Thursday, 5 November 2026
Kenyan Digest

Africa Cup of Nations Notebook - Day 12

2 min read
Published

By CHARLES NYENDE
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Getting mobile line is register and go

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Getting a SIM card in Egypt is not a hassle. All you need is to register your name with proof of identification. In the case of foreigners, your passport details are captured, you buy airtime, bundles as the case may be, and; voila!

You are connected to the mobile network in Egypt. The four major mobile phone service providers in Egypt are - Wee, Vodafone, Orange and Itasilai.

None has domination, as say Safaricom in Kenya, but Vodafone is easily the most preferred network.

However, you will not find traders hawking lines and airtime on the streets as is prevalent in Kenya.

Caf pleased with ‘excellent’ pitches

Confederation of African Football Director of Competitions Samson Adamu has praised the quality of the pitches and training grounds for the 2019 Afcon. “Egypt has put in great work to have excellent facilities.

The pitches have been worked on and are in great conditions and this has contributed to the quality of the competition, which is good,” he said in Cairo on Monday.

There are six match venues – Cairo International, 30 June, Al Salam, all in Cairo, and Alexandria, Ismailia and Suez. There are also 35 world class training facilities available to the teams.

Driving at breakneck speed, with no belts

It is difficult not to revisit the madness that goes on the roads of Cairo. The mentality clearly is, you are on your own, God with us all.

Most drivers do not care about putting on their seat belts when on the road. And as a passenger when you attempt to buckle up there is no encouragement from the driver nor the law.

Your terror as a foreigner and passenger sets in when you look at the speeds being hit by the drivers.

The wide, impressive roads in Cairo have speed limits of 60kph, 80kph, but drivers here care less in observing that threshold, racing away unbelted.

So just who was this man Mulamba

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Confederation of African Football on Sunday announced that third round matches of the group stage of the Afcon will observe a minute of silence in honour of former DR Congo striker Pierre Ndaye Mulamba, who passed away on 26 January in Johannesburg, South Africa.

So who was this Mulamba? He was a deadly striker who led the DRC to the 1974 African title, held incidentally, in Egypt. Mulamba holds the record of most goals scored in a single Afcon, nine in that wonderful 1974 campaign.

And remember back then the tournament was an eight-team affair.