Today I want to address leadership in Northern Kenya which also happens to be my ancestral home.

Growing up in Marsabit 40 years ago what you see in this video is what is going on in many parts of Northern Kenya be it Garissa. Wajir. Mandera. Marsabit. Isiolo and you can also add Tana River county home to one of Africas permanent and longest tiver where this video was taken.

You will notice that locals through their own initiative have been able to strike water and in the process they line up along the walls of the dam to fetch water . This is water for their animals and their own consumption.

Now each MP gets Ksh 140 million or $1.4 Million per year while every women rep gets Ksh 7M per constituency per year then add the county allocation. Some counties are known to receive Ksh 10B++ a year which is $100million ++.

Water is the most basic thing that you can ever give to mankind. Surely how much does it take to harvest rain water or worst case scenario set up boreholes and use solar or windpower to pump water and avoid all this.

I dare say as an African that we are one big let down to our people. Getting elected is a privilege, you were not elected to hide in Nbi and even worse invest your loot in Nbi.

If you are member of parliament who has served 10 years it means you handled Ksh 1.4 billion or $14 Million.

I am taking the liberty to state the figures in $$$ so that Kenyans in the diaspora can relate and above all donors . I recall some years back I was invited to an event where a western country was donating some stuff and one of them quipped ” when I look across the parking lot I see nothing but prados, half of those prado is more than the donation we are giving today “. As usual guys giggle and laughed it off but you see the shameless feel nothing but that was a heavy statement and it did stick with me for many years down the line.

Folks Africa and Kenya is NOT short of resources. We have plenty but sadly the leadership of the day feel nothing for the ordinary man and poverty is never ending.

I have seen Governors waste public resources building palatial homes and offices yet basics medicines is lacking in their county hospitals. When they fall sick they all want to be rushed to Nairobi Hospital but one thing they cannot cheat is when death comes calling.

This world is vanity , be nice to your people because they deserve better and dont come and tell me that drawing water like this is a tradition they enjoy because that is one big baloney.

If you are an MP or Governor and your people are going through these difficulties then you earn yourself a bouquet of barbs. Shame on you .

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa

Bottom up economic model is not any new invention . The million $$$ question is how you choose to practice it.

First things first ..corruption kills bottoms up economic model.

When banks were busy closing branches in late 90s ostensibly to get rid of unprofitable banks in smaller towns , one bank was quietly taking their place and that bank was none other than Equity Bank Kenya .

When mobile telephone companies were licensed in Kenya , Kencel was quick off the starting block and mobile lines were going for Ksh 200,000 and it became a status symbol. Bar waiters and barmen had to provide an extra glass for the phone owner to show the world that he indeed owned a mobile phone . This was real not some urban tales. We had true ninjas then.

When scratch cards were introduced it was in Ksh 1000 denomination because the poor Kenyan was not in the equation . How can mama mboga or a shoe shiner own a mobile phone ?

For banks NARC government decided they wont compete with Wanjiku to borrow from banks and that happened as soon as Kibaki took office in 2003. Banks were now left with Kenyans and Dr Mwangi had already positioned Equity in all the small towns where other bigger banks had fled because a client in muddy farm gumboots or sweaty wakulima trader was not a cool customer.

On the mobile telephony side , Safaricom PLC was hived off that dinosaur KPTC hence their slow entry but again how many recall that when we accuse Safaricom of being a dominant player. Safaricom invented Mpesa and who worked hard 24/7 to stop them ? Same banks who quit the so called small towns but glad that then acting Finance Minister John Michuki and CBK Governor Ndungu waved play on.

For banks many had to struggle to try and get their old premises back and it was a common phenomenon to see banks setting up tents at bus stops pleading to the same small man they left high and dry to come back and reopen a bank account.

On the other hand Safaricom decided to offer scratch card as low as Ksh 20 then known as blue and finally okoa jahazi was born. Michael Joseph and late Bob Collymore truly practiced what it means trading with the folks at the bottom of the pyramid and by empowering them that is nothing but bottoms up economy.

At goverment level bottom up economy is already in place when you allocate Ksh140 million per MP per constituency per year Ksh 700Million in five years and Ksh 1.4B in 10 years . Folks Ksh 140M that is a cool $1.3million a year which is alot of money. I have seen what my MP. Official Jicho Pevu with Mohammed Ali Mohammed Ali has been able to achieve in under 3 years .

Each woman rep is also getting on average Ksh 7 Milion per constituency so a county like Nbi the women rep gets more than an MP who runs CDF while Governors some handle Ksh11B + a year and then of course national goverment.

