Janitorial Orientation

The time had come to say goodbye to the colleagues and clients I had known for the four eventful years as a cab driver. I remember the last clients I ferried quite well. They were a group of workers from the British Airways cargo section who were my regular clients and I used to carry them every day to the airport and back to their homes. When I told them that that was my last assignment, they could not believe their ears. I told them that I already had a letter of appointment from my new work place and I had also handed in my resignation. I had been excited since I passed the interview but looking at my beloved clients faces now, I was not so sure. Anyhow, as soon as I dropped the last one off, I went back to base one and parked my car for the last time.

My colleagues were envious and sad at the same time. I was not so sure any more if I really wanted to leave but I put on a brave face and told myself that this was the day I had prayed for for a long time.

The following day, I wore the best trouser and shirt I could find, and finished off the look with a tie. I arrived at my new work place at 7 am. When I walked through the gate, the guard asked me harshly, “Iko wapi?” (Where is it?). I had no idea what he was asking about. He asked me where the milk was. I suddenly remembered that my new job title was Driver\Janitor. In addition to driving, I was also supposed to make tea and clean the office. It was the first time I got to know the meaning of the title, janitor. It always sounded like a highly technical job. It was alright, but not in the way I had imagined. I sullenly walked back to the nearby kiosk and picked the milk. I went back to the office and proceeded to make tea. While it boiled, I had to go and clean the offices and toilets while making sure there was enough tissue paper. On getting back to the kitchen, the milk had boiled over. Right then I realized that I had to find a practical formula or else my new job would be in jeopardy.

When the tea boiled and I poured it into the flasks ready for the staff, I observed that there were no clean cups. Instead, there was a big heap of dirty dishes at the sink. I frantically got to washing them because it suddenly dawned on me that people would not be able to take tea as soon as they came into the office. It was while I was doing the dishes that my colleague and fellow driver walked in. By virtue of me being the last one to be hired, had been transformed into the ‘senior’ driver. He didn't have to clean any more and he seemed to be enjoying that fact. He was amused by my tie and couldn't understand why I thought I needed it. He kindly advised me to remove it or risk it getting soaked in dirty dish water. Needless to say, that was the second last time I wore a tie while working at that organization. The last time was much later when I sat for an interview, but that is the story for another day.

That first day was quite tough for me but thankfully, the staff was friendly and helpful. After a few hours, there was a semblance of order in my kitchen and toilets. I was now ready for my first driving assignment. My then supervisor asked me to drop one of the lady members of staff in town. I was a bit nervous since this was my first time ever to work in an office environment. The lady was nice and talkative and we got on quite well. When we reached her meeting venue and she was about to alight, I had to consciously hold myself back from asking her to pay for the trip. It was the first time in years that I had ferried a passenger for “free”.

When I drove back to the office, I was depressed to find the heap of cups at the sink just as high as I had found it in the morning. The flasks were also empty. These office types can drink a lot of tea in a very short time. Oh well, I had asked for it. My janitorial orientation was just starting and I was getting the impression that the only beautiful thing about being a janitor was the name.

Partaking of a Prophesy

We were like vultures and could smell a potential client from miles away. When a person who had been spotted from afar off came nearer and was confirmed to be a passenger, it became a matter of fearful competition to see which driver would be the lucky one. We would jostle among ourselves and each of us had our own technique to attract passengers to our car. The technique I found most effective was by a guy by the name Robert. He used to let us rush to and crowd around the client but he would stand next to his car. As the client came closer, he would open the rear door and say in a cool voice, “Welcome”. Many of my colleagues used to claim that he used witchcraft to woo clients. I thought differently because I could tell that all he had above us was good PR.

One of the most longstanding passenger wooing techniques is the raised forefinger accompanied by the shout, “Taxi!” One group of clients that we used to like were drivers for the big NGOs. They used to drive to base in their huge four wheel drive vehicles fitted with winches and hi-lift jacks. The loudest shouter of “Taxi!” would be asked to follow the NGO driver to his office where he would park the big car and be dropped home in the taxi.

These NGO drivers were so cool and each of us held secret ambitions of one day landing a job as an NGO driver. My own ambition however, was not held so secretly. I would take every opportunity when several of us were at base, to taut my colleagues. I used to tell them that I was with them for only a short while and soon I would join a big NGO. I told them they would raise the ‘Taxi!’ Finger at me and plead with me to let them follow me as I parked my big car. They were not amused and neither did they take me seriously. They dismissed me as a day dreamer. This however did not discourage me, I continued prophesying.

I had a really nice client who I often drove around since she always asked that I be the one to pick her up. She worked for one of the International NGOs but I did not know then what position she held there. We used to have interesting discussions whenever I drove her and every trip seemed too short. One day, one of her workmates who also happened to be my friend informed me that there was an open vacancy for a driver at their organisation. He advised me to apply and try my luck. I sent my application and waited although I didn’t think much about it.

