There is always a first time for everything, right? Today
was my first time to visit a police station, and to be more specific, a police
cell. Let me tell you my 30 minute experience at the police cell.
I boarded the matatu opposite st.Peter’s, if any one of you
knows where the place is. The fare from Town to Kiambu was quite fair (no pun
intended) at 30 bob. Sooner than later,
we were cruising at neck break speed along Kiambu Road. But our peace and calm
was cut short when an officer hailed the vehicle to a stop. As it is normal
practice in Kenya, we expected that the officer would be given a little bribe
and then we would continue on our journey. Little did we know that this officer
was made of different mettle. Instead, the officer wanted to check if all the
passengers had their seatbelts on. That was when each and everyone of us started
to fumble for around their seat searching for the seatbelt. My American friends
might find this odd, but it is a very abnormal practice in Kenya for passengers
to put their seatbelts on. I mean who checks for seatbelts anyway?
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| The Typical Kenyan Police |
The officer watched us for a moment as we helplessly felt
around our seats for the belts. Then the realization hit us hard: THE VEHICLE
HAD NO SEATBELTS! Without mincing his words, the stern officer made it clear to
us that he was leading the matatu to Kiambu Police Station where we would all
be remanded until Monday, when we would be arraigned in court on Monday. Staying
at the police cell for 4 days!
Sorry I don’t have much time now, but join me tomorrow to
find out what happened at the police station and how I managed to escape.
hey, its me, ashley. i think it is strange becasue in the U.S.A. there is always seat belts and you cant bribe a police officer
ReplyDeleteYou must be very lucky then. that's our dream country where cops and politicians don't harrass people for bribes. about road safety here, it's a whole other thing.
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