Nairobi's street acrobats make a living by performing for motorists

As the light turns red at a busy intersection in the Kenyan capital, a young man costumed in leopard print emerges to make somersaults.

He is joined by five others, dressed similarly, as they execute a combination of acrobatic stunts.

One of them, juggling woven hats, breaks away and approaches the drivers of vehicles that have come to a halt: he's hoping for generous tips as he presents his hat to driver after driver while his mates continue their routine. The group breaks away as soon as the traffic lights turn green.

The spectacle has been normalized at traffic stops in and around Nairobi, with acrobats taking advantage of gridlocks to perform for acknowledgement with cash tips. It is how they earn a living.

“I have always loved acrobatics since I started performing at 15 years old. When I started, I knew that it was something that would change my life eventually,” says Mohammed Nyale, who is 22.

They perform usually until noon, taking turns to collect tips from motorists. The amounts given tend to be small, usually no more than 50 shillings (a tiny fraction of a dollar). Because many Kenyans keep money in their mobile wallets, the acrobats also hand out chits inscribed with a phone number to which tips can sent.

A good day can raise enough to look after their basic needs; each makes roughly the equivalent of $6 a day, although they can make more some days.

That is equal to what most casual laborers in construction and agriculture make in a country where unemployment is widespread. The youth unemployment rate stood between 4.9% and 9.9% in 2024, according to figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.

Earnings from street performances "is what enables us to live in Nairobi because we moved here from quite far and no one is helping us to pay rent,” Nyale says.

For some motorists, the performances are a welcome break from the frustration of being stuck in traffic.

“They are a source of entertainment here on the road. They entertain us and we feel good,” says Geoffrey Kioi, a Nairobi entrepreneur who regularly gives tips to the acrobats. “They are young people. They need to hustle. They are like my sons."

But the performances are not welcomed by everybody. Some motorists see them as a distracting nuisance.

“This is not the place for it. That is all I am going to say, because it is just causing traffic and an accident can happen,” says a motorist who declined to give his name.

Across town from where Nyale’s group was performing one recent morning, another group of acrobats was also entertaining motorists stuck in traffic.

One of them, 28-year-old Jackson Okoth, describes their motivation.

“There are no opportunities for us that we can go to, so we like it when we are here because it keeps us busy and it keeps us fit also,” he said. “Instead of staying at home and doing reckless things, we decided to come here and perform for motorists and pedestrians.”

Okoth dreams of playing in a professional circus and touring the world. “I am still on my way, I am still trying, I am still working hard," he says, "so that one day things might go well and I may find myself in Europe performing in a circus show.”

Some team members wear yellow vests donated by the Ministry of Health who give hand out them out to improve visibility for people who work on the streets to avoid traffic accidents.