Nairobi News

It is what everyone is talking about, from top government officials on social media to other Kenyans in private WhatsApp groups.

The World Rally Championship (WRC) is here with the actions underway in Naivasha, to the delight of rallying enthusiasts.

The event is reported to have already attracted close to 10,000 fans from all over the world, who are in attendance.

And rightly so as the WRC is one of the most coveted events in the sports calendar for Nairobians especially for those who are real fans of the game.

Some popular names make up the list of names of rally drivers including the five-time winner of the  Carl “Flash” Tundo.

The government on its part has pulled all the stops to ensure that the event goes on without a hitch including closing down sections of public roads aimed at guaranteeing safe and secure operations of the event.

But apart from the energy, adventure, and adrenaline rush associated with the sport, the rally is sparking the excitement of Kenyans for other obvious reasons.

You see, like bees attracted to a flower city dwellers love the fun and wild revelry usually promised with such an event.

And apart from social networking, it is where they get the opportunity to spoil themselves and be able to get away with it.

Here they get to show their wild side mostly fueled by excessive drinking of alcohol.

And if history is anything to go by then this much-anticipated event promises to be no different.

Naturally, Nairobians love to not only party but party hard.

Masaku 7s and Safaricom Sevens rugby tournament are just but a few events where the case files of Nairobians in partying mood exist.

This might be the reason President Uhuru Kenyatta urged the public who will be attending the event to be “careful”.

The Head of State warned Kenyans that it had taken the country years of negotiations and preparations to bring back the WRC event after an 18-year absence.

Social media has also been abuzz with statements predicting the after-party events.

“Dem yangu hashiki simu bana. Ama ashafika Naivasha na watu wa Subaru?” asked @KeviniHaggai.

“Mlisema naivasha sahi ndio sodoma na gommorah yetu sahi,” tweeted @254Corture.

“Sahizi you can’t even rush to Naivasha for an assignment. People will judge you,” said @NicKanali.

“I belong to that 1% of guys who will not be going to Naivasha this weekend,” wrote @jayp_morgan.

Veteran sports photojournalist Ayumba Ayodi says such sporting events usually attract a lot of people who may not necessarily be fans of the game.

“For example during the Masaku 7s Rugby tournament spectators would just be drinking all day and having a care of which team is scoring or not. For this particular rally I am sure if you ask a majority of the fans you will find in Naivasha to name the rally drivers taking part in the completion they would not be able to name any, they are only there to enjoy themselves,” said Ayodi.

For the WRC he says it is a unique setup because it has not been around for almost two decades and adding the fact that since the pandemic hit the country we have all literally been holed up in our homes with not so much to do.

“People have not watched a rally for almost twenty years, we have just been watching maybe on TV. And the small rallies we have had, since they are held in remote places, people usually go partying huko msituni,” explained Ayodi.

It is one of the biggest sporting events being held in the country in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed during a press briefing on Wednesday urged revelers to observe the Covid-19 containment guidelines issued by the government.