On the Campaign Trail… Kenya Style

Recently I received an email from a UK client of mine asking if I was available to cover a press launch at No. 11 Downing Street; with only a couple of days’ notice I had to decline, but the following day I was given another political photo opportunity – on the campaign trail with Martin Douglas (‘The Councillor’), standing as County Member of Assembly for the United Republican Party (URP) in the district of Chemalil and Chemase (our local area).

The Councillor’s father and brother both work at the mine, and we heard that he was going to be campaigning ‘just down the road’ from us – a couple of ‘phone calls later and I was told that two local teachers (Amon and Jofri) were waiting for me (one to act as ‘security’ and the other to stay with the car while I was on walkabout) and the Councillor was expecting me, so I jumped in the car and headed off to intercept the ‘campaign bus’.

It became clear fairly early on that neither Amon or Jofri had much of an idea of the route that the Councillor’s cavalcade was taking, and the ‘roads’ we were traversing rapidly became little more than heavily rutted tracks…our Subaru (aptly nicknamed ‘Supercar’) was already finding the going difficult and I was worrying about the ground clearance when I was told to stop at a small village ‘somewhere’ between home and Nandi.  Amon and Jofri entered into a lively discussion with a couple of villagers trying to establish which direction we should be heading and before I knew it a rather large lady and a young man were getting in the back of the car.  I hurriedly explained that the additional weight of two more passengers was putting the car at risk of serious damage, so the lady – looking somewhat offended – was bundled out but the young man (I never did get his name) remained.  Shortly afterwards we headed off again, back in the direction we had just travelled from, and now four of us in Supercar…

It soon became apparent that not only did the latest passenger have a clearer idea of where the Councillor was likely to be appearing, but he also had a better knowledge of the ‘roads’; that having been said, he seemed remarkably confident of Supercar’s off-road and amphibious capabilities, a confidence I didn’t necessarily share but we plugged on and eventually arrived at another village that seemed to be preparing for his imminent arrival.  I parked up and, emerging from the car with two cameras slung off my shoulders, was immediately greeted by the village elders who went to great lengths to let me know that I was with friends and was welcome.  This pleased me greatly as I had been a little anxious as to how a Mzungu in the middle of a very local election campaign was going to be received…I really shouldn’t have worried.

After a few minutes of sharing incomprehensible jokes with some of the braver village children I heard vague strains of music apparently emanating directly from the bush… as the music got louder the villagers became more excitable and a few moments later a Toyota Probox (they’re everywhere here) drove into the village with an impossibly large array of speakers and amplifiers strapped to the roof.  This was the start of the cavalcade, and close behind the Probox followed a tractor pulling a huge sugar-cane trailer but instead of its normal load it was completely full of smiling, cheering and waving men – the strangest campaign bus I have ever seen!  As soon as the tractor pulled up in the centre of the village the trailer emptied and – even though I hadn’t thought it possible – the mobile disco Probox cranked up the music to ear-splitting levels and the entire village dissolved into a frenzy of dancing.  Children, old women and even the village elders were swept up in the fervour created by the ‘tractor boys’ who may, or my not, have been under the influence of something…

Sometime following the trailer’s arrival saw the first of many piki riders streaming into the village, all with at least one fist-pumping passenger and festooned with URP flags and posters, and all weaving around the whirling and jumping dancers to add more noise to the general cacophony.  As the last of the piki pulled up I noticed that a slightly calmer atmosphere was developing in the area of shade where the village elders had been gathering and I was told – by several people very excitedly – that ‘He is coming!  He is coming!!!’  Not wanting to miss the arrival of the Councillor I made my way through the village towards the road where all the other vehicles had arrived from and saw a group of about twenty-five village women of all ages in a group, swaying and singing gently, and creating the most serene blockade imaginable.  Momentarily lost in the peacefulness that these ladies had brought to proceedings I nearly missed the Councillor’s car approaching the gently rolling roadblock and just managed to get off a couple of shots of him getting out of the car before he was engulfed by the women, still singing, but no longer serene or peaceful!

Singing loudly now the women slowly reformed the ‘blockade’ formation but this time facing the village, and with the Councillor in the middle of the front row, flanked by two of the older women, each of them holding one of his hands.  This was my first real view of the Councillor and the first thing I noticed was how full of energy he appeared to be, with real warmth and feeling in his smile as he was willingly led into the village towards the assembled group of village elders still standing under the trees.  A short distance from the shade the women ‘released’ the Councillor who thanked them for their welcome before shaking hands with all of the elders, and he was then invited to sit while all of the elders in turn spoke, at length and of what I have no idea but judging by the smiles and laughter it was all complimentary.

