Tuk Tuk … Vroom! Mombasa’s motor race like no other

Mombasa City was on Sunday treated to a street motor race of its kind. Scenes straight out of a Riverwood movie played out when tuk tuk drivers went behind the wheel to chase both the top prize and bragging rights.

The competition was organised by the Mombasa County Government as part of the events to mark World Tourism Day.

The highly anticipated race had initially been planned for last month but was postponed.

A large crowd turned up at the iconic Elephant Tusks on Moi Avenue where the race started and at the Mama Ngina Waterfront where the competition ended.

Residents arrived in large numbers to witness first-hand what a tuk tuk race entails.

At the starting line, the 55 tuk tuks received a rare treatment, usually reserved for high-octane car races.

Grand marshals were at the starting point, while traffic police officers and county inspectorate officers manned the route.

For once, drivers of the popular public means of transport in Mombasa had permission to zoom past traffic officers at terrific speed, swerving corners like their lives depended on it with their eyes fixed on the prize.

Also known as an auto-rickshaw, tuk tuks are three-wheeled, open-air vehicles that became popular in Southeast Asia but have since made their way around the world, including in Africa.

They are known by many names in various countries— 3wheel, baby taxi, bajaj, bao-bao, chand gari, easy bike, jonnybee, lapa-lapa, pigeon, tukxi, and tum-tum, among others.

They are especially common in countries with tropical or subtropical climates because they are not fully enclosed. They are found in many developing countries, like Kenya, because they are relatively inexpensive to own and operate.

From Elephant Tusks, the drivers went through Docks, Makupa, Saba Saba, Coast General, Posta, Old Town up to Mama Ngina.

One tuk tuk was involved in a mishap when it rolled, and its occupants suffered minor injuries.

In the end, Mr Charles Mulinge emerged the winner of the inaugural tuk tuk race and earned the top prize— Sh25,000 and a return flight to Nairobi.

Mr Mulinge, who plies the Likoni-Mwembe Tayari route, revealed how his friend tried to convince him to find a traditional healer to help him win the race, but he refused.

“A friend told me to go to ‘babu’ (old traditional healers) to get protection so that I can win, but I told him I trust in Jesus. The competition was good... there were many of us and I did not expect that I could emerge as the winner,” he said.

The race organisers said there were adequate safety measures to avoid accidents.

In the lead up to the race, for instance, the tuk tuk drivers were taken through rigorous tests to determine if they could participate in the competition safely.

Some 55 tuk tuks entered the competition. In order to avoid collisions, they took off in groups of threes and timers were used to determine the winner.

Each tuk tuk had a driver on the wheels and a co-driver on the back seat. Both wore protective gear to avoid injuries in case of a crash.

Mr Mulinge and his co-driver Nicholas Kinywa emerged top of the pack. They were awarded Sh25,000 and round trip flight tickets from to Nairobi sponsored by Jambo Jet. They also got a trophy and other goodies.

The winners said it was still unclear how long they would be required to stay in Nairobi.

“It will be better if we can get sponsored to stay for a week in Nairobi to take a break from this Mombasa heat,” he said.

Since Friday, Mombasa residents and visitors have been treated to cultural exhibitions, savoury street food, and street drift motorsports among other shows in a bid to market the city as a tourism destination of choice.

Mombasa County Chief Officer of Tourism Pauline Oginga said it was a strategy to boost leisure tourism in Mombasa besides conference and sports tourism.

In the recent past, the city has received stiff competition in its beach and leisure tourism as local and international visitors discover more magnificent seashores and entertainment joints in parts of Kwale and Kilifi counties as well as in Zanzibar.

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