Uhuru Generation Gives Way to Youth in City Clubs

Gatonye Gathura

19 July 2011

Nairobi — The youth is taking over, effectively overrunning some aspects of the city, and only the most astute of investors are breaking their backs to service the new clients.

While the first to go were the dukas (traditional shops) in downtown Nairobi that were replaced by trading cubicles manned by the new blood, the takeover is most evident in the entertainment industry.

Nairobi, from Tom Mboya Street moving towards River Road, is shedding its old independence days façade and nurturing a totally new entertainment city.

A no-go zone a few years ago for banks, now this part of the city is awash with the institutions and ATMs and could be having the highest concentration of mobile money operators in Kenya today.

The phenomenon has triggered an exodus of the Uhuru generation from the CBD to estate pubs or rural homes, and with them, entertainment dinosaurs which included the jukebox, the one-man guitar, the hump back TV and even the village business names they brought to the city.

Names such as Modern Green, Karai, South Tetu, Good Hope have all but disappeared to be replaced by the more hip ones such as Geezs, Tahiti, and Trends.

Some of the old businesses have adapted to the change, but many others have had to close down or look for alternative businesses.

The latest to close is South Tetu on Tsavo Road in downtown Nairobi, which is being turned into what has come to be known as “exhibitions” — partitioning previously big halls into small cubicles and renting out for retail business.

Young adults

These “exhibition” businesses are almost all owned or run by young adults or Y generation, selling mostly mobile phones, and their accessories, clothing or offering M-Pesa related services.

The takeover of these aspects of the city validates Dr Anthony Kilele, director-general of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistic’s estimation that the Y generation is the most dominant and will dictate change in the country.

A few of the entertainment spots are still resisting change or moving at a snail’s pace, the laggards including the New Nyanza, Reke Marie, Kericho East or even Njoguini.

But they are all feeling the pressure; even at the ultra conservative Reke Marie, they have long removed the jukebox and the cathode ray tube TV sets, albeit reluctantly, giving way to flat screens.

This tortoise is, however, quite noticeable for its screaming solid colours, which were the in-thing during the bell-bottom trouser days.

Under pressure to cope with new demand and a clientele that wants change, one of River Road’s iconic places Good Hope, closed down in December, perhaps the last sound of the jukebox in the city.

Good Hope will most likely be remembered for its meat cuts and lately as a place you were most likely to get your drink laced with drugs, leading to lose of valuables.

But it is the world famous Modern Green Bar and Restaurant that may have best read the sign of times, dancing a tune for the new season, and throwing out the old wines plus the skins.

To any night bird worth its salt, Modern Green was what the source of the River Nile was to explorer.

Previously a dilapidated old colourless two-storey building, it has morphed into a most remarkable structure, standing five storeys tall and spanking a golden colour.

No wonder bloggers think the place has been closed down and are quite disappointed. Misled by this change, one blogger in Nairobi Forum posted a notice indicating the popular place has been closed.

“It was bad enough arriving in Nairobbery a month ago to find one of the city’s legendary boozers turned into another couple of shops selling mobile phones,” wrote Muguruki from Wales.

This set out a flurry of condolences and moaning from bloggers across the world who feel orphaned.

The new look MG, as it was popularly called, may lack the old magic, but today it is tastefully furnished to make the Y generation feel welcome.

It is all for a new world of resident DJs, huge plasma TV screens, attractive décor and clients who would rather be surfing the Web on their hand phones instead of reading a newspaper — and they are young.

AllAfrica – All the Time