BREAKING NEWS!! UTAWALA PLANE CRASH

So a plane has crashed in Utawala area, four confirmed dead. I live in Utawala area. I live a stone's throw from the crash site. The news stations are calling it "breaking news" and need photos, video uploads. My photojournalism career has been killed in that crash.

No, that last statement is not intended to sound funny. So stop taking offense. Also let me interrupt you before your face breaks into a grin.

Thank you.

I have not been on a plane, at least not yet. I still remember the first time we got here. I was in awe of the giant machines that roared away in the sky! The planes. I counted the take offs, always lost count in the middle of the day.

My dad had been building a home here for well over a year now. I was not concerned that it was in the middle of nowhere; far from it. I was taken by the beauty of it all! The grass was knee high at certain times of the year, the acacia bushes scattered all over the place, the antelopes were in the horizon during sunset and the wild rabbits could be seen every so often but every attempt to get an up-close view was futile. They somehow just disappeared! It was fun having nyamchom on these tour weekends when my dad would tag family along to inspect our house.

My brother and I would always fight to sit at the co-driver's seat; serious fighting. We tried alternating, but it didn't work. We still fought. My mom got tired of separating us, we once sat together on the coveted seat and fought all the way, we forgot to look around and admire the new scenery! So my dad told us one day, "This is MY CAR. So until you get your own car, you are lucky I have accepted to carry you around in MY CAR. Work hard and get your own, this one is MINE. "

I was offended! Naturally. So that was the last that I raced to get to that seat moments after choking on tea and bread in a bid to beat my brother. Just for the record, I have worked hard. My graduation will be in December, and NO this is not a public invite.

So we moved in to our own house. Nay, my father's house. It was hard sleeping that night. Not from all the excitement. Not from the laughing hyenas, which by the way truly laugh. It was the aeroplanes that took off from the JKIA airport. Yes, JKIA is my neighbor! How cool can our diggs be, right? Well, everyone at school knew. I could tell a cargo plane from a passenger plane. Not to mention the various airlines; Emirates, Ehiopian air, KQ the pride of Africa........ just to mention a few, I know you know them either because you have googled or have actually been to the airport or you watch the news when Mashujaa rugby team or athletics team return home.

I slept at around 3.00am today. Maybe if I stayed up a while longer I would have heard the plane crash. Yes, I wasn't joking about the breaking news. Maybe later in the day I will pass by there. When there is no threat of the plane catching fire. I hope no one tried siphoning jet fuel, it's not unheard of, so stop looking at that statement with a look of disapproval. I am a proud Kenyan, some characters really taint our image.

So you can rest easy. My family is safe, we thank God. My phone has been ringing non-stop since the "breaking news". However, four people have been confirmed dead, i hope the death toll doesn't rise. I wish the news reporters would concentrate on reporting the accident more than the emphasis that the plane was carrying miraa. That is beside the point.

My condolences to the families of the loved ones who have perished in the accident.