Today, I go into the archives and I bring to you the memories of a Nyayo Era when Kenya's dream of a home made car was ripe. And hence came the Nyayo Pioneer Car.
In 1986 President Moi asked University of Nairobi students to manufacture a car, “however ugly or slow”. It promised to be a project that would showcase Kenya’s self-sufficiency and heavy industry potential.
The request was reminiscent of German Chancellor Adolf Hitler asking
Ferdinand Porsche in 1933 to make a car for the people – a move that
led to the creation of the Volkswagen Beetle. Strongmen clearly have a
thing for cars.
Moi’s project brought together engineers from Kenya Railways, Kenya
Polytechnic, the military and Nairobi University. Parts were produced in military bases or at the Kenya Railway central workshops. After four years of banging and clanging – and a quarter of a billion shillings of
public funds – the Nyayo Pioneer car was ready for public display. It even came in five different prototypes, including a five-door sedan, a sport coupe, a pickup and a rally version.
The car had a 1200cc engine and was to have a top speed of 120kph.
The cars were launched with much pomp and glamour at the Kasarani
Sports Complex. The President even took a short drive in one of the vehicles. The televised launch was a comedy of sorts, though, as only two of the five prototypes could actually move – and even then they couldn’t make it around the 400m track. The President had got his wish: the car was both ugly and slow.
The Nyayo Pioneer was an engineering disaster. The headlights,bumpers and boot did not come together neatly, and the car lacked the finesse you would expect from a consumer product. The components were made by hand in different factories. The car’s manufacture was done mainly at night as it was a state secret – and you got the feeling that a lot of the welding and panel beating was by hand in bad light. The car’s body was heavy and the engine simply could not cope with the burden.
Also, despite the goal of self-sufficiency, only 60 per cent of the car was built from locally-available material.
Not discouraged by what was clearly a massive failure, the government
decided to go ahead with the mass production of this largely stationary car. They formed the Nyayo Motor Corporation (NMC). The government did not have enough money to push the project all the way through. The total outlay for mass production required was Ksh7.8 billion. However, Lack of finances led the car project to be put on the blocks permanently.
The Nyayo Motor Corporation was dissolved and its assets taken over
by another company which bears its initials: the Numerical Machining
Complex.
Recently, NMC announced that it would set aside Ksh775 million to revive the Nyayo car project.Meaning Kenya may yet be reviving a dinosaur for our eco-friendly age and we could eventually see the Nyayo car breaking down on a highway near you.
