mzeiya
Elder Lister
The 2000s were the halcyon days of my childhood, a decade during which the working masses thrived, a prosperity particularly felt by those of us growing up in the urban areas. Evenings after school were spent on the PlayStation with friends, weekends at the cinema in Sarit followed by shopping at Nakumatt. Holidays were enjoyed at Splash in Nairobi or Wild Waters in Mombasa, thanks to the Co-operative Bank, which encouraged us to save through Jumbo Junior (Can you believe that there was a time when even kids had extra money to save?) Going to a private school was common, and in whichever estate you lived, there was a kid studying at Riara Academy and another at Moi Kabarak.
Almost as if my parents had foreseen the “Free Primary Education” that would be announced in 2003, they brought me forth into this world a year prior, so that I could benefit when the time came for me to be enrolled in school. The doctor at the Aga Khan Hospital had held me aloft just as Mwai Kibaki was raising the Bible and the sword at his swearing-in ceremony at Uhuru Park. Screams rent the air – shouts of victory in both places. A 2002 Gallup poll said that Kenyans were the most optimistic people in the world, and so, what better way to celebrate that than by bringing a new baby into the world? my parents must have thought.
As the years went by, however, and the Uhuru regime came in, the optimism began to fade. The Co-operative Bank scrapped the Jumbo Junior initiative, end-of-year festivities disappeared, the play area at the Village Market was demolished, and where it once stood, a new wing of the mall was constructed. And finally, as if to hammer in the last nail in the coffin, Nakumatt collapsed. It seemed to be the beginning of the end.
Read more at: https://www.theelephant.info/reflections/2023/12/22/why-i-quit-my-civil-service-job-after-a-month/
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