Nairobi City Tour, Led by an Ex Street-Boy/Gangster

Written by Ginny Larby for aFamilySafariBlog

If I’m being really honest, the idea of a history tour through the heart of Nairobi led by an ex-street boy, filled me with a strange mixture of excitement and fear. Once a street boy always a street boy, surely. And what does ‘ex’ really mean anyway? So I opted for the safety in numbers route and invited a couple of friends – one of whom is the author of “The Girl and the Sunbird”, an excellent novel set in Nairobi in the early 1900s. But it suddenly occurred to me (after having invited her) that she probably knew a lot about Nairobi’s history already, which gave me something else to worry about, namely her boredom.

Well, I am sure you have already worked out that I was worrying about nothing and you would be right. But for those of you who share my worries about security, don’t be ashamed! Such concerns are rooted in a healthy natural instinct, but it is well worth overriding them in this case.

My friends and I were met outside the Stanley Hotel, on the corner of Kimathi St and Kenyatta Ave by Duncan Muchora. In hindsight, this was an ideal location because The Stanley is well established, and therefore easy to find. But it is also right in the heart of the CBD and the buzz is incredible. Duncan had an immediate but slightly gentler impact upon us too with his easy warmth and professionalism. He began by telling us about the history of the tours themselves – how they were designed as a source of income for the Mathare Children’s Fund (MCFP – details below). Mathare is one of Nairobi’s oldest and largest slums and the Fund was set up to give its children, of whom Duncan is one, a future through education.

We began the tour at a gentle pace, stopping for our first chat outside the Bank of India on Kenyatta Avenue. I won’t tell you why we stopped here or in fact go into any depth about the history of Nairobi because that would be stealing Duncan’s thunder. But suffice it to say the tour was very thorough, incorporating a silent shuffle around the dusty old Macmillan Library and finishing at the top of the KICC tower which was truly breathtaking.

It was thrilling to be on foot amidst the vibrant energy of the city centre but for me, the highlight was Duncan’s attitude. I think we were probably quite ready, as Europeans, to apologise for the behaviour of our Colonial forefathers, but Duncan was surprisingly challenging to those ideas. He had a true historian’s approach, providing context and various views before leaving us to make up our own minds. All of our discussions, as well as our footsteps, were guided in a very open and non-combative way, and whilst he may not have the showmanship of some, he did very gently leave us with a more informed, yet open-minded perspective on Nairobi’s history.

In short, whether you are a visitor or a resident of Kenya, and whether you wish to understand more, or simply enjoy the buzz of downtown Nairobi, I would heartily recommend the tour.

There were only two things that we felt could be done better, the first is tips.