Yaoundé Note Book- Day 1

IN YAOUNDE, CAMEROON

More than one hour to register sim card

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If you thought the Kenyan government is slow, then you are wrong. You know the normal government procedures which take forever before you get an approval or a document.

Well, in Cameroon, it takes more than one hour to have a simple procedure as sim card registration done. The Kenyan team bus had to wait for almost an hour so that my Orange sim card could be registered and loaded with data bundles for 10 days.

The language barrier notwithstanding, given Cameroon is predominantly a Francophone country, the procedure took forever. But patience pays, I am now sufficiently loaded to send timely information home.

Police only beauty of Yaoundé traffic jams

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Traffic in the capital Yaoundé is crazy! But there is a “positive” side to the traffic jam. Young policewomen are the only traffic officers who control traffic in the capital.

The beautiful lasses clad in blue shirts, navy blue pants, white helmets and white gloves carry out their job with a grin unlike the hard faces that we have become accustomed to in Nairobi.

The smiley and glowing faces of the policewomen eases the frustration on drivers and passengers alike.

Perhaps Kenya should consider a similar thing, the freshest graduates from Kiganjo should be controlling traffic in the city.

‘Team Kenya’ treated like queens they are

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Team Kenya is putting up at Hotel des Deputes, a hotel right in the heart of the capital, and a favourite of parliamentarians here in Yaoundé.

The hotel lobby is a beehive of activity especially during lunch hour with parliamentarians being dropped in posh vehicles to sample the delicacies on offer.

By local standards, it’s clearly a high end hotel if the litany of guzzlers frequenting the parking bay is anything to go by. “Malkia Strikers” are being treated like the real African queens they are. That’s how you host the nine-time African champions!

Yaounde taxis are more reckless than Nairobi matatus

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In Kenya, taking a taxi is a luxury. It's what you resort to when you have an extra shilling to spend and you want comfort.

But in Yaoundé, taxis are nowhere close to luxury. Painted yellow and in pathetic state, they break traffic rules for fun.

It's normal not to have a side mirror or broken headlights and drive recklessly in the city centre.

The seats are torn and the boots are hardly locked due to overloading. The body of these taxis carry a rough coating of yellow due to the endless scratches they get.

Githurai, where I was raised, is known for reckless matatu drivers but taxi drivers in Yaoundé are in a class of their own.