Nairobi 1985 archive footage

Archival footage shot by Otto Wolf, a Swiss filmmaker, while visiting Kenya in 1985.
It contains stock footage of Nairobi, the capital and the largest city of the country: traffic and pedestrians in the street, Kenyatta International Convention Centre, New Stanley Hotel, Jamia Mosque, Lilian Towers, and more.
Please, comment if you recognize more subjects.
If you want to buy this footage to use it in your production, please visit:
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If you want to buy segments of this footage to use it in your production, please visit:
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If you want to watch this video without watermark and advertising, please visit:
myoldfilm.com/
If you want to scan and restore your own 8mm, super 8, 9.5mm, and 16mm films with the same technology that created this video, please visit:
thetelecinema.com/

[@Temboz]

Nairobi was awesome in the 80s...just seeing this video brings so much Nostalgia as I was a kid who grew up in Nairobi those days...those were good times.

[@chickynuggies2739]

Thats amazing to hear. As a born 2000 I've always been curious what it was like. What places did you go to? how much cleaner was it? what was the crime rate like? Which were the posh neighborhoods?

[@Temboz]

​​@@chickynuggies2739we had our fair share of issues those days..like political killings and crime was there just NOT with the same frequency as today...but all negativity aside those were very good times because it was life before Social media ruined how people relate to one another..those days in the neighborhoods everybody knew everybody else and there was a much more sense of community which made life bearable and enjoyable women dressed modestly, Mambo ya slayqueens and LGBTQ was non existent...as far as the posh neighborhoods Buruburu those days was considered posh in Eastlands,Doonholm Estate (my former hood) was also considered posh..those days they had Garbage trucks which would go around the neighborhoods to collect trash Courtesy of Nairobi City Council that is before rampant corruption destroyed N.C.C....Public transport was the Kenya Bus Service and Nissan/Ford matatus...before the Manyagas and the crazy Boda bodas even existed...its a long story but the 80s and early 90s..were good times.

[@Temboz]

@@chickynuggies2739 it was different as it was life before social media,everybody looked out for one another,everybody knew everybody else in the neighborhoods and there was a sense of community which made life bearable and more enjoyable..as far as the posh Neighborhoods I grew up in Eastlands,the posh neighborhoods those days were Buruburu and Doonholm,Uhuru Gardens...I Know they have others now but those are the ones I Can think of...we only had one radio station and 1 TV station that was the only downside..so you guys are lucky to have a lot of options than during our time,TV would start at 4 with the National anthem and end at 11 also with the National Anthem, so kids would have no choice but to go outside and play with other kids before the TV started..those that had VCRS(video cassette recorders) and colour TVS were generally considered wealthy we grew up on Black and white TVS and some did not have TVs at all, so we would go to the neighbors to watch tvs and movies..that was before DVDS and Digital media made things easier...as far as crimes,Nairobi those days had its fare share of crimes and killings but NOT with the same level of frequency like today.. all in all, those were good times..for me atleast I enjoyed my childhood those days.

[@Temboz]

​@@chickynuggies2739 I tried to respond but my responses are being deleted..I don't know why because I did not say any thing bad or offensive.

[@chickynuggies2739]

@@Temboz unfortunate it does that sometimes

[@codyham9508]

I went back to Nairobi, Kenya. I could not recognize the downtown we used to walk in 1986, the movie theaters, the peacefulness, the lovely smell of that piercing Sunshine that was not even hot, and people looking so beautiful and well-dressed. I am okay with the progress, but this is not my Kenya anymore.

[@kalaini]

Progress but chaotic.

[@marehemudanielarapmoi6424]

Nairobi has and will always be 50 percent slum. Some try to hide from the reality in little enclaves but we all know the truth. Since its inception it has always been half a city, half a slum.

[@xiaofanli1085]

@@marehemudanielarapmoi6424you really crazy

[@nobaso620]

​@@marehemudanielarapmoi6424the slums are big but Nairobi is not half slums probably 35-40%

[@jameskamanu-tw1co]

Long journey infact

[@MrFaizmalik]

i remember my uncle used to take me to new stanley hotel for cake on saturdays between 1988 and when he passed away in 1990. Nbi was so clean then

[@farubeta]

truly lovely ! amazing how the world looked so adorable just 35 years ago

[@wisdompascal]

lovely? those people were unemployed that's why they're layingg down on the sidestreets.

[@jagenaught]

@@wisdompascal unemployment is everywhere. It still as it was then, but it was still better then.

[@michaelandrew4812]

Thank you for sharing brings back great memories for me growing up in Nairobi in the 1980s

[@snjau5279]

Wish there was original audio on this....but this is lovely. Thank you!

[@tomlepski8306]

Thank you so much for sharing, I can identify with so much on the clip!

[@altheboss5722]

matatus are the saddest thing to ever happen to that city. SMH.......

[@ThirdEye105]

They provided a much needed service for commuters that buses could not fulfill.

[@ShastaLevi]

​@@ThirdEye105reality is matatus were poorly implemented and they will always be one of Nairobi's biggest problem n menace.

[@ThirdEye105]

@@ShastaLevi But we can all appreciate how helpful Matatus have been as a solution for Mass Public Transit.

