So yesterday afternoon, I decided to take my little motor veehaiko (vehicle) to get something tightened. I get there and I began a convo with the owner.
As we’re talking, we hear a sound (take your index and middle finger and slap your palm - it sounded like that), but louder.
Suddenly, jam starts to build up. I cut the convo - Kenyan curiosity kicked in. Only to see a guy having been knocked down by a canter. Thank Yahweh the canter stopped and didn’t attempt to flee.
I got to see the guy who’s been hit and he’s lying there, taking in deep breaths - trying to live. The co-driver of the canter, who was panicking, asked who could help take the injured chap to hospital. I realize no one will stop to assist so since my car was done, I offered to help. We put the chap in the back seat and I told the co-driver to join me.
Chap chap hadi hospital somewhere in Ruai.
Meanwhile, the guy in the back seat is wheezing. Every 5 seconds, wheez. Around a minute before we reached the hospital, he stopped.
At the hospital, they strap him to the monitor. Flat lines. No signs of life. I told the Dr that he was wheezing in the car then he stopped. The Dr looked at me and said, “at the time he stopped wheezing, that is the time he went”.
So the Dr and I go to the cop station at Ruai (by the way it’s very well done that place. Big and neat). I explain to the lady cop and she starts throwing a metre and one questions until nikamwambia “yawa madam tulia nikuambie.” I explained that I’m just a Samaritan. No more, no less. As I’m speaking, the DTO, a burly man, walks in yapping at high volume, “Sasa mtu ni mlevi anacross from right to left na hata hakuna zebra crossing na amekufa. huyu sasa ndio wa pili area hii leo.”
One plainclothes cop is tasked with taking the body to the mortuary. So i jump into the back of the police 4x4 and back to the hospital.
We get there, police search the corpse for some ID. They only found cellotape. We then put the body in the 4x4. Kenyans milled around to “view the body” and called the dead guy names, accusing him of being a criminal. It was sorry sight to bear.
I got back to the garage to pass the news to some of the mechs. Only then I realized that he’s shoes were still in the car. I gave them to the mechs and moved on.
Now my back seat is bloody and the car wash guys refused to clean it. I’ll start on it early morning.
Summary
A guy was hit along the eastern bypass
I took him to hospital and he was pronounced DOA
Cops don’t give a damn about corpses
Cops ask too many questions to fast so it’s up to you to stop them and explain
Kenyans will not help you on the road and even those stopped will give you excuses
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What bothers me the most, is that for a minute or so, there was a dead guy in my car. He was alive, breathing and fighting to stay alive. At the end, your day is your day. At least he didn’t die without at least some assistance. To that end, my conscience is clear.
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Kenyans milling to view the body
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My car seat. The trail extends from one end to the other
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One half of his pair of shoe