UHURU NA KAZI: 2002 AD

UHURU NA KAZI: 2002 AD

“Weweeee! Amukaa!! Mwanaume ghani ako na ndigiree analala saa hii!” That was my Mom’s unmistakable voice . I had graduated a month earlier, and the Monday after the graduation ceremony, I knew nothing but grief. Every day at 04H30, Mom would knock on my crib's window and shout all manner of things till I left home before 06H00. “Hapa sio kwako! Hapa ni kwa Mzee M'Kaurugo. Enda tafuta kwako! Kwenda kapisa. Unanona nona hapa bila kasi tukuchinje?” I’d pick my man-bag full of my education certificates and wander off to God knows where. I thank God for my Mom, with her unconventional brand of motivation. My childhood friend, Wanjohi (Wanjo), had recently lost his dream job at a local brewery after a freak accident in his official company car. So, I’d go to his house, stretch out on the couch and catch up on my sleep till mid-morning. The year was 2002. President Moi had done his two five-year constitutional terms, and the country’s political landscape was getting heated up. The race was clearly between Mwai Kibaki of DP, Raila Odinga of NDP & the then erstwhile, greenhorn politician & scion of the founding father of the nation, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta of KANU.

Wanjo & I, had become an indomitable pair in the local Pool beer-game circuit. I wasn’t the star pool player in Uni, but the skills I had picked up, were impressive in my home-town. Patrons would marvel at the slick shots and amazing connections. We only needed money for one beer every morning at Brilliant Bar, and by evening, we’d be singing our way home. We traded excess pints for cow innards, offal & tripe, downed with copious amounts of soup to stay sober and advance our thriving beer-game enterprise. Business was booming. We even got fare home from our winnings. Mwikali, the lady at the counter was the custodian of my prized bag. Wanjo referred to the contents of my portfolio bag - Stakabadhi Muhimu. Then one day, a slim, tall, dark guy from Eldoret landed with moves like Jagger. The first pool game we played, I almost lost the game seven-baller. He pocketed my ball by mistake. There was a new-kid-on-the-block. And it's the way he chalked his cue-stick, powdered his hands, and shouted ‘NEEEEXT PATIENT!’; I really hated his guts… Our goose was effectively cooked. BeerPool Inc was done for and we had to re-strategize. Wanjo, understood the town’s beer-belt based on his previous work experience and he suggested we shift base to Twiga Bar on the other side of town. It had more rural patronage and the beer was cheaper, but not cold. Made sense. So off we went.

As we approached the Post Office, in the distance, I saw a lady struggling with her luggage. A sack full of what seemed to be farm produce, a basket full of more stuff and her impeccable handbag. The time was about 14h30, so we were a bit drunk, you know, before Kipserem made his cameo appearance at Brilliant. She looked familiar. As we approached, I realized who it was. Mama Winnie Muigai. Wanjo, ever the comic, shouted out to her, “Mathee, kai waagiiciria guthama?” (Mum, have you decided to move?) “Aaah! Kari inyuue my sons? Ukai mukuuithie Mathee mirigo iino.” (Awww! It’s you my sons! Come help Mom carry this heavy luggage.) Wanjo was going through a particularly rough patch at the time, with a pregnant wife & bills to pay, he was a man on a mission and had little time to waste. He laughed off the request for help and proceeded with his journey. She was in shock and her lower jaw almost touched the ground. Seeing how taken aback she was, I couldn’t leave her there, so I asked her to hold my bag, as I hauled the sack onto my back. When she regained composure, she kept on saying how grateful & eternally thankful she was to me for agreeing to help out and didn’t know how she was ever going to carry the load to her intended destination. She’d come from visiting her Mom, Cucu wa Gatundu, and her Mom’s generosity was proving to be a liability.

“Na Kiris kwani siku hizi unabebaga hadbag? Kwani uriingiiswo na Joshua Jehofa Witness?” she enquired. “Mathee, hapo ndani, zile vitu ziko hapo, zinaweza pindua serikali!” That cracked her up and she made to open it but did not. “Ni CV yangu na makaratasi za kutafuta job. Wewe haukuja party yangu ya graduation.” Then there was silence. And for a moment there, I doubted my wisdom in not following my pal. The sack was heavy.

“ Mathee, bado mnaonananga na Uhuru?” “Eeeh. Lakini sio sana.” “Na si unipeleke kwake aki anipatie kazi hizi shida zangu ziishe..” “ Weee-ee! Kiris, hauna shida wewe. Unajua shida ni nini? Si mko mpaka na sakukunywa pobe mchana na Wajo? Wee achana na Ohuru kwa sasa. Niripereka dugu yako jusi huko kwa masiwa na sitaki kumsubua tena. Wacha kwansa Juguna asike misisi..” “Nipatie naba yako, nitakupigia nikwabie vire tutapanga…. Rakini by the way, kuna harabee Georgie Thuo (+ R I P +) anakuja ya wamama wa Titus 2, hapo JJ Phase Nain. Mnajuana na yeye? Unawesa kuja hapo Sunday nimuintroduciane mjuane, usikie kama ako na mahari kou kwa bathii. Shika hii kadi. Irikuwa ya Msee Auraa ure wa Posta, rakini nitamtafutia igine kwa nyuba. Sawa? Uko na bairo tufute jina yake tuandike yako?”. “Biro iko kwa bag mathee. Toa hapo ndani.” I said. “Weee-ee Kiris! Kwani uripita aje? Hisi sote ni 'A' naona?” “Mathee, tumesoma, ni kazi hazipatikani…” “Usijali. Kama kuko hifi, Job utapata.” And for the first time in a few months, my heart-rate normalized. 72 bpm. I believed her. Mathee knew people in high places. We arrived at the White Line matatu stage, said our goodbyes and off she went.