[@JudeMarchisio]

​​@ThirdEye105 Dont be ridiculous how are nations with a population 3 times bigger than Nairobi existing without matatus?

[@Kwachfundi]

Population explosion leads to such check India and china main cities

[@michelleongoro5495]

Was born in 89 and grew up in the 90s,nairobi was clean and didn't have many matatu but had kbs buses.miss those days

[@vmutuma]

Nairobi was not clean in the 90s. I remember in 1996, Kenyatta Avenue had potholes all over. Hawkers had taken over the streets from downtown to Kencom.

[@georgeodhiambo598]

​@@vmutumaVery true. Nairobi was dirtiest and most chaotic in the nineties due to years of neglect.

[@shulestuff]

@3:55 - we had one of those decorative drums in our house 😊

[@altheboss5722]

lol.....if you didn't have one of those in your house you were not in the game.

[@voukeWanderer]

Thanks

[@Footageforprocom]

Welcome

[@OJxiii]

2 years before my existence... Life is a mystery!

[@uleinfamous]

You can tell the 80s is when the rain started beating us

[@chickynuggies2739]

was that when moi came in?

[@Temboz]

@@chickynuggies2739 Moi was sworn in in 1978 after the death of the First president Jomo Kenyatta and ruled until 30th December of 2002...I missed out on the Jomo Kenyatta presidency as it was during my parents time,however,I was a kid during the Moi's regime at the height of his popularity back in the 80s and early 90s.

[@yogotonyeugine]

What mesmerises me is the dressing code.
Naona wasichana wa siku hizi mwavalia kama makahaba.
What really happened.
Gen Z this should be a wake up call.

[@GeneralHensaleey]

Good Times Jammia Mosque 🕌 ♥️

[@gonelucid]

Great footage

[@Footageforprocom]

Thank you kindly

[@user-ch9ei7hp4c]

Great good old time my birth year,thanks for those who kept this memories God bless you.

[@Misskokoromomoiro250]

Simpler = better times. Arguably so

[@kingsolomon0]

1985 is when i was joining primary school.

[@TheRasvic]

Aah good memories

[@wycliffeworkdone926]

for sure old is Gold

[@alilaomondi]

Love it

[@tommillia7816]

Wish I could get that round coffee table made of cow skin.. that would be a classic right now

[@ThirdEye105]

I wonder who filmed this ?

[@africangirl189]

Beautiful 😍

[@mauricesantinomf]

my dad was only 16 then why does Nairobi look so much better then than now? what happend!? i can't believe how amazing it looks and i missed it 😭

[@mgithaiga1]

If it were up to me Nairobi would have everything except a beach

[@musyokireuben511]

Kwani hakukuwa na wasichana

[@samuelkiragu7416]

Ni kama na vile ni wengi Leo.

[@MaxwellKamau-ru4yx]

Bana 😂

[@crazyweb9605]

notice how new stanely bado haija claim parking stop around hiyo building

[@peerkamondo8836]

Wow these days when I was a teenager hawking coffee and ngumu in town without kanju harassment

[@BORDERSSAFARISTRAVEL]

KENYA 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 BEING BORN 1989 I MISS MY COUNTRY

[@MaxwellKamau-ru4yx]

Waaa 38years ago ata sikuwa nmezaliwa

[@mura5615]

NO TRASH NO DIRTY CORNERS KENYA YETU NANI ATAIRUDISHA USAFI ? MAJI MASAFI ,ROADS CLEAN AND PEACE LOVE AND UNITY?

[@jimfast-official]

Everyone looking decent and dignified.how is it going to be in 2050s😮

[@user-lp3jm4gj7b]

Saddest thing to happen is the crooked politicians

[@autorepair2321]

Ruto has finished us

[@alice446]

Look how the women were dressed,with modesty but siku hizi weh most kidogo watembee uchi.Jesus save us

[@itgamingke]

True

[@davidmurage6165]

Nonesense

[@jouvertalandwa5337]

Wewe unacomplain vitu haziko, badala hata kuangalia the clean streets

[@bryanmuoki6250]

Who is jesus? Maraya hii

[@Pmooli]

My problem is the ugliness. Beauty is rare here

[@ediekisangi4172]

the year i was born

[@peerkamondo8836]

U sure

[@UncleChenShoushan]

I was not even born

[@charleskiragu5272]

We grew at a time when things were good,clean,nice city,look at nairobi now,maybe Sakaja should watch this......😂😂😂😂

[@MaxwellKamau-ru4yx]

Ulikuwa umezaliwa😂

[@mikemikee2118]

dont really look different from the current Nairobi. in the 1960s Nairobi was Nairobi

[@sarakionga-kamau7370]

No signs of obesity etc. Guys seemed more healthy and fit. Changes in lifestyle have impacted wananchi.

[@Joe_Dmorie]

It was decongested

[@michaelkoeman3412]

William ruto will make Kenya great again

[@styleemusic]

😂 rubbish

[@sultanmswahilitv4864]

Fck

[@TheLifeEvents]

How did it get so F*c*e* up! Look at it today! A mess.