The bitterness of massive loss of market and income earned in the two countries can be felt in the way they expressed themselves and defended the main source of income for most people in North and South Igembe – the main miraa growing regions.
Their determination to convince the world that miraa is important and should not be banned is key in every comment they make.
That is why miraa drivers we spoke to at night were all sticking to a script nobody speeds, and that in fact they all drive at only 80 KPH.
As we interviewed miraa drivers in Maua Town, a crowd that got bigger every single minute was shouting from all corners and warning the others to make sure they don’t spoil for them.
Patrick Mwenda, a father of two, has been a miraa driver for 10 years.
“They say we smoke bhang, that we are drunkards, when you look at me do I look drunk? Do I look like someone who has smoked bhang,” he queried.
“There is no careful driver like a miraa driver. This car has been driven for three years. It’s accident free, so if I was careless, would this car be like this?” he asked.
Joel Kombo like many other drivers we spoke to denied speeding.
“Fearing a miraa car on the road is a bad perception. We just drive the way other cars are driving. I drive at between 80 and 100KMPH. I am very careful, I am sober, and I also care about other road users. You even care about that cow crossing the road,” he asserted.
Hussein Gilbelle has been a driver for 13 years.
“No miraa drivers drive recklessly, we drive well, we don’t scare anyone, only that people hate our cars. People are more important, miraa are only twigs,” he said amidst cheers from the crowd that had by then turned unmanageable.
Capital FM News however spoke to other drivers who asked to be kept anonymous.
They admitted to speeding. Some said they drive at between 160 to 180 KPH especially at night.
Naftali has been a miraa driver for over 20 years.
“Accidents do happen but happen because of other cars, we try to give way to other cars then we get accidents,” he explained, blaiming slow drivers for causing accidents involving miraa drivers; “personal cars are too slow and you are driving too fast, even if you start breaking it will not help. It becomes tricky to overtake a slow car.”
In his case, it is the police who caused an accident but not his high driving speed.
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