CK Prahald in his book “The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid” delves deep on how you can trade with the citizens at the bottom of the pyramid and in the process eradicate poverty and even make profits.

Succesful Safaricom has not been made successful by post paid subscribers but by prepaid subscribers. Last stats was that 85% of their subscribers were indeed pre paid so when Bob Collymore was spending more time in the slums and working with artists he knew what he was doing and in the process empowering the man and woman at the bottom of the pyramid.

When Safaricom decided to pick the lady lamenting about the floods in western Kenya in one of their ads they knew she was the face of the bottom of the pyramid who in turn help push the economy from the bottom. They stood with her not through handout but turning her into one of their brand ambassadors. While the rest of Kenyans found the plight of the lady hilarious and funny, Safaricom were seeing their customer in distress and in the process she ended up on billboards and she was a guest in our homes on our TV sets just before prime time news . Give it to Safaricom they know how to connect with the man or woman at the bottom of the pyramid.

Bottom up model in private sector is very much alive and kicking, even the consumer goods packed in smaller quantities so called kadogo economy is bottom up model and trading with the folks at the bottom of the pyramid.

The bad news is that bottom up in public sector wont work as long as we dont slay the corruption dragon and our wasteful habits. It is one thing to shout bottom up economic model but you must chose to walk Equity or Safaricom path to make it happen.

As a start please start with your local MP shouting himself or herself hoarse “Bottom up” on how they have utilised the half a billion shillings in the last 4 years or even Ksh 1 billion for those who are serving a 2nd term.

To Equity Bank Kenya Safaricom PLC and My MP Mohammed Ali I salute you for making it happen right at the bottom of the pyramid . Our political class must study Equity and Safaricom model but as they do that they must drop the corruption gown at the door.

Corruption is the enemy of Bottom Up economy and any other economic model for that matter

Well as always I choose to remain an optimist.

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa

Matters River Nile Ethiopia Vs Egypt & Sudan

Anytime I see a news item on River Nile it is about Egypt and how unhappy they are with the fact that Ethiopia is building a dam to use the same waters to improve the well being of it’s people. Firstly Ethiopia should be considerate but at no time should Egypt bully any other nation.

Now has Egypt & Sudan ever shown any interest to help in conservation of the water towers deep in the Ethiopian highlands? Which in turn feeds Lake Tana the true source of River Nile. It is believed that 85% of the River Nile is from the Blue Nile while the white Nile from Lake Victoria is contributing only 15%.

Has Egypt and Sudan ever shown any interest to see how to keep Lake Victoria safe and clean ?

Why does Egypt and Sudan think that the source of the nile is permanent. They must drop this entitlement mentality. Have they ever shown any care to protect and preserve the forest cover etc. I have searched everywhere I haven’t seen evidence, all I see is about some agreement signed many decades ago with a third party player who exited the scene more than half a century ago.

The fact that the river is getting more brown from it source means top soil erosion is happening big time which in turn means ground cover upstream is dwindling and automatically water volumes will drop. This is the biggest threat to River Nile not even the dam.

Even for Ethiopia they should not sit pretty . Perennial soil erosion will lead to massive siltation and before they know it half of the dam will be full of mud.

Fact is that human beings are notorious about sharing the cake provided by nature but they never talk about preserving and growing what mother nature has baked and given us. Man is a terrible consumer, he eats and destroys. Sustainability mantra only became fashionable a few years ago. Man simply upgraded from hunter gatherer mentality to mass extraction.

Look at that dam , its already brown . Look at Niagara Falls and the rivers that feed it ….its crystal clear because the forest and tree cover is intact and well managed.

Africa we are mostly good in extracting, who knows one day the river may simply stop flowing , I wonder which court Egypt will turn to or who will it threaten if that was to happen.

Imagine for once if Egypt had taken keen interest over the decades to the point that the Egyptian goverment was supporting conservation up the in the Ethiopian mountains and along the river nile riparian waters.

Imagine for once if Egyptian were visiting in their thousands every year to see the source of River Nile in Uganda and the Blue Nile in Ethiopia that sustain them downstream and they planted trees. Visiting Ethiopian highlands to check and care for the source of their livelihood would have even made them bond.

Imagine for once if every year Egypt was engaging all the countries that contribute to the well being of River Nile in conservation including my country Kenya . We see Europeans showing more interest of conserving myriad of rivers in Africa but where is Egypt? Africa’s superpower.

