I recently transited through NBO en route to Kigali. I arrived from JNB, and had a few hours’ layover before my flight to Kigali, so had plenty of time for people watching.
The current situation at JKIA is that only gates 4, 4A and 5 are operational. If you know the airport layout, that will be the left side of the building if facing it from the apron. You are bussed to a tented area, and if you are International Transit, you enter the building through the gate 3 area and go upstairs.
Unfortunately, both the Kenya Airways lounge and Flying Blue lounge are out of action, so, you need to go to a transfer desk near the Government lounge and collect a KSH 700 voucher that you use at the small kiosk near gate 4. This was enough for two warmish Tusker beers and two nuked samosas.
Due to the volume of people in that small area, seating was at a prime, so I decided to go back to gate 3 to catch some fresh air and a bit of peace. Unfortunately, I was asked to leave since BA was getting ready to set up their boarding area.
Another lounge that is out of action is the one opposite the Government lounge (no loss there, that lounge was a shocker).
The maintenance crew obviously had their hands full and the walls have all been treated to a fresh coat of lemon coloured paint with an orange trim………
The ground staff are doing their best to deal with the situation, and really, they seem to be doing a fine job. Although we managed to “lose” three pax on our flight which meant their luggage had to be off-loaded and we left about 40 minutes late.
Once you get to your assigned gate, you pass through security, then go downstairs (well in my case I had to) and go and sit in the one tent. They then call out various destinations and bus you to your aircraft.

On Thursday evening, I had to overnight in Nairobi so this necessitated a trip through Immigration. This was done in two tents which are set up back to back so one has a long, narrow area. Queues are separated with one for those who need visas, Diplomatic passports, normal passports, East African countries, and Kenyans. This seemed to be a bit of a bun fight though, with a bit of a free-for-all, in other words, all queues were filled. But, giving them credit, we did move along so a bit of patience is needed. Exiting the tent, there is a Barcleys ATM (the only one you can access) and you then make your way down a garden path (no really), to another tented facility where A4 sized pieces of paper identify which baggage is where. Once you leave this tent, you go back down a path where money changers have set up tents to the left. Once you exit the gardens, you get to meet the general chaos which is Nairobi. Traffic is a mess, but my taxi driver got us out of there within minutes. He asked for Ksh 2500 for a ride into Hurlingham, but after my .....ing, showed me a rate card which had it for Ksh 2400. All in all, from touchdown to my hotel room was just on 2 hours which I suppose is par for the course.

On Friday morning I left my hotel at 6:30 to get back to the airport. Besides a few patches of terrible traffic (and some out of this world driving skills), we got to the airport just before 7AM so not too bad. The check in area for Kenya Airways is still the same – yes, including the chaos that goes with it, so dropping my bag off took a while. The lines for Immigration were long, but there was a small “Business Class / Diplomatic” board and only had a few people so that went pretty quickly. Once you exit, there is a staircase and a lift going up to the departure area so that was where I was on Monday night. Although, I asked for my voucher, I was told to simply go to the kiosk. The KA lady was good in managing the situation; she took down my name and called one waitress to get my order sorted. She then made a note of what I asked for wished me a pleasant flight. I must say, the difference between Monday night and Friday morning was noticeable. These folks are taking a pretty dire situation and making the best of it.

So, if you want to fly via JKIA, take a deep breath, pack some extra sense of humour and patience, and you will be fine.

@ elf618 - you must have been on the same flight as me out of Kigali