Waqho Hassan Boru posing for a picture near City Hall in Nairobi on May 6,2024 after riding his motorcycle through South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya.
A motorbike accident can be a traumatic event. Many a rider has had their limbs (and spirit) irreparably broken, swearing never to go anywhere near the two-wheelers. No so Wako Hassan Boru alias "Mustapha Konvict".
In 2021, while riding his Honda CBR 600, he was involved in a grisly road accident. The fight for not only his limbs but also his life took him to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in a Nairobi hospital. For a full week, doctors fought hard to bring him back from the brink of death.
He cheated death, recovered and then did the 'unthinkable'.
“After the accident, most of my relatives believed my love for motorbikes was now gone but they were wrong,” he tells the BDLife of their belief that his spirit had finally been broken and he would take on a 'less dangerous' hobby.
Riding motorbikes being his life-long passion, Mr Boru says he had little choice in the matter other than to get back on the saddle and continue with the ride of his life.
Waqho Hassan Boru speaking near City Hall in Nairobi on May 6,2024 after riding his motorcycle through South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya.
The journey to full recovery requires small careful steps and Mr Boru chose his physiotherapy bike well, stepping down to a 300cc engine capacity. He would ride short distances, usually within the capital city until he fully regained his muscle memory and flexibility.
This year in April, when he felt he was fully recovered, he decided to go full throttle and chase his dream with his dream bike- the big BMW R1200 GS Adventure motorbike that has a Sh2.4 million price tag.
It had taken him two months to prepare for the journey. The plan was to traverse from South Africa, where he would buy the bike, to Kenya, riding over 5,224 kilometres.
“This trip needed a lot of planning, from mental, physical, fitness readiness and also finances. I had to ensure that I also won't endanger my life or anything,” he notes.
Then a few weeks before he was scheduled to leave for South Africa, he got sick and was diagnosed with pneumonia, delaying his trip.
When the doctor gave him a clean bill of health, he did not want to wait any longer.
“I boarded a plane to South Africa and bought the BMW R1200, stayed a few days in Cape Town because I could not wait to start riding my new motorbike,” he says.
But luck was not on his side. He fell sick again.
“My host in South Africa had to take me to hospital and the doctors asked me not to ride the motorbike back to Kenya. But I still went against the directives,” Mr Boru says.
On April 20, 2024, at 6 am, he started his journey to Kenya from Cape Town. He was accompanied by South African riders who were seeing him off.
He slept at Stockport, a border crossing between South Africa and Botswana in the Limpopo province.
“It is located near the Kalahari Desert. It was very hot. I remember drinking a lot of sweetened water almost every other five minutes,” he says.
He arrived in Botswana at 2 am on April 22, where he was met by another group of bikers. After riding hundreds of kilometres, he was weary with exhaustion and wanted to sleep at the Martin Rift border post. But his new-found friends warned him against the plan.
“They told me that motorbikes, especially the type I was riding were being stolen at a very high rate,” says Mr Boru.
Waqho Hassan Boru posing for a picture near City Hall in Nairobi on May 6,2024 after riding his motorcycle through South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
He says it was very hard to find a place to spend the night in Botswana as hotels and short-stay houses are very expensive. Eventually, after making enquiries in several establishments, a stranger offered to accommodate the group for the night.
“There was a stranger who had trailed us for some hours. He's the one who opted to assist us,” says Mr Boru.
The following morning, he woke up late but still decided to continue with the journey to Lusaka, Zambia crossing at the Kazungula border point. He arrived there on the night of April 23.
In Zambia, he was hosted by members of the Lusaka Riders Association and started his journey to Tanzania entering the neighbouring country through the Tunduma border point.
In Tanzania, it rained heavily but Mr Boru kept riding non-stop for 440 kilometres.
“In Tanzania, I did not find anyone waiting as it happened in the other countries,” he says.
On April 27, when he crossed into Kenya through the Taveta border point, a group of his fellow riders joined him in Kajiado and together they rode triumphantly into Nairobi's Central Business District.
Mr Wako says the trip was expensive and at some point, he had to fundraise through his social media accounts.
He spent Sh138,000 on fuel, Sh60,000 on food and Sh90,000 on accommodation. At the border crossings, he spent Sh65,000, and that's not counting the Sh9,240 that a man defrauded him in Zambia when he approached him claiming to be a customs official who could help speed up the clearing process.
Would he take the same trip again? Mr Boru says it is a great bucket list experience that he wouldn't mind a do-over.
What is it about the BMW R1200 GS that makes the physical and cost pain worth it?
" It is the perfect bike for the successful man; it is so safe and easy to drive that anyone can ride it as a first bike,” he says, adding, "It also has a masculine, robust, professional look."
With the South Africa to Kenya trip already ticked off his bucket list, Mr Boru is already plotting his next adventure.
“My dream now is to travel from Kenya to Egypt and I'm now looking for people who will be ready to go for the ride with me,” he says.
