IN CAIRO, EGYPT
Covering the first round of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations has literally been a 24-hour, seven-day shift.
It is not a job for a married person because you will never be home.
From the time I landed here in Cairo at 11am on June 20 I have been on my feet almost the entire day, every day until last Tuesday when the tournament, thankfully took a three-day break following the conclusion of the group stage matches.
On arrival, as you are told about travelling to a foreign country for an assignment, make sure you have your accreditation, local currency in pocket, a means of communication and accommodation.
So, no sooner had I secured my hotel room than it was time to make a quick dash to Cairo International Stadium to get my media accreditation. Locating the centre was akin to finding a needle in a haystack. Cairo Stadium is a vast complex with multiple entries accessed through different one-way roads. It took about 15 minutes to find the right gate to the accreditation centre.
After that it was a quick dash back to the hotel to convert US dollars into Egyptian pounds. There are no forex bureaus here.
But as I was about to head back to the press centre at Cairo Stadium word filtered through that former Prime Minister Raila Odinga was in town and on his way to meet Harambee Stars at their base in New Cairo some 16 kilometres from my hotel.
Into a taxi I immediately headed for Tiba Rosa Plaza hotel where Harambee Stars were staying.
The Raila story needed to be filed for Nation Online and there were other stories to be done for the Daily Nation newspaper capturing the mood in the country.
Luckily the hotel allowed me use of their WI-FI. Then another dash to Nasr City, Giza in search or an Orange line and data bundles.
Believe me it is essential to have access to the Internet wherever you are. It particularly comes in handy when requiring dial a cab services – read Uber – to escape the clutches of piratic taxi drives.
That day I retired at my hotel well past 9pm.
Over the next 11 days, with matches being played late at night when temperatures are lower, and ending around midnight local time I found myself signing off from work in the wee hours of the morning, everyday, to begin the cycle again at dawn.
Fortunately, Cairo never sleeps and transport is available 24 hours a day.
Covering Harambee Stars had its challenges. My observation is that the team management was so intent on controlling the narrative around the team they consequently put the players ill at ease with journalists.
Senegal, Egypt, Uganda teams, for example, all looked easy and relaxed at media functions, exchanging greetings with their country’s journalists, smiling, guffawing when the occasion called for it. For Harambee Stars, an interaction with their own Kenyan media looked like a primary school assembly day with a very stern headmaster.
As the tournament progresses there will be more and more days in between matches and I will certainly have an opportunity to visit some of Cairo’s famous tourist sites. The Great Sphinx of Giza, the Coptic Museum, the Fortress of Babylon, the Pyramids of Giza, the Egyptian Museum, Tahrir Square. I could go on, and on.
At least I have sailed on the massive but calm River Nile in a luxurious boat, enjoying Egyptian cuisine with gusto while looking at a river bank claimed by modernity – big, shiny hotels and other steel and mortar structures.
My mind couldn’t help imagining how the scenes were like in ancient times and the life of the people who lived here then. Did one of the great Pharaohs sail on this very route I was taking? It was a surreal thought.