Let humans have some respect for mother nature .

It’s high time Egypt and Sudan were made to take responsibility for caring for the source of the Nile and the entire ecosystem. They cannot sit pretty downstream busy farming ( we buy oranges from Egypt irrigated by the same river ) sipping sugared tea and anytime they hear about the Ethiopian dam all that comes to mind is bomb it.

I am sure Ethiopia if such goodwill happened over the years it would have counted for something and I still think it is not too late in the day for Egypt & Sudan to switch the conversation to include conservation.

Well as always I choose to remain an optimist.

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa

Air France just announced they have settled on Zanzibar for beach holiday seekers. If you wish to come to Mombasa you are pushed to fly through Nairobi which is totally unacceptable.

Potential visitors are not short of options be it from Goa to the Carribean , From Bali to Phuket From Dubai to Zanzibar we ain’t alone.

Mombasa cannot and should NOT continue to play second fiddle to Nairobi.

The days of protecting a national carrier is long gone . While Nairobi is purely corporate clients and safari seekers Mombasa is beach leisure travelers.

If our national carrier was serving say Paris Mombasa route I would defend them that we should NOT allow others to fly direct but they dont . Kenya is insisting you go through Nairobi and many leisure travellers just dont want to go through Nairobi.

South Africa protected a struggling South Africa Airways for decades by denying flying rights to other airlines who have always wanted to serve Cape Town and Durban directly. They finally did and leisure clients numbers to Cape Town went through the roof while Durban KZN attracting MICE segment big time reviving a destination that was dying.

When you allow say Air France or KLM direct flight to Mombasa it means firstly we get connected to many more cities across France and Netherlands then other cities globally. Allowing Turkish airlines into Mombasa means opening Germany to Kenya since Turkish airlines would fly to no less than 10 cities across Germany via Istanbul same thing with Ethiopian connecting Mombasa to 110+ cities globally.

You tell me when will KQ ever serve or reach all those cities? They have never flown to Germany let alone multiple cities.

While I have always fought and lobbied for Kenya Airways I am reaching a point where I feel that just maybe just maybe Mombasa could have done better if we never had Kenya Airways. I am getting a feeling that whoever is protecting KQ is being selfish and being short sighted. Kenya as a destination is far bigger and more important than Kenya Airways.

At the end of the day no one cares what they fly as long as they get to a destination in a safe convenient reliable affordable manner.

How can you claim you lost something you’ve never had ?

How can you claim you are losing yet you dont even serve a route in the first place . A Monsieur Francois and his better half are keen on a beach holiday and if they cant fly direct to Mombasa they will opt for Zanzibar. Does that help your coffers as a national carrier now that we have all lost ?

Surely why is it so hard to understand that?

There are many other areas that KQ can serve including cargo that they need to exploit and anyone placing hurdles to any airline wishing to fly to Mombasa is simply an enemy of Mombasa and Kenya coast I dare say that. We have over 40,000 rooms to fill along the entire Kenya coast from Shimoni to Manda.

That knee on our neck has been there for far too long ….give us room to breathe and allow us to receive international direct flight .

We ain’t asking for too much and if you only care to go back to Vision 2030 which is less than nine years to go direct flight is one of the enablers besides Kenya is a signatory to SATM Single Africa Air Transport Market and myriad open skies policies.

It’s no rocket science

Mohammed Hersi
Chairman
Kenya Tourism Federation

#Tumainifarmers

As promised every Sunday I will dedicate a post to Farmers on my Facebook page Mohammed Hersi. While on Friday #sokohersi was for your general hustles this forum is to give farmers a voice.

In my travels and hotels business I have come across very many Famers along the Kenya coast who work hard but face serious challenges in finding a market for their produce. I have read and listened to some of their heart wrenching stories but this forum is not about lamenting . It is about doing something about it.

My dream is to help the farmer to sell his wares without ever stepping in a physical market , these farmers just don’t have the energy to fight with brokers. Let them reserve that energy to keep farming.

While this group is domiciled at the coast you are free to post your produce right here country wide.

We also encourage farmers to start looking for market way in advance as opposed to harvesting one morning and then start running around .

Please this is purely for farmers and let us respect that and the aim is to read both retail and wholesale buyers. We also will not allow imported stuff like the bleached garlic from China. We support farmed in Kenya.

Famers are also allowed to pose questions or challenges they face and hopefully get help from other seasoned farmers.

We encourage less use of harmful pesticides and organic farming is even better.

