Crazy things we have done for money

Many years ago i was approached by a certain Tanzanian businessman with a deal i could not refuse. For 500k each i was to avail a few trailers to him, the trucks then drive to kisumu to load ethanol for export from Spectre International. After loading the trucks drive to Namanga and eventually enter TZ after clearing. We then head to Moshi through Arusha and at Moshi ndio mchezo inaanza, the number plate is changed complete with a new insurance, sticker.

Very important, over night we had to drive through Njia Panda, Marangu, Tarakea, Loitoktok, Emali and back to Nairobi before dawn using panya routes. Truck yenyewe ukiangalia then ilikuwa kama mpya. After a few trips you change the oil and brake linings hata kama hazijaisha. New tyres always, and after wear and tear kidogo unauzia mkamba unaweka zingine mpya. The cost of a breakdown before dawn was incomprehensible on the kenyan side as it meant dealing with unpredictable police after a shift change na macho mingi ya watu. Yaani umepea wa usiku pesa sasa itabidi you negotiate again na wa mchana who were usually not on the know.

The drive back to Kenya we were being escorted by 2 chase cars one infront and another behind. Always loaded with police and KRA money coz coming back was magendo. Wadau pesa inabebwa na chase cars was alot coz each roadblock the normal rate was 100k. Kwa roadblock no stopping unakuta everything has been sorted by the chase cars wewe tu nikuenda. Not forgetting in each truck you are given around 100k non refundable ya mfuko in case the chase cars are held up and you have to deal with the police yourself which was a rare occurance. After offloading in Nairobi the cycle is repeated.

Hata kama ni wewe ungekataa 500k for a weeks work. Expenses haumalizi mia? Did the said business for almost a year kwanza one December i can recall we were doing 2 trips a week. Yaani nakumbuka one christmas and new years day nikingangana usiku na trailer as everyone else was at home celebrating.

Unfortunately/fortunately, things went south when a rival business man (ethanol importer) snitched on us. At mlolongo around 3am tulikuta umati wa around 50 policemen na wazito wa KRA gari zikashikwa.

That is when i came to know the true owner of the business. As an aspiring politician then, he came usiku to negotiate with the police but all was in vain because the press had been tipped. Kumbe i had been dealing with a now current mzito in Government using his proxies. Funnily news of the nab never made it to any local dailies as the press was “sorted”. Right now the mzito is being touted as the best thing since sliced bread.

Anyway my trucks spent the better part of the year ndani before negotiations and eventual release.

Yaani all that work was just to kwepa the tax man.

From then nikakataa hiyo biashara saa hii its the straight and narrow.

By the way @pamba i still believe kazi inaendelea. Ingia inbox nikuibie siri roho safi unukishe kitunguu

Leteni hekaya zenu of crazy things you have done for money.

But if someone can afford to give you 500k per week, why not buy his own trucks and keep it in-house? Hukua unajiuliza hilo swali?

@Mimi Huwa Namwaga Ndanii lives in Lavington and attend Monaco GP.
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I knew what i was doing yet still did it. Anyway on the businessman buying his own trucks never made sense because utabeba a few trips with your new truck gari ikijulikana sana you can’t use it anymore. I was “lucky” to do almost a year with trusted and secretive employees/driver bila kushikwa which was rare then.

Hizi biashara ziko na wenyewe, hapo tawe.

Huyo msito ako based thika?

Siwezi sema hapa anonymity muhimu but nice try.

@Unataka kujua ili?

Anyway people currently in that business usually buy a 2nd hand actros use it, ikijulikana, its sold cheaply buys another and the cycle continues. Unashangaa mbona a new actros is on sale cheaply but mwenyewe anataka imwondokee tu.

Kindly tells what you did with that amount of cash , ama ni umaraya na fobe tu. Ulijenga ??

Kitambo sana

But kama mtu anaku offer 500gs, imagine yeye ana make ngapi per trip.

sasa andika hii ngombe yetu @Makonika iwe inakaa kwa yard,changaa ya kuwinda itamaliza yeye

But Bro, does it mean that the tax for each pay load (per truck) would exceed 500k? Again, didn’t the TZ gov tax it? Still on it, the cost of driving all the way was it not too much? Or what I’m I missing here?

Msomali pale Eastleight. Bundles of clothes. Kwa FH,mguu kumi ns semi. Driver anandungwa 50K for the trip to Nairobi.
Offload at warehouse in India or deliver direct to Eastleigh sec. 3. No counting of bundles. Just offloading and speeding back to Mombasa.
Made money selling material and ‘eating’ cash meant for delivery drivers in Nairobi. Unapewa like 100K for the several drivers doing the delivery from Inda to Eastleigh. Emergency cash. You give driver 10K and since the company was known in the field,no interference. And I was known at Buruburu,India,Jogoo Road and Kamukunji police stations.
The day KRA landed,warehouse was locked with seals I have never seen. Plus armed guards. Pleaded innocence saying we were just doing what we do,transporting goods which had valid KPA,KRA,CFS,KEBS,and shipping documents.
Wazito wakafika following day. MD,FD and a few Somali businessmen. All the cloth bundles were loaded into GK trucks. Hivo ndivo biz iliisha. It was a good run.

Hapa kuna some ktalkers wana-salvate

Before I grew balls (and a spine, (and a pair of legs)), I screwed a grey haired overweight woman with false front teeth, and a stinking mouth old enough to be my mother so as to keep my job. Mambo nimefanya, mungu anisamehe.

Mirrions boss, worth ya ethanol in each truck was around 30m because we used to carry excess tonnage. There was once phone ya one driver iliisha charge and everyone thought he had disappered with the goods. Hiyo siku mwenye mzigo aliingiza baridi. Obviously he could not report to the police coz of how do you start explaining the nature of goods? Only for him to appear a day later ati alificha gari athi river ndio isishikwe.

This is folly grade A.

How do you know what @pamba will do now that you have pretty much confessed publicly and want to spill more beans. Secondly, do you think that those still in the business will not do all they can to defend it.

Pelekea pastor tithe ndio uwezeshwe kurudi Kwa hii biashara