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Part One
‘Dammit, I can’t believe we
have been victims of a scam?’ my friend Bernard retorted, a muscle bunching in
his jaw. Hitherto, he had thought of himself too intelligent to be conned by
the ever fraudulent city pranksters.
Flash back and we were back
in campus. Three bosom friends were busy whiling away time engaging in palaver
having completed the end of semester exams. The next semester had
also come in quick succession and that meant no break-off. We were busy
chatting when a call come through.
It was a time Helb was not
in the accounts and as such, this meant we had to be creative in getting easy
money for survival. In fact, we were just from Tanzania the previous week and
our pockets were as hollow as a well with a dry water table. It is that point
in time you marshal the few coins in your pockets to buy a decent breakfast
which is never that satisfactory.
‘Hello, quickly hurry to
the graduation square.’ Those were the exact words from my friend Felix, a renowned
book worm. I was googling on my PC. We were in Thomas’s room, a ramshackle, since he considered himself a genuine bachelor who
could only be changed by a spinster on the voyage to matrimony. Still the ones
he kept were happy with the status quo.
Bernard shared the room
with Thomas as the hostel was semi-partitioned to allow for two students in the
same room. However it was a challenge staying inside if you had
a licentious roommate whose Jaber moaned vociferously to please her beau to to pump harder as sweetness rendered the air. Trust me,
you will have a hectic night and those are the times you resort for 'exile'.
My phone was in silent mode
but the vibration buzz did alert. I picked the phone and after listening to the
caller at the other end of the line informed my mates on the new development.
I was unusually very
unkempt on that day. My hair was uncombed and my apparels were a pale shadow of
someone who is usually smart.
Off we set off for the
graduation square. Together we were four gentlemen. This was an opportune
moment to make some extra bucks. That was precisely what the call was all
about.
Upon arrival we met Felix.
He was seated at the edge of the staircase leading to the dais of the
graduation square. He was not alone. A rough, roguish, brawny and
dark-complexioned bouncer looking dude was with him.
I was taken aback. It had
not got to this state. This was uncharacteristic of Felix. I could not believe
that Felix could stoop this low. Anyway I was in for the money, the mode of
acquisition was not a major issue.
Felix had met the bouncer;
let’s call him Big Mike, while doing research for his thesis paper. His
acquaintance was a campus sentinel who hooked him up with Big Mike.
It is known that birds of
the same feather flock together. Chances are the sentry lived in the
same locality with Big Mike.
Felix was with another mate
who goes by the name Don. Since Don never wanted to eat the money alone, he
called in Hans his loyal adherent to come along with him and us in the new
found mine.
Big Mike also had a close
associate who had accompanied him on the same mission. He never talked. Big
Mike was our sponsor and he briefed us on what we were supposed to do.
‘There is a certain
politician in town who needs your services. In fact he called me on short
notice to come and ask you whether you can accompany me to one of his
rendezvous. But don’t worry about the dressing. In fact you are well dressed
for the task ahead,’ he said.
Our pay was supposed to be about Ksh.1000 and the job would not last for more than two hours. I was
salivating. He convinced us beyond any reasonable doubt to accompany him to the
venue of the tryst. We did not just take a few minutes to be convinced. Ideally
we asked a lot of questions and he even recorded our names and ID numbers for
easy pay after the exercise.
Off we went to the
tête-à-tête. All together, we were seven lads. Big Mike was walking behind us.
He wanted to disguise so as not to be accosted by the marauding city law
enforces who could easily pounce on him in the event they saw a person of his
physique walking along with naïve and trusting campus lads.
The venue of the rendezvous
was at the Supreme Court. Big Mike’s sponsor, a city lawyer, was one of the
contestants who had petitioned the court to quash the election of a sitting
city Member of Parliament. We never knew the verdict. We were to celebrate the
victory by ululating or simply being part of the crowds for hire.
Outside the court were
pockets of other crowds of people who were also waiting for the status quo to
prevail or nullification of the seat altogether.
After arriving, Don went to
meet someone who was more senior to Big Mike with the paper where our names
were scribed on. As he carried on with the process, we were busy chatting and
giving hypothetical views of the prospects that awaited us.
While waiting for the
verdict, something sinister happened. We were ambushed by city council law
enforcers. They were very calculating. I bet they had watched us waiting at the
grounds where we stood long enough to notice that we were idling, which I bet
is a crime.
Hans and Felix were
standing at the periphery watching us at a distance before Don joined them. The
city askaris approached us unawares. We were caught off-guard. ‘Why couldn’t I
just have continued lazing or even doing some research on my end semester
research paper?’ I asked myself.
My heart was thudding fast.
I was almost wetting my pants. ‘So I came all this far only to end up being
taken behind bars for having been found idling in the city,’ I mused. It was
terrifying. The askaris were up to no good. In my pockets I only had a Ksh.50
note which would not be sufficient to bail me out or even win over the hawkish
askaris who have a penchant for carrots.
Standing closer was Thomas,
Bernard and Japhetic, the seventh musketeer. Thomas was the most
shaken. When he was told to defend himself for the offense he had committed, he
started stammering. I could barely make a word from the incoherent discourse he
had with the askaris. He was also shivering like a cat that had been rained on.
He was not impulsive in a bid to reconcile the affections of people I believe
saw as tormentors.
Bernard was more composed
since in my view he is usually eclectic. At least he had been caught on a few
occasions and did not show any sign of anxiety. A quintessential sot, he had
had many run ins with askaris and that experience had prepared him well for
this occasion.
Japhetic had roaming eyes.
He appeared scared but was trying not to appear coy though a closer look showed
he was not bold enough to challenge the askaris head on. In fact I sensed panic
among the three of us except Bernard, who though calm all along, did not show
any signs he was flustered.
