It was on Sunday night around 9:40PM and I had come from a just ended football match in Kasarani Stadium. I tried to drive fast and get home, since I was really exhausted from the cheering and dancing at the stadium. But then just on the road, Thika Road to be specific, I noticed a white Toyota Fielder that kept on flashing lights behind me and as usual I thought to myself they were just in much of a hurry more than I was and so I kept left for them to overtake.
At 10:03PM I got to the Kenyatta Avenue Roundabout just past the Nyayo house, and was waiting for traffic to clear out so that I could take the second exit of Kenyatta Avenue continuing to Valley road. I looked out of my window and suddenly I saw the same exact car which was driving behind me along Thika Road. It came to a stop next to me and simultaneously the occupants rolled down their windows. They had music on full blast and all of them looked at me while smiling and waving as if we were long time friends and knew each other. I just gave them a nod.
Once the traffic was clear I proceeded with my driving. Interestingly the same car started following me again. I could see them from the rear mirror of my car. The driver of that vehicle just kept on smiling. A smile that was not so friendly and that is when I sensed it was no longer just a normal thing. So my first action was to get to the next petrol station and fuel as I let them pass. I get to the Shell Valley Road to fuel and they got in too and as I left they left.
A cold chill ran down my spine because this was not funny anymore. I continued with driving but my instincts alerted me to take a detour and not go home directly. Instead of going straight to Ngong Road I took a detour to Argwings Kodhek Road. Immediately I called my friend Max who thank God was a police officer at Kilimani Police station. I tell him everything and he responds by saying that I should just continue driving maintaining the main roads as he calls his friends who were on patrol.
Max then called back and told me to drive straight to Ola Petrol station at Yaya Center where two police officers would be waiting for me. Without wasting time I directly drove there. All this time the said car was still following me closely and this time they had increased their speed. In panic mode I too accelerated and finally made it to where the police officers were waiting for me. Just as I got to the petrol station and was getting in, the car came passed me as it drove straight into the dark and disappeared.
I got out of the car and told the officers that the white car that had just drove by was the one following me. In amusement they sheepishly asked what car I was talking about as they didn’t see anything. They told me to calm down and explain to them everything . Anyway I explained to them about the whole ordeal and it was at that point when they got invested in my story.
One of them curiously asked me to describe the car.
When I did, his face suddenly changed.
He said:
“You said a white Fielder with three people inside?”
I nodded in agreement.
He showed me his phone and asked me if I could identify anything farmiliar.
There it was! A photo of the same exact car, same plates, and basically same everything.
That is when he said: “That car was found plugged into the Nairobi River from an accident just the previous week with all the passengers dead.”
I just laughed. The stupid and confused kind of laugh.
I told him that’s impossible since they just followed me a few moments ago. But again the photos were clear. It was the same car with the same same occupants.
Apparently he said I wasn’t the first.
About four other people had reported being followed by the same car in Kilimani, Parklands, and also along Thika Road, and each said the same thing. Smiling driver, with occupants smiling too while waving and music on loud blast. No harm but just following.
That explanation left me confused and swallowed in fear.
In panic mode I gave a call back to Max to tell him everything. He told me that next time if I ever felt something is off, then I should trust that feeling immediately because lately Nairobi has turned to no longer being just a normal place. I definitely believed him.
I didn’t sleep that night and neither did I go home. I checked into a hotel in Kilimani and left the lights on the whole night. It was raining too and it didn’t stop till 3AM, and so did the thoughts in my head too, because did I just go through…
From that Sunday I have decided to be always driving a different route and won’t stay out past 10PM.
Also I never, ever stare too long at who’s driving behind me.
Especially if they’re smiling…
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