This is about giving a voice to the farmer , please join Tumaini Farmers Kenya Coast

Wishing you a fruitful sunday . Let’s salute the farmer and our goal is to make farming both fashionable and financial fulfilling.

I may NOT have the money to give you but I am here to give you the platform and the network. Your network is your networth.

Well as always I choose ro remain an optimist .

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa

I am in Tourism and I support open skies but on the fresh request by Emirates I will choose to side with our govemernet and my good friend CS James Macharia that Emirates need to slow down but what is the other option ?

Fact: It is NOT that Emirates are not flying into Nbi. They have 7 flights weekly and they want 7 more yet we also have Air Arabia + Etihad then add Qatar in the same region.

I have taken the liberty to extract a line from what good CS has said where he was quoted in mainstream media and it is deep.

He said only the national career, KQ, can protect Kenya’s national interests in terms of emergencies. “When Covid-19 struck, we looked for airlines to evacuate our people but only KQ came in handy. We had to change configuration of two KQ planes 747 to help us ship in vaccines because no airline wanted to help us,”. I am afraid we cannot ignore this statement and throw KQ under the bus. If you look at the history of Emirates it was formed under very difficult circumstances but rest as they say is history

Now since Nairobi is such a HOT hub, we should get Emirates closer and we negotiate a deal that is a win win . We need to think at a higher level far beyond the micro request for more frequencies , where I sit that is small fry let us think BIG.

Emirates got the financial muscle and more importantly they got the discipline in corprate governance and we got God given location ( 4 hours to West Africa / South Africa / North Africa , we are the HEART and SOUL of Africa) and fairly good facility at JKIA that can be improved and of course well trained warm people.

Rwanda partnered with Qatar , nothing stops us from inviting Emirates to Nairobi and JKIA becomes their hub into Africa and we strike a win win deal NOT like the lopsided one we had with KLM. I am afraid the bad guys who always spoil a good broth would have to stay away from this, you’ve eaten enough from KQ deals please allow the few good men to salvage what is left . KQ is currently under the best care from the MD, Chairman and entire board. Men and women of dignity who given a fair chance and support will lift KQ out of this deep hole.

While others see a fight with UAE , I see a HUGE opportunity , HUGE one as the world of aviation crawls out of Covid mess.

Visualize a future where Emirates feed Nairobi big time from Middle East & rest of the world while we do most of the connection in Africa, a continent that is on one serious northerly trajectory. Simply put in the deal Emirates would have a second hub in Africa which is Nairobi in JKIA . They will then help KQ to build serious capacity to fly across Africa which is hungry for connection. Nothing stops KQ as an African airliner to set domestic hubs in other African countries that have poor road connection. Can you imagine for once KQ setting us base to connect DRC across 3 or 4 major towns out of Kinshasa or even in Africas most populace nation of Nigeria. Nigerians yearn for quality safe affordable domestic flights . It’s a shame that in 21st century some West Africans have to fly first to Paris in order to travel to a neighboring African country.

KQ is currently under the best care from the MD, Chairman and entire board. Men and women of dignity who given a fair chance and support will lift KQ out of this deep hole.

If we were to partner with Emirates It means Emirates will fly into Nairobi while KQ connects them to other cities in Africa and even more deeper than just the capital cities. It’s less hours to fly and certainly better yield. Ask yourself why flying to the Mara from Nairobi is similar cost flying to Dubai yet it is a one hour hop and I will tell you for free that such opportunities are many.

Visualize a future where Emirates are allowed to land in Mombasa and even invest in Moi International Airport bringing loads and loads of tourists. What about cargo ….lift our sweet mangoes rotting in the farms from Tana River , Malindi to Kwale and deliver them to the leading supermarkets in the middle east.

Visualize a future where Emirates cargo fly direct to Kisumu and Eldoret to lift our fresh produce without wasting time clogging already busy Nairobi which will help spread the development cake.

Emirates while it is run as a corporation main shareholder remains the government of Dubai hence KQ should fast track the nationalising plans then off load substantial shares to Emirates say 40% ( Kenya still remains a majority shareholder ) and clean and retire all debts ( Banks that hold close to 39% onwership will be happy to exit, they ended up where they are by default ) and we start a fresh. Kenya Airways code named KQ can then rise from all the difficulties like the proverbial bird Phoenix.

Visualize , Visualize , Visualize ….its free ….to visualize

As always I choose to remain an optimist. Please let’s do it and let us turn a new leaf for our national carrier.