While the speeches were being conducted I realised that the tractor boys were clambering back on board the ‘bus’ and - before the Councillor had even finished his oration – the tractor (with the Probox in front) drove out of the village heading, as I was about to find out, to the next village where the whole spectacle was repeated.  In total, the whole process had taken less than thirty minutes, but more than enough time – or so it appeared – for everybody in the village to be persuaded that Martin Douglas was the man to vote for.

These scenes were repeated at three other villages that I personally witnessed, although the three hours or so that I was shadowing the procession was only a fraction of the time that these guys spent on the road that day, and village after village would have been treated to the whole spectacle from about six in the morning through until at least ten that night…hats off to a very hard-working politician.

There was one last ‘photo opportunity’ that reminded me that politicians the world over do display some similarities; as we passed a school for orphans the Councillor’s car made an unscheduled stop to meet the children, and one of his advisors made it very clear that I should follow to get some photos of this…not quite ‘kissing the baby’s head’, but the only part of the day that I thought was in anyway stage-managed.

With all the hype I have heard in the UK about African – and specifically Kenyan – elections I will admit to having been a little apprehensive about going out to photograph ‘live’ campaigning but, in truth, I was treated with incredible courtesy and respect from everybody I met.  There was only one slightly ugly moment when a guy arrived on a piki wearing an ‘Orange Democratic Movement’ shirt, but this was quickly – and peacefully – resolved.  There were also a couple of really comedic moments as well, not least the time when a group of ladies ran away in embarrassment having mistaken ME for the Councillor (who is the son of a black mother and a white father) and also when one very grand old lady ‘encouraged’ me to dance with her which I felt I had no choice but to accept… when in Rome…??

Will things go so smoothly on March 4^th when the Kenyan people elect a new President?  I hope with all of my being that there is no repetition of the trouble that flared following the 2007 elections but I guess only time will tell.  It certainly doesn’t help that one of the two leading presidential candidates - Uhuru Kenyatta - is currently facing charges before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, specifically for inciting violence after the 2007 elections.  “However, the other leading candidate - Prime Minister Raila Odinga - couldn’t resist saying that it would be very difficult to run the country on Skype from The Hague during a recent televised debate which all 8 candidates took part in…That was one of the few laugh lines of the evening.”

For a full review of the televised debate – the first of its kind in Kenya – follow this link:

http://kenyanelections2013.org/

Apologies for the length of this blog, but I hope it was at least interesting… and here are a couple of pictures from the day to highlight some of what I talked about, including my grand old dancing partner!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Kisumu...

I was mugged last week.  

No guns, no knives... in fact the only weapon on show was a silver-topped baton of the type favoured by Regimental Seargent Majors, but it was a smooth and well-orchestrated attack none-the-less which - if it had been conducted under different circumstances - I may well have impressed me...

Driving along the A104 north of Nakuru I was 'waived over' by two uniformed officers - the waiving was fairly half-hearted and with an apparent lack of any automatic weapons I must admit to being tempted to drive on.  Having slowed considerably, I was about to hit the accelerator when I noticed the ample frame of Seargent Fatima of the Nakuru Police standing in the middle of the road directly in front of me...a formidable one-woman road block complete with high vis jacket, and I decided that in the interests of UK-Kenyan relations I probably should stop.  Strapped securely to the top of the Subaru was a wooden bookcase I had just picked up from 'Sir Bedan Rustic Artefacts Shop' in Gilgil, and was in the process of transporting to Kisumu.  Sgt Fatima slapped the bookcase a couple of times before turning to me and angrily demanding "Why you carry such a dangerous load on your car?"  I was a little surprised by this having seen countless vehicles far more dangerously overloaded than the Subaru was and apparently free to go about their business... perhaps it wasn't wise of me to point this out to Sgt Fatima as she wheeled on me with wild eyes - "You know more about the law than me?  You think you know more law than me...in Kenya...my country??  The law here is not like it is in the US or the UK - why you say you know more than me??"

I figured a tactful withdrawal was probably the way forward at this point and I nervously ventured that I had only thought that the load was not unsafe, and of course I didn't profess to having a deeper knowledge of the complexities of Kenyan law...although I had a strange feeling I was going to have a better understanding of it after this encounter!  "You want to go to court?  When can you go to court??" Sgt Fatima continued, all the while pacing around the car and occasionally slapping the bookcase manfully.  What little knowledge I did have of Kenyan law extended to knowing that I really didn't want to go to court if I could possibly avoid it, and - having ventured this - Fatima seemed to change her mood considerably, next asking me “How can I help you, my brother?”

