100 years on, colonial alcohol prohibitions targeting the poor still in force on SGR

If I failed in steering clear of politics and politicians, I am happy to report I kept my commitment to return to the Coast for a ka-buroti, so I was on the SGR, yet again. And the trip was much smoother than the last time, perhaps because I was unencumbered by the demands of moving the whole clan.

To illustrate the logistics of putting together a meal, the menu was canvassed over a week as the list was made, unmade and remade, haggling over allergies and preferences and what-have-you. In the end, the chef settled on rice and cabbage, mambo kwisha! Anyway, I am not about to revisit trips from last year. What I wanted to narrate was my experience on the SGR aka Madaraka Express. On this week’s trip, I was accompanied by a friend who puts one foot in another land most of the year, then spends the rest of the year plotting and planning for the next visit home! And he kept wondering, as we ambled up and down the SGR platform: Yaani, we couldn’t build a simple thing like this?

One highlight from this trip, and which I had missed from the previous one, was the prohibition of alcohol consumption on SGR. Apparently, alcohol sale is not permitted for at least 2.5 hours on either direction. That’s nearly half the trip.

So, the Mombasa-bound train opens the bar at Voi, while the Nairobi-bound train opens at Mtito Andei. I have no idea what’s the thinking behind this, save for the fact that it makes sense to let walevi indulge within minimum staggering distance to minimise the prospects of being drunk and disorderly.

The singular challenge is that this prohibition is damn colonial (and Chinese) since I understand they will run our rails until we pay all their debts in 100 years, as it is confined to Economy class only. When did money become a marker of decorum and order?

I’m surprised no one has sued SGR for such upumbavu. It simply doesn’t make sense to impose such naked classism.