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa

In our raft of requests to our goverment we made a special appeal for Tourism players to be given a vaccine allocation . Kenya Tourism Federation team truly worked round the clock to knock on all doors and we made all the telephone calls we needed to make.

Glad that through Ministry of Tourism And Wildlife – Kenya our CS Najib Balala , The Ministry of Health, CS. Mutahi Kagwe we were given 50,000 vaccines with first batch of 5000 vaccines being released. I must thank Jimi Kariuki Chairman KTB and MD Sarova Hotels , Fred Kaigua CEO KATO, Mike Macharia CEO KAHC, Carole Kariuki CEO Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) for the push and lobbying. Thanks to Dr Joseph Kinyua Office Of The President for hearing us out.

Let me explain why Tourism players more so the front liners had to get the jab.

1. We came to realise that hotel workers esp in Kitchen , Restaurant staff and Room stewards all handle wet items that have been used by guests. This exposure essentially makes them front line workers as well.

While in hospital nurses and support staff including the cleaners all have PPEs hotels staff dont wear such lest you turn your hotel to look like a hospital. You have seen even airlines staff don full PPEs.

2. Tourism business is about opening the economy. International tourism is also helping our economy to get that much needed forex inflow. Keep in mind that that we are virtually net importer from Oil & Gas to many essential items medicines etc. Without a good inflow of forex our shilling will never leave the HDU or even worse ICU.

Most of our key source markets like USA , Germany, UK et al are rolling out the vaccine in a big way . USA have already vaccinated 262 million with a goal of 300 million by end June 2021. Let’s give it to President Joe Biden , in under 100 days he has brought Covid19 under control in the US.

USA is a leading tourist source market for Kenya more so the high yield tourist who is more focused on safari and high end safari lodges and camps.

Many leading agents are now insisting that the staff who will handle their guests should show proof that they have been vaccinated and this is the one major reason why driver guides were also in the front line to get the jab.

3. Some visitors are even insisting to carry out a rapid anti gen test to establish status of the staff who will be handling them . Well they are equally ready to take the test as well for the comfort of the staff . While this is extreme, it is part of the new normal. When you get infected its personal, you struggle alone hence everyone has a right to protect themselves.

I must commend our goverment for getting close to one million of us to get the vaccine , could they have done more ? Of course yes but again reality is that the vaccines itself is in limited supply globally. Our key source of the Astra Zeneca vaccine India is currently fighting for it’s own life with a ruthless 2nd wave. We hope and pray that we get more vaccines delivered.

The move to help get tourism players to get the vaccine was a master stroke move which even Reuters could not miss to notice hence please join me to saviour the moment.

We as Tourism players are confident that we are in a great position to salvage the peak Safari season of July to October .

In life you have a choice , to see the glass half full or half empty. Well I choose the latter , my glass is half full and as Tourism recovers I shall have a full glass.

As always I choose to remain an optimist

Mohammed Hersi
Chairman
Kenya Tourism Federation.

Well Her Excellency President Samia Suluhu Hassan wrapped her visit which is certainly going to open a new page between Kenya & TZ.

While we remained focused on Madam President one of her nationals was pouring his heart out how investing in Kenya is next to impossible. I have always said it ….Real ease of doing business….talk to the investors, anything else is PR.

This man is not your ordinary small timer, he is a serious investor. Rostam Abdulrasul Azizi is a Tanzanian businessman/entrepreneur and economist. According to Forbes magazine, he was reportedly the first Tanzanian dollar billionaire in 2013 with an estimated net worth of US$1 billion. He is said to own 18% of Vodafone TZ .

He was eager to invest $130M in Kenya which is Ksh 13B++in gas business. Well from his statement at the breakfast meeting he was taken in circles for 3 years and meeting our president didn’t help.

Is it that investment in gas is saturated that new players are not welcome? If that was the case why was it not made clear to him but again we are in a free market . If an investor is willing to put his money by all means please roll out the red carpet. Shida iko wapi ?

I am very keen on FDI hence this clip did not skip my attention.

Keninvest, CS Adan Mohamed & CS Betty Maina why do we make it difficult for investors? Blocking decent jobs for our young men and women who choose to fly out to middle east and laungish there .

Don’t you think Kenyans deserve an answer and this man Rostam we owe him an apology and anyone who frustrated him along the way ought to be hit hard.

Away from the niceties and the humor of this state visit, this man gave us a reality check . I have a reason to be upset and embarrased as a Kenyan .

This is how Big4 is undermined.

