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How 'makangas' number nane, Kibera, salasa, wowed Fundi Frank

Fundi Frank

I first came to Nairobi in the late 1980s after my mother passed on.

I came to visit my auntie who lived in Jamhuri Estate. The meandering roads presented the first puzzle to me, as I could not tell which road we had taken to the estate.

The experience has remained etched in my memory, and I revisit it in my mind whenever I drive past Jamhuri.

Then came the ‘makangas’ (touts), whose language I could not decipher. I marvelled at how they effortlessly shouted the destination, fare and matatu number without mixing up things.

Being young, I found it so cool that I would occasionally recite their call, “Number nane, Kibera, salasa,” while playing with my peers.

In fact, I was the one who introduced the whole thing in Kitale.

Neon lights in buildings and shop fronts impressed me a lot.

I remember getting fixated by flickering red lights next to a shoe shop we had visited, forcing my aunt to literally pull me out of the store.

It was in Nairobi that I first saw street children, who at the time were known as ‘parking boys.’ Back then, they would hang around parking bays during the day but were no where to be seen at night.

I would accompany my cousins to play video games in Pop-in, Kenyatta Avenue. Being a shagzmondo,  I could not play any of the games and would instead sit in a corner and watch them play those ‘gisty’ games. Watching them play made me think they were the coolest people on planet Earth.

Fundi Frank is a top Kenyan fashion designer.

 

 

 

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