Going to Jail

28 April 2012

Jail Bird Joe

Today was another first for me. I got thrown into jail and I have the picture to prove it!

We were taking a long weekend to take some time off. About 100 km from Nairobi, I got stopped at a police check-point. The police man said give me your license and walked away. About 5 minutes later, they walked passed the car and said, "you are being escorted to the police station because you were speeding" and continued to walk away.

I had no opportunity to talk to the police man or reason with them. So much for talking your way out of police trouble. At the police station, I was told that I was going 120kph in a 100kph zone (FYI: speed limits are understood here but never posted). From the police station, we (the other speeders) were escorted across the road to where the court house and jail was. We were put in jail while we waited for the court to be ready. By talking to the others that were in jail, I discovered that if I plead not guilty, I would be released on bail, and then would have to drive back up at a later date to appear in court. If I plead guilty, the fine would be 2000 ksh (about $25 US). So I plead guilty. The other speeders said that we were the "sacrificial lambs" for that day, and that part of the road was now safe speeders once again.

After paying, I was put back into jail to wait for a receipt for my fine. The entire process took about 3 1/2 hours. Not really the way I wanted to spend my weekend, but at least, I did not have to spend the night. :)

In Kenyan Jail for Speeding