All went well and the boarding call was sounded at around 08:00am, we rushed into the plane with all the enthusiasms we had, we did not want to spend a send night in Nairobi, not that we did not want a second treat at the LAICO Regency but because, we were eager to get to Kinshasa. The flight attendant announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard our KQ Boeing 737-300, the flight to Kinshasa is expected to take 3 hours blah, blah,blah”. In spite of the plane being packed to full capacity, we took off gracefully and made the trip in the three hours ashad been announced by the flight attendant. As we began descending into Kinshasa, one could not help noticing the lake like River Congo and the dilapidated nature of the Kinshasa Airport. What really catches the eye is the huge number of ancient aircrafts parked at the airport, these stand as testimony of not only the age of the airport but also the dilapidated nature of the infrastructure. As the guys here say, “tambula na mokili, omona makambo” (walk the world and you will see issues), true, Kinshasa Makambo! Mfashumwana@fastmail.fm