It was
meant to be a joyful evening which never was.
On Monday, May 31, 2010, I left the office at 6:30p.m a happy man. “A happy man” because it was the Queen’s birth day and I had to make everything work out perfectly well to please the love of my life. What special gift would I bring her distinct from the others? The very first gift I gave her was on her 19th birth day almost 12yrs ago and every year from then I am compelled to invent something new.
I remember that gift as if it was yesterday. As a twenty three years old newly engaged born again penin, I had no idea of what gift to give a spiritual girl. (Why do we say a man is a virgin? I’ve decided to call it penin). As I was walking across the crowded Manyatta market in Kisumu, I came across various things but what struck me most were species of athochs / athoje /ang’uola / handa. Athoch is that small cloth that insists on covering your valuable God given asset. To my novice mind, romance was something about praising the apparatus and giving a gift that took care of the same was most honourable. To shorted the long story – I bought a zebraic athoch. It was rapped for me in a brown cement paper ready for delivery. I remember heading to the telephone booth to wait for 2pm. That was the exact time the queen would be in her estate booth in anticipation for my call. Things worked out well that day and I gave the beautiful one her gift in the middle of the market. She obviously unwrapped her gift right there and her reaction is now history.
It was now 12yrs after the athoch incident and I had to make sure that things were right. I went to my favorite gift shop in Buru Buru Estate (not Kariakor or Kariobangi South), got the right gifts for the moment coupled with a mixture of flowers etc and sped off to my humble abode.
On arrival, as I was still figuring out whether to call the queen to the parking lot so as to head straight for the date or to get the gift to her in the house, I had knocks at my car windows. Raising my eyes I saw two pistols pointed directly at the source of knowledge (my head yawa). Immediately there was a great confusion in all my faculties; blood started flowing in the opposite direction; red blood cells turns green and the white ones retained the status quo! It was a shocker!! I found myself in the back seat at the mercy of my assassins. I can’t remember when I handed over my phone and car keys. The only thing I can reconcile to is that the vehicle refused to cooperate and a few slaps did the trick – I flew to the cut-out and there we went!! The cartoons drove the vehicle at an alarming speed but the prevailing circumstances did not permit me to complain.
Within five minutes the carjackers had taken all my possession – wallet, ATMs and corresponding PINS. I was driven to Kariobangi where we dropped one of them as we proceeded to Huruma Estate; somewhere where sewerage flow without dispute. This is the place where I would be ruthlessly massacred should “things” fail to materialize. They informed me that the guy who alighted was the one whose phone call would determine my fate. In deed the place where I was taken to smelt death – it was horrific. Too dark to be part of Nairobi. One of the two pointed at the flowing sewer and told me “this is your last chance. If you gave the wrong PIN, please save your life by correcting it now – If the cards are swallowed, we will shoot you and throw you into the sewer. You will rot there never to be found”. This guy kept cocking his gun while pointing it at me. He kept removing the live bullets and telling me that he needed only one of them to make me part of history. This was horrifying!!! Beatings became the punctuation marks to every statement that came from their horrible lips.
The phone rung and the gun was cocked and pointed at my head again. “Hello boss! Tell us what to do?” A lot of thoughts crowded my mind with my eyes tightly closed. Any mistake would make that pullet push through my pathetic skull. My brain was boiling at this juncture since I did not know what “boss” would decide.
“Man, you are free to return to your family. Take your car and disappear!!!” Phew!!!! They drove me to an well lit place, took the flowers and the other gifts meant for the queen and bid me bye!! I was forced to give them a hearty bye too.
To God be the glory!!!
I thank God that I am alive today. My skull was not broken, the car was left intact and more so my apparatus went untouched. That means that I still have hopes of getting a 4th born – Amen?
On Monday, May 31, 2010, I left the office at 6:30p.m a happy man. “A happy man” because it was the Queen’s birth day and I had to make everything work out perfectly well to please the love of my life. What special gift would I bring her distinct from the others? The very first gift I gave her was on her 19th birth day almost 12yrs ago and every year from then I am compelled to invent something new.
I remember that gift as if it was yesterday. As a twenty three years old newly engaged born again penin, I had no idea of what gift to give a spiritual girl. (Why do we say a man is a virgin? I’ve decided to call it penin). As I was walking across the crowded Manyatta market in Kisumu, I came across various things but what struck me most were species of athochs / athoje /ang’uola / handa. Athoch is that small cloth that insists on covering your valuable God given asset. To my novice mind, romance was something about praising the apparatus and giving a gift that took care of the same was most honourable. To shorted the long story – I bought a zebraic athoch. It was rapped for me in a brown cement paper ready for delivery. I remember heading to the telephone booth to wait for 2pm. That was the exact time the queen would be in her estate booth in anticipation for my call. Things worked out well that day and I gave the beautiful one her gift in the middle of the market. She obviously unwrapped her gift right there and her reaction is now history.
It was now 12yrs after the athoch incident and I had to make sure that things were right. I went to my favorite gift shop in Buru Buru Estate (not Kariakor or Kariobangi South), got the right gifts for the moment coupled with a mixture of flowers etc and sped off to my humble abode.
On arrival, as I was still figuring out whether to call the queen to the parking lot so as to head straight for the date or to get the gift to her in the house, I had knocks at my car windows. Raising my eyes I saw two pistols pointed directly at the source of knowledge (my head yawa). Immediately there was a great confusion in all my faculties; blood started flowing in the opposite direction; red blood cells turns green and the white ones retained the status quo! It was a shocker!! I found myself in the back seat at the mercy of my assassins. I can’t remember when I handed over my phone and car keys. The only thing I can reconcile to is that the vehicle refused to cooperate and a few slaps did the trick – I flew to the cut-out and there we went!! The cartoons drove the vehicle at an alarming speed but the prevailing circumstances did not permit me to complain.
Within five minutes the carjackers had taken all my possession – wallet, ATMs and corresponding PINS. I was driven to Kariobangi where we dropped one of them as we proceeded to Huruma Estate; somewhere where sewerage flow without dispute. This is the place where I would be ruthlessly massacred should “things” fail to materialize. They informed me that the guy who alighted was the one whose phone call would determine my fate. In deed the place where I was taken to smelt death – it was horrific. Too dark to be part of Nairobi. One of the two pointed at the flowing sewer and told me “this is your last chance. If you gave the wrong PIN, please save your life by correcting it now – If the cards are swallowed, we will shoot you and throw you into the sewer. You will rot there never to be found”. This guy kept cocking his gun while pointing it at me. He kept removing the live bullets and telling me that he needed only one of them to make me part of history. This was horrifying!!! Beatings became the punctuation marks to every statement that came from their horrible lips.
The phone rung and the gun was cocked and pointed at my head again. “Hello boss! Tell us what to do?” A lot of thoughts crowded my mind with my eyes tightly closed. Any mistake would make that pullet push through my pathetic skull. My brain was boiling at this juncture since I did not know what “boss” would decide.
“Man, you are free to return to your family. Take your car and disappear!!!” Phew!!!! They drove me to an well lit place, took the flowers and the other gifts meant for the queen and bid me bye!! I was forced to give them a hearty bye too.
To God be the glory!!!
I thank God that I am alive today. My skull was not broken, the car was left intact and more so my apparatus went untouched. That means that I still have hopes of getting a 4th born – Amen?
Psalm 34:19-20
ReplyDeleteMany are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.
He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
Hey Henry!
DeleteThat is an amazing story! You have a good testimony to tell! God is Good!
Agnes Bagaya
Good story!
ReplyDelete