The Green Part Of Kilifi That Many Kenyans Do Not Know About

My friend and I left Nairobi on Friday morning. Destination; Kilifi. We were going to mourn with another dear friend who had lost her dad. But we wanted to pass through Mombasa to pick up something. We used Mash Poa. I paid for a VIP seat but the bus that came had no VIP Seat number 6.

It took us about 7 hours to reach Mombasa. It was my first time using the bus. Mostly I use the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) or I fly using Jambojet. On Friday, all were fully booked, prompting the last option available; the bus and the experience were not that good.

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We arrived in Mombasa, picked up a personal car, and started our journey to Kilifi. We were to branch at a place called Mavueni, then drive past Cooperatives, to a place called Chasimba, then branch off at a place called Chonyi, some 10 kilometers from the main road.

The road from Mombasa to Mtwapa, then to Mavueni (before you hit Kilifi town) is great. Some repairs are going on along the way but all good. Wide and smooth. Do not use Google Maps though. We got lost more than 5 times and, at one point drove right into a sisal firm because we believed what that Google lady said.

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A short drive after brunching off at Mavueni, you will see a huge compound with all the international flags lined on both sides of the roads leading into it. At first, you will be mistaken to think it is an airport. You will also be forgiven for thinking it is a huge university.

That is Pastor Ezekiel Odero’s church. Huge and magnificent. We zoomed past it and I wasn’t able to take a good picture. But the photos of the huge church are all over the internet. If you visit Kilifi, you will be able to see it with your own eyes Mavueni.

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Now, I did not go to Kilifi County to see Pastor Ezekiel’s church. Neither had I gone on holiday. I had gone to mourn with the family of Mzee Ngala. But even in that moment of tears and sadness, something magical hit me. Something that I had not thought of before; this Kilifi was green.

Mostly, the images we see of Kilifi are from Shakahola, or Bamba, dry areas that only smell of poverty and devastation. No food. No Water. But this side of Kilifi; Mavueni, Chasimba, and Chonyi, looked like paradise. Green, beautiful, and with plenty of water.

What caught my attention were the huge and expansive maize plantations. This is something unheard of. I thought was in Trans-Nzoia. Almost every homestead had green maize. A lot of them were in the field. Healthy and fertile. Magical.

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The place has what they call Minazi (Coconut). There are millions of Minazi in this place. Every homestead has them. Even within the fields with expansive maize plantations, minazis are scattered all over.

Now, I discovered that from Minazi, the people in this place brew a drink called Mnazi, which is alcoholic and very popular. I only took two small glasses and I blacked out. But the veterans in the area could take up to 5 liters and still walk straight home.

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I haven’t talked about huge green trees in this place. But the photo I took might be able to give you a view of what I mean.