Crash of Babies Coach

Babies Coach at its staging location in Maralal, Kenya circa 1995
The Crash of Babies Coach
The Song of the Crash
“The Crash of Babies Coach” is a story told by Babu — Patrick Zakayo of Wamba, Kenya. You may listen to his telling of this story by clicking on the link, above.
Babies Coach — the “s” is very small and not visible in the photograph — is a bus body welded onto a heavy-duty truck frame. Babie, Mr. Washington, is the owner. Babie is a big man who started driving his father’s bus when he was young, hence his nickname, Babie. Around Wamba, Babie is the only big man, and his coach is the only big transport vehicle in the area. It runs from Isiolo to Wamba on one day, and from Wamba to Maralal the next. The following day it returns to Wamba, and the next day it goes to Isiolo. The runs are only 100km but the road is awful so a trip can take most of the day. Babies Coach is, literally colorful, and is, in its own way, a local character.
The story of its crash takes place one day in August, in the mid-1990s, around the time of the International Camel Derby in Maralal. This is a regional tourist event. Many people from Wamba have come to Maralal to check out the race, but it is now over and they are going back. Every bus has its touts. The touts, or “tally boy,” collects the fares, stows the luggage, and manages the passengers. Being a tally boy is one of the few jobs open to young men. They tally boy’s all come from Wamba and so all the passengers know the boy and have grown up with him. There is a ladder on the outside of the bus that leads to the roof which is laden with luggage, sometimes passengers, and, in this story, two men with guns, AK47’s, who are protecting the bus from bandits. The tally boy is often moving from inside the bus to the ladder and up to the top. They are often hurt in accidents, like the one described here.
The only thing to add is that this song about the crash is sung by a musician from Maralal. He is was on the bus, drunk, as he often is, and playing his guitar, or at least singing. The song is short.