Mohammed Hersi
Mombasa

Only fair to commend our goverment ( Kenya ) when they do things right.

Vaccinating 141, 146 front line healthcare workers is good progress and 700,000+ total which includes close to 400,000 who are 58+ and people with underlying conditions is highly commendable.

Have they done well? yes

Can we do better ? Certainly Yes

I am also happy to note that we are now placing an order for Pfizer , Johnson & Johnson vaccines now that India stopped export of the Astra Zeneca. Well the ones who got first dose of AZ are assured of the 2nd dose but for the rest of Kenyans will have to switch to other approved vaccines. This in itself is also a good move rather than wait for India to resume vaccine exports.

We are also happy to note that GOK has officially announced that they will vaccinate all Kenyans aged 16 and above. This is a huge statement and we are in full support.

As tourism industry we are also happy that our plea to qualify Tourism players as front line workers has been approved and 50,000 vaccines have been committed to this cause and the first 5000 vaccines will be rolled out this week. We want Kenya to be one of the few countries where hotels , tour drivers and airlines staff who come into contact with guests have all been vaccinated.

The source markets are now demanding that their guests should only be handled by vaccinated staff and that will become the norm in new new normal and as a country we dont want to be left behind.

To my fellow Kenyans while vaccine is being rolled out please continue to sanitise, social distance and mask at all times. For those who have had the vaccine, YOU will also continue to do the same.

As always I choose to remain an optimist and good people please stay stay safe with your loved ones.

Mohammed Hersi
Chairman
Kenya Tourism Federation

Dear Nairobians,

I hope my message finds you well . I send you warm easter greetings .

Firstly it is said…you only notice something when it is gone. In normal times you would be painting Kenya coast red .

This Easter Mombasa and Kenya Coast is dead and lifeless without you good people . I mean it dead and silent without you. You may be considered noisy but what is life without some noise and happy faces?

Nairobi is our capital city, it is the seat of goverment and the only home to a UN head quarters in a developing country.

While Kenya coast is laid back Nairobians are the opposite, outgoing and also good spenders. They love fine things in life and why lie you guys love life and you love merry making.

Talk of Yuls and Nomad restaurants imagine we will miss your colorful dressing all set for the beach and in all shapes and sizes. It really did not matter whether you are a swimmer or not.

Beach hotels are all quite this morning …the airport is dead silent so is SGR which is silent with lone askaris keeping watch . If it was not for cessation of movement entire Kenya coast we would be ready ” Kupokea wageni wetu ” . Now that you are not there everyone can fill the void. Without you it’s never the same.

The taxi driver, the Tuk Tuk guys and all the eateries from Tarboush to Forodhani to Tamarind , the madafu and muhogo guys at Mama Ngina waterfront everyone has been affected. Kenya coast in Easter without you is not complete.

The supermarkets and all the Airbnbs are also silent . Milk, bread and eggs would fly off the shelves like they grew wings . While stocks ran out when you are in town, it also meant you left behind loads of money in the coast economy.

Malindi Airport would also be busy as you head to Watamu and Malindi but the roaring aircraft engines have this time all gone silent so is Diani Airport the fastest growing airport in Kenya .

The sleepy town of Shimoni is also missing you …the boat operators that would take you on guided tour now see the reality that indeed wageni wetu hawatafika.

On the beach, the vendors in normal times would be smiling since Nairobiams and others coming over meant good income for them ..from the camel handler with his rides for the young ones and even adults to Halima & Fatma who would be busy with Heena & Piko designs which will be one evidence ” Ulifika Coast “.

The local mamas that hotels would invite to make the traditional swahili breakfast are at home. They know wageni wetu kutoka Nairobi are not able to make it. They feel sad but they understand , warm greetings from them. The Viazi vya Karai , Mahamri , Mbaazi and Kaimatis will wait till next time.

Even the Matatu guys will miss you since not everyone who comes to Kenya coast stays in a beach resort.

How did I forget the Uber folks and many other taxi hailing services . It will be all silent this weekend and all those extra Ubers would be parked at home .

Dear Nairobian, it is not your wish to stay at home . It is because of this terrible virus, we thought it was done with us little did we know it was busy reloading and doing push ups to give us one serious upper cut.

From the Kenya coast , we send you warm greetings and lots of love. We will miss you but stay safe which is more important so that we can host you again with your loved ones in the not so distant future.

Wishing you all a happy Easter Mubarikwe.

Mohammed Hersi
Chairman
Kenya Tourism Federation