You may not know the term Askari, but after a few nights in an Asilia camp, you’ll realise these men (or women if you are at Dunia) are the quiet backbone of your peaceful sleep in the bush.
An Askari is, in essence, a night watchman, but the role involves so much more. Their job, on paper, sounds simple. Escort guests safely between their tents and the mess area after dark. Patrol the camp through the night. Keep track of whatever wildlife wanders near or through camp.
In practice, it means standing watch over a stretch of unfenced wilderness while everyone else is asleep, armed with a torch and a deep knowledge of animal behaviour, and nerves that don’t rattle easily.
Many of these men were once poachers themselves or are sons of poachers, which means they possess bush skills no training course can teach. Their instinct comes from a lifetime of reading the subtle language of the wilderness.
We sat down with a few of the Askaris at Naboisho Camp to hear what a day (or night) at the office looks like for them.
Wild Nights
Justus Oloisa, an Askari at Naboisho, described one particularly memorable night when it seemed everything that could happen, did. Zebras came thundering through camp, with lions in pursuit, a clan of hyenas followed closely behind, and a chorus of nearby jackals provided the background soundtrack. A porcupine, apparently unbothered by the ruckus, ambled past the mess tent.
On another occasion, a hippo and her calf wandered into camp to graze. While hippos may seem docile and almost comical at a distance, up close, it’s a very different story. Hippos are enormous. They’re also remotely uninterested in moving along on anyone else’s schedule. It took the team several hours to coax the pair out. For Justus, this is just another night’s work.
When a lone buffalo bull took to grazing along the footpath near tent seven, Askaris moved in to redirect it. A tense standoff followed, with the buffalo using the bushes as cover and the team using torches to get the buffalo to move on. In the end, the buffalo gave in and moved out of camp to graze elsewhere.
What You Don’t See
Not every story involves a chase or a standoff. Mzee Ngaro Kaleku told us about a full-moon night when a huge owl swooped down and snatched another bird, carrying it into the tree where guests usually enjoy their lunch. Unknown to the owl, a genet cat was already perched in that same tree, and it tried its luck at stealing the catch for itself. The owl stood firm. Feathers floated down through the moonlight as the drama played out directly above the guest dining spot.
Simon Koisikir put it simply: once guests are safely back at their tents, the Askaris head out into the bush themselves, partly to keep the peace, and partly because that’s where the night’s business is happening. “When you sleep,” he said, “you don’t see what we see.”
Sleeping Easy
It’s a comfort to know that while you’re tucked up in bed and tuckered out after a day’s adventuring, a man with decades of bush instinct is standing somewhere just outside, keeping an eye on the inky darkness for you. The Askaris rarely get mentioned in the trip reports or the photo albums, but every undisturbed night’s sleep in camp is their doing.
So next time you’re drifting off to sleep in camp, know that somewhere out there, a silent sentinel keeps watch and makes sure that whatever is moving out through the darkness stays there.
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