This very sudden and dramatic change in mood caught me a little off guard to say the least…!  Was this an invitation to offer a ‘bribe’, and if so, how much?  I knew that the penalties for driving offences had recently risen steeply, but against this I only had 3000 shillings in my wallet, and there was a chance I was going to need to get some more petrol on the way.  I asked if it was possible to pay the fine without going to court, and Fatima seemed to indicate that this could be arranged, without giving me any indication as to what the fine was.  When I ventured the possibility of paying 1000 shillings (about £7.50 to UK readers!), Sgt Fatima returned, with a vengeance – “You insult me!  1000 shillings??  We go to court…today…NOW!” 

At this point I thought I was losing any semblance of control of the situation I may have had, although in hind sight this was all part of the mugging process – a destabilising mixture of good Fatima/bad Fatima that was designed to baffle, and I was well and truly baffled.  Hurriedly I offered 2000 shillings and actually got my wallet out to show her that it was pretty much all I had, although this was also a mistake; Sgt Fatima was horrified (mock, as it turns out) that I should actually offer her money direct from the wallet… I guess this looked way too blatant; “Are you trying to bribe me??  Are you???” she demanded adding “My brother would not do this to me… you are not my brother”. 

Having thought that she had been directly asking me for a bribe, this turn of events was a surprise, and I could see a court appearance looming rapidly, so I asked what the actual fine should be, and apparently it was 7000 shillings… I was therefore some way short of this with my 3000, and having explained this Fatima relaxed once again before indicating my watch… With something approaching a glint in her eye Fatima threw me again when she asked me why I was travelling to Kisumu; I explained that I was heading home to my girlfriend, to which she declared gleefully that I was a “Bad man!  What about your wife in UK??  Bad, bad man!”  It took some time to convince her that there was no wife in the UK, and that I wasn’t really a ‘bad man’ before the she asked if she could be my ‘girlfriend in Nakuru’…!!!  Now that the situation had turned surreal I was really beginning to feel that I wanted to get away quickly, so I asked how I could help her to reach a conclusion to all this and this was when she asked me for “a gift from the heart”.  Really??  With a sinking feeling I realised that my watch was the only thing I had with me that might satisfy this latest bizarre request and I self-consciously touched it…the ever alert eyes of Fatima followed the movement, she smiled, and asked “would that be a gift from the heart?”  Looking for a swift conclusion I said that it could be and found myself undoing the strap and handing it over…Fatima – smiling quite openly now – eagerly took it from me and squirrelled it away into one of the high vis pockets.  It was at this point I found myself wondering whether she really was as large as she appeared or whether her pockets were simply bulging from many other ‘gifts from the hearts’ of other drivers who had passed that morning.

Matters were obviously now concluded, and with an almost maternal warning to take care and keep the speed down due to other speed traps further along the road, Fatima waved me on my way… still with the ‘dangerous load’ atop the Subaru.  I did feel a little bad that I had somewhat inflated the value of the watch I had left behind (instead of the £150 figure I had plucked from the air I had actually paid £12.50 for it in the Debenhams’s sale) but this didn’t last for long, preferring instead to dwell on the fact that I had avoided a court appearance and a fine of at least £50! 

I mentioned earlier that there were no weapons on show at my ‘mugging’, which in itself was a little strange as the ubiquitous ‘panga’ is carried by almost everybody here from age 4 to 84, particularly in the rural areas away from the cities.  A highly versatile tool, the panga can also be a formidable weapon as has been demonstrated in many violent episodes in Africa’s history, and I was pondering on when does the panga cease being a tool and becomes a weapon?  The conclusion I came to is that it is not necessarily the situation per se but it is more a case that it is in the eyes… If someone wants to hurt you with a weapon the first indicator is the look.  The following two photographs give an insight into this, although the Samburu tribesman on the right was actually clearing a patch of bush so that we could continue driving and he wasn’t attacking me…!

The Kenyan national elections are rapidly approaching and it is clear that tensions are rising… Kisumu has been a bit of ‘hotspot’ for trouble before which makes us all a little more attentive than usual, but I am also desperate to try and record some of the rallies and the build-up.  Hopefully I will be able to post something of this soon…will keep you posted!

A Falcon Lands...

“Africa crouched low on the horizon, like a lion in ambush, tawny and gold in the early sunlight… She had known it was there, sensed its vast enigmatic presence in the darkness, detected its breath, warm and spicy dry, over the clammy cold exhalations of the current on which the great ship rode.”

This is how Robyn Ballantyne sees Africa from on board the clipper Huron at the start of Wilbur Smith’s ‘A Falcon Flies’, and although I have only ever flown into Kenya and not arrived under sail  – now that would be an adventure!! – I can understand exactly the sense of mystery and power suggested by this opening paragraph of Smith’s.

