At face value, being a cab driver looks as easy as chauffeuring people from one end of the city to the other right?
Wrong!
Imagine working as a cab driver in Nairobi; a chinese guy books your cab. You happily pick him up, he tells you his location and you drive off. Half way through the trip you realize that the only reason he told his location clearly was because it's what google maps had read to him, otherwise he only speaks mandarin. So how do you explain that your fare is Ksh. 2,000 in Mandarin? I don't and neither does Njoro. Sign language and non-verbal cues also don't do much to salvage the situation.
How does it go you ask?The Chinese man hands him a 500bob note before he exits the cab. :'(
You can feel his frustration. In fact his frustrations loudly come through during the entire show.
If Njoro's day to day events are anything to go by, then there's truth in the narrative that cab drivers know more about a city and its destinations than most of its inhabitants.
Njoro wa Uba is the story of a young father who loses his lucrative job as an operations manager in a bank after being mentioned as a suspect in a fraud incident. A blacklist barring him from working for any banking organization hangs over his head. To compound it all he is in a new relationship that comes with a (stereo)-typical Kenyan mother-in-law. In a bid to survive, Njoro takes a dive into the unknown by signing up for a job as a cab driver for one of the new taxi app-based companies.
The drama series is created around his day-to-day experiences and gives a comedic sneak peek into the life of a Nairobi taxi driver: from drunk customers, to strange religious folks who insist on paying their fare in blessings, to weirdos and all the drama in between.
The main character "Njoroge" who is a cool reserved guy, now has to take this new job in stride and it is no walk in the park!
The build up of the story line on this show promises continuity of the story, as it opens up a wide spectrum of possibilities for different episodes. There is no telling who will be next in Njoro's back seat. This also creates space for a wider pool of characters rather than most local tv shows that have the same number of actors on rotation.
Also worth noting, is the diversity of locations on this film. Really, there's no telling where they will be next. But on second thought isn't that the life of a cab driver?
Njoro wa Uba shows on Maisha Magic East, and looks like a classic comedy show ideal for watching with the family. It also comes with this overarching Kenyan feel to it, which could make the watching experience worth every minute of your time.
Next time you zap through the channels on your TV, Njoro wa Uba should be one of the shows you are looking out for.