Road Side Mechanic or Road Side Menace ?


Last evening the Nairobi traffic jam was its usual long winding self. Like most men i ignored the warning light on my fuel gauger. Fortunately the fuel run out a stones throw away from a petrol station and it was just about 6 O clock so it was not dark yet.


I was on my way to drop my girlfriend home and take a trip to the out skirts of town to visit a berieved family from our church. I quickly parked by the road side almost at the top of the fly over at uhuru away on the way leading to bunyala road. I picked my petrol can and dashed to the station and promptly got enough fuel.


I ran back to the car to find a overalls clad young man clutching a dirty white paper bag  checking out my small car.
 " The fuel is over " he said as if worried that i had already found a remedy for my problem.
 I agreed and preceeded to pick a home made funnel that was conviniently placed in the boot of the car - needless to say i had been down this road before.


As i struggled to pour fuel in the gas tank and balance hold up the fuel can in one hand the young man in the blue overrolls immediately offered his help and seemed to proceed to assist without waiting for any confirmation from me.


He then ordered me to leave some fuel in the can so as to pour it in the distributor for the car to start up. I opened the bornnnet when were done and left him pouring the fuel. i went to start the car and after a few attemtps at ignation i was certain something was wrong. I left the car and went to the bornnet only to find the young man had disconnected the distributor. I found him cables in hand and to justify his actions he quickly suggested that the distributor was loose and the car would not start.


I forcefully asked him not to help or touch anything and proceeded to return all the cables to thier place. At this point another man who at first seemed like a passerby was standing looking at the open bonnet and was trying to get in his two cents worth of advice.


I then noticed that the dirty white paper bag i had seen earlier was strategically located just below my bornnet at a perfect place where anything could be easily dropped into the bag from the hood of my car.


A quick prayer and countless lessons that came from owning a troublesome 1985 Fiat Uno was all i needed to personally get my car started. The young man who passing motorist must have a looked like  mechaninc stood arms crossed a meter away form my car. The small  engine roared after much effort at starting and the would be mechanic silently cursed that he had not made away with anything from the little blue car.


As we drove down the same hill my girlfriend recounted how she had seen an asian lady being robbed on a sturday morning. Some mechanics much like the young man were seen plucking cables and parts of her engine as she stepped away to make a call. Perhaps assuring a worried family member that she will be fine since a road side mechanic was resolving her problem.


Its not surprising that some kenyans have taken to the road side and they are not mechanics or good samaritans or  handy men but road side menaces out to steal.