Africa, and Kenya – for me – in particular, is still a land of great mystery and adventure, and the depth of both is only becoming clearer with the more time I spend here.  Whether it be the simple pleasure a village boy receives from a wave and a smile from a Mzungu passing by in a 4-wheel drive vehicle, the vast wildernesses that are still virtually the sole domain of the – all be it ever dwindling – wildlife, or the incomprehensibly awful driving of the matatu drivers I cannot feel anything but alive in this beautiful country.  Every day brings new adventures and challenges – it is impossible not to be filled with vigour and vitality, and even the unseasonal thunderstorms we have been encountering recently in Kisumu are charged with such dynamism and energy as to be life affirming.

Against this though is the deep sadness I feel every time I see another Facebook post about the continued poaching of Africa’s wildlife and the tougher and more expensive attempts made by those who are trying to do something to protect and preserved these beautiful animals, in the face of extreme adversity.  For example, I discovered just this week that the four North White rhinos that can be found at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya’s Laikipia District represent 57% of the entire global population of this wonderful animal… in other words, there are only seven left in the world.  This is a startling statistic, and one which is a stain on mankind in general.

With the Christmas and New Year celebrations I haven’t been taking many photographs recently but I am planning to update this blog on at least a weekly basis from now on and I will be sure to load new photos – there are so many projects that I am planning, and the enthusiasm I have for these is hard to put into words, the only real problem is trying to decide where to start!  In the meantime, here are some slightly older wildlife photos that I hope you enjoy!

 

 

For the full article regarding the extraordinary measures being taken by Ol Pejeta to protect their North White rhinos please follow this link, http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/12/23/crowdfunded-drones-could-save-white-rhinos-from-extinction/ and for information regarding Ol Pejeta please follow this link http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org

Better late than never...??

Seriously... how long since I last posted on here...??!?  

I must admit that I was wondering if anybody read this, but I have been sufficiently 'told off' by enough people that has indicated it does get read, so apologies for my silence over the last 'n' months...!

In truth I have actually been incredibly busy, pretty much all year, what with spending my time between Kenya and the UK.  At least the travelling is going to reduce soon as I have taken the decision to move to Kenya permanently... a big step, and not without its downsides (moving away from family and friends being the main one) but this is the start of a new chapter in my life, and a very exciting one!

Kenya is an incredible country and it has so much to offer, and for me one of the best things is the lack of pretence - it is somewhere I feel I can truly be myself without having to put different faces on... it's so refreshing!  I have been welcomed by so many people - in particular Kerry, Debra and Tristan - and in my heart I know it is where I am supposed to be.  Not to mention the photographic possibilities!!

Anyhoo... back to the harsh realities!  Arrived back in the UK a couple of days ago and was shocked by the change in temperature... after such a bad summer the last thing I guess anybody wanted in the UK was for winter to arrive early!  Looking at it positively though, cold weather and rain is nothing compared to the devastation being caused by super-storm Sandy at the moment in the US and Canada... terrible images coming through from there, and it would be inhuman not to feel sympathy for what those guys are going through, and churlish to complain too much about the weather here.

It will be strange starting from scratch again... 10+ years building up a UK based client base is going to be hard to leave behind, but the challenges that lay ahead are hugely exciting and providing motivation that I was finding it difficult to find in the UK over the last couple of years... also, in 'down time' there is just so much to get the creative juices flowing... whether it be the madness and bustle of Kisumu, or the spectacular views across to Lake Victoria, or the local flora and fauna... there is always something to photograph!

Right... after a long break that is probably enough for now - many of my latest photos are available to view on my facebook site, and I am off shortly to photograph Newbury Developments latest new build project in Hoveton - here are a couple of images from the last site of theirs that I was commissioned to shoot.  

Process, Wash, Pack...

After a very full week last week visiting various Guide Dog puppies in training I am happy to say that all images are processed leaving me free to wash clothes and then pack in time for my flight back out to Nairobi on Saturday.  Several people have picked up on the fact that the Foreign Office are recommending not travelling to Kenya at the moment due to increased retaliatory threats from el-Shabab... I would just like to mention that these warnings were in place in November before my last trip and it is only being talked about now as the British media 'catches up'.  

I am going to travel as planned as the alternative - as I see it - is to stay at home wrapped in bubble-wrap and hoping that the world passes me by as I simply 'exist' and forget how to live... those of you who know me well enough will know that just isn't who I am; there are plenty of risks wherever we go - avoiding them is partly due to being vigilant, and partly due to being lucky.

Anyhoo... I have work to do over the next couple of weeks which is mainly a long way from Nairobi - and I couldn't let my clients down now, could I...??!?

Will post some pics from the trip as soon as I can, but in the meantime here are (left to right) Ufton, Unity & Kasper.

See you soon!

J