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A road linking Ongata Rongai to the inner parts of the neighbourhoods has set tongues about the ‘weird’ name.
Ole-Pussy Road is barely 150 metres from Rongai town where its ‘derogatory’ second meaning elicits mixed reactions. Some declined to talk about it while others did not mind.
The word ‘pussy’ means a cat, but it is generally used as a slang to describe a woman’s sex organ.
“I feel embarrassed when talking about this name. I don’t like it at all. I know it has a weird meaning,” a Rongai woman said. Others who got to understand the meaning during our interviews were left speechless. Some just chuckled.
Interestingly, the Ole-Pussy Road signage in fiery red has been there for close to four years. It is named in honour of Mzee Samuel Ole-Pussy , a resident who is lauded for bringing development to the area that has become a gated community.
“Something wrong with the road or what? Locals decided to name it after me for spearheading progress in this area,” said Mzee Ole-Pussy when we visited him.
The 79-year-old told The Nairobian he was not aware of the vulgar meaning associated with his name.
“What do you mean? You must be making that up. This is our family name. We are the Pussys and our great, great grandfathers got this name way before the English language came around,” he said in shock.
The former employee of Kenya Wildlife Service and defunct Nairobi City Council said he is proud of the name and his children feel honoured to have it. “I am proud to say we are the Pussys. I am not worried by what people think. We even have Olang’ata Pussy area in Maasai Mara.”
The name is Maasai and according to Mzee Pussy, it means ‘something bluish.’ His ancestor was given the name after a river.
“Maasai’s would know what that name means, even though it is not that common in our area. You can find it in Laikipia and Narok where our family extends to.”