One week later, I received a call. I was being invited for an interview. I was quite nervous as I prepared for the interview since I didn’t know what to expect. The day of the interview arrived soon enough and I set off. I had been told to come in at 10 am but I thought that was just a test (All interviews are held early in the morning – or so I thought). I got to the area at 8 am and waited at a nearby bus stop shelter. At 9 am I walked in only to realize that there were 10 interviewees slotted for grilling and each of us had his own time. I had to wait again and this only helped to turn me into a bag of nerves. After what seemed like ages of nail biting anxiety, it was finally my turn and I was called in.

When I walked in, the first face I saw was of my friend. My favourite passenger was seated there in the company of two other ladies. From the look of things, she appeared to be in charge – which she was. I was to learn later that she was the Human Resource Manager. I managed to relax and the interview went well. The rest as they say is history. I passed the interview despite being failed once in the practical test. The ladies who had interviewed me demanded a second opinion and I was retested by a different person. I had gotten the job and was now no longer a taxi driver. I wondered how my ‘former’ colleagues would react once they realized that my prophesy had come true, and they would have to fight for a chance to drive me home. Only time would tell.

Search for the Elusive MAU MAU Truth

My new car, “Omega”, came at a time when being a cabbie had become completely natural to me. I didn't get lost anymore and I no longer got intimated by my passengers. Every day was exciting for me.  I looked forward to meeting new people and learning about what they do. I could get diverse information ranging from banking to astrology, for free from my clients. I also got to visit many places in Nairobi and also away in the country side. I was finally comfortable and happy with my job – new car, new places, new people, what more could I ask for? What I didn't realize then, was that I had such a limited time there.

There is an organization known as the Kenya Human Rights Commission and as the name implies, it deals with rights issues. KHRC as its known in short has a transport contract with our company. This meant that we handled a lot of their staff and visitors on many occasions. It was on one such assignment for the KHRC that I got the chance to drive the current Chief Justice Willy Mutunga. At that time he was working with the KHRC and they had a group of visitors from different. I recall them discussing the famous Kenyan detention without trial and one of the visitors asked Mutunga how long he was detained. He casually replied, “Eighteen months”. They were so shocked that somebody could be imprisoned for so long but the CJ added, “That is a short time by Kenyan standards”. Nobody had the heart for that discussion again and they started talking about easier subjects.

Around the same time, the KHRC has just completed preliminary findings that showed that the British government had violated the rights of the MAU MAU guerillas. All they needed now was some hard evidence to support their case. They got three young professionals. These were recent graduates and  were bubbling with energy. Two were ladies who had just been admitted to the bar as advocates, and the other one was a young man who was had just graduated from the school of journalism. The trio was charged with collecting  as much information as possible from as many MAU MAU war veterans as they could find. To do this they had to go to the one place in Kenya with the highest concentration of the former freedom fighters. This as it turns out, happened to be in what is in present day Nyeri county. Our company chose Omega for the assignment and it was going to be on my shift.

I was excited on the morning we left since a trip out of the congested city was always welcome. Apparently somebody had done a pre-visit and discovered dense clusters of the senior citizens in the areas of Othaya and Mukurweini. Consequently, all our forays were going to be in these two areas. We were early and by 8 am, we arrived at the first major town of Nyeri, a place known as Karatina. We took our breakfast there as we bought time, ostensibly to give the old guys time to wake up and congregate at a predetermined venue. After breakfast we drove off and an hour later we arrived at Othaya. There was already a big crowd of very old men and women gathered outside an old hall which was yet to be opened. I couldn't wait to hear their story.

Once everybody was settled inside, the video camera, voice recorder, and note books were put at the ready. It was going to be a long day since the old people talk extremely slowly. The story was long but interesting. I came to realize that some of the people were more willing to talk than others. The ones who were hesitant to talk were those who the others said had been senior-most within the MAU MAU rankings. They were the generals and they had the most to tell but they were not talking. We urgently needed to find out what was wrong. We came to learn that there is an oath of secrecy that was administered to all those who fought in the war. This oath was in levels with the highest being the sixth. Apparently, the higher the level, the deeper the secrecy. All was not gloom though because at Othaya, we got to meet the former president Kibaki's sister who had also been a MAU MAU fighter.

The next day we went to Mukurweini and the story was the same. The people who were at the heart of the action were not talking. They were acting as if they were senile and they would say things that did not make sense. We still got our story though from those who had taken less than three oaths, but getting it from the horse's mouth proved to be a tall order.

I was happy to hear the old men getting compensated some weeks ago but we shall probably never get to know the whole story of what really transpired in those dark days. Only God knows.