Fast forward eight months later. I had joined the Kenya Bus Services Graduate Trainee Program and life would never have been better. Asst. Operations Manager – Metro Shuttle Coaches. As I was going about my business one afternoon, my cellphone rang. On the screen, (((MAMA FRANCEE))). “Hallo my son? Unaendereaje job? Sinirikuabia Georgie atatusaidia? Ni Mungu tu nakwabia kijana yangu. Turikuwa na yeye jusi akaniabia uko poaa..! Shikiria hapo na ushunge jobu kabisaa, usirete haibu daddie. Na usisahau mathee…Sawa? Sasa, my son, unajua campaign ndiso isi, na uncle yako anatafuta kiti? Si umesikia Ohuru anasimama kiti kubwa? Na rasima tumtafutie kura. Na siunajua mathee ni chapchap kwa siasa? Sasa, tunatafuta muyouthi amesoma akuwe Chairmeni wa Wayouthi wote wa Thika. Nilipeana jina yako kwa Chairmeni wetu, Cllr Wandue wa UTI. Tunataka uturetee vinjanaa wote wapigie kinjanaa mwensenyu kura, akarie kiti. Mkutano ni hii Sunday, saa nane hapo Thika Stadium kwa ofisi za KANU. Unapajua?” And just like that, I was KANU Youth Chairman – Thika Branch.

The KANU meeting did not disappoint. It was everything I expected. And more. I was in the presence of the eminent Thika Leaders I saw & read about while in primary school. Cllr Ali Kabati, Cllr Wandue, Mama Fatuma from Majengo, Cllr Karari (STEMA), Cllr Kihiu Mwiri Githaiga, Hon Patrick Kamau (UN) and Mama Winnie Muigai, amongst other party stalwarts. We were about 20. Maybe 25.. The furniture was rustic and rickety. The room a tad bit dusty and reeked of cigarette smoke, like people had smoked there for years. The floor & ceiling had hundreds of black marks, and I figured those must be nyahunyo (whip) marks from years of KANU Youth Wingers administering corporal punishment to the masses, when the party of Baba na Mama reigned supreme. The cockerel painting on the wall was peeling off, but still looked majestic. And the party colours, intoxicating. We all stood and Mama Fatuma said the opening prayers before we getting on proceedings. It was the first time I’d heard a Muslim pray and I thought it really cool, especially after she spiced it up with some Arabic scripture from the Holy Qur'an.

The Presidential Campaign itinerary was tabled and the part that directly affected Thika Branch highlighted. The Branch Secretary was busy taking down the minutes. On reaching the Youth Agenda, it was unanimously agreed that the party needed to be refreshed by registering new & youthful members. The registration fee for youth was reduced by half, to ten bob. I had the onerous task of marshalling youth support at the grass-root level and ensure zero attrition of votes to the opposition. Raila & Kibaki had joined forces to form the Rainbow Coalition, and the task seemed herculean. I was still under the employ of KBS and was not sure how I’d juggle the two roles. My boss, GT, was beginning to lean towards the Kibaki side and that made my task doubly difficult. But this had to be done. By whatever means necessary. The long and short of it was that, Uhuru Kenyatta was going to wrap up his campaign in Thika on the 26th of December 2002 as he made his way to Ichaweri in Gatundu, in good time for the campaigning deadline - 18H00 Prompt.

It was D-Day. Saturday, 26th December 2002. Boxing Day. My President was gracing my town. We, the local KANU Leadership Team, had buffet lunch laid out for us at The Blue Posts Hotel. The hotel is owned by the Heritage Group, an entity associated with the Kenyatta Family. For the first time, I felt I was in the right company and soon my life would be intertwined with that of the First Family. State House, Here I Come! Our Presidential Candidate was making his way from Nyeri. Soon, the Nairobi Secretariat campaign team joined us. Kathleen Kihanya was busy distributing polo shirts to those present. These were secretariat polo shirts with the ‘UHURU na KAZI’ print, not your ordinary standard issue t-shirts. I had called upon my friend and side-kick Gerald Chege (Buddy) for support. The biggest polos in the house were Chinese XXL and we were African XXXXL. But they had to fit. Leaving us looking like Bobchinsky & Dobchinsky, in the play, The Government Inspector. I could see Buddy’s navel but I couldn’t say a word, in case mine was visible too.

The campaign motorcade arrived unannounced and soon the parking lot was full of top-of-the-range SUVs revving, huffing and puffing, as though that was not their intended destination. Soon, the star of the entourage stepped out of his vehicle. Toyota Landcruiser Cygnus. KAN 070H. How could I forget? Then in his characteristic style, smiling & waving, he made his way to the hotel lobby. I was star-struck. Will he remember me? Should I remove my shoes? Where’s my ball? I was transfixed as he walked past, only nodding in my direction though looking distant & tired. Damn! Should I have stretched out my hand? Will I now lose my position in the Party? Should I follow him? As the thoughts raced through my mind, I was lost in thought and did not realize time fly. Then, as fast as they had arrived, the security detail ran past us into their respective vehicles and it was our cue to rush to our designated vehicle for the rally at Moi Gardens - Thika.

(To Be Continued…)