By the pen of Gitau wa Kung'u ✒️
Not so many years ago, Mzee Kitawu Ole Kongo; a frail, elderly man was doing what was expected of grandparents and pensioners (he was a retired teacher); passing on the African tradition of storytelling and wisdom-planting to his eager offsprings near a warm fireplace just like his grandfather Mzee Kitawu Ole Nganga narrated to them.
His eyes blinked weakly around. He coughed a little, spat on the ground before taking a hornful of Muratina, pouring libations to his foregone ancestors as per the tradition. He then took a sip of Muratina from the "rûhîa" to smoothen his throat and activate his creative brain docket for an articulate flow of the untold story.
Then he narrated to them in a fainter but loud enough voice this fictitious story after the local traditional Gîkûyû brew from a bull's horn has settled in his stomach and vaporized into his bald, grey head!
"My grandchildren, In politics as they say, there are no permanent enemies but there are permanent first-priority interests which change as oftenly as your mamas change the little babies diapers. This philosophy was not invented today! But still, this has proved to be only legit to the real power poker players not their hollow-eared fanatical if not sycophantic crowds of supporters!
Many, many years ago, after the white man's rule and before the Wongli's conquest, there lived three very prominent leaders in Wajikoland. The greatest of them at that particular time was Musa Makihuru Parao the Chief of Wajikoland. He was deputised by Ms Kipudoktari Arapa. The other was Keenan Jani party leader, her name was Shungwa Otingimena."
An old man's throat needs to be oftenly sanitised so as to prevent coughing alot. So Mzee Kitawu serviced his throat in submission. His audience took the moment to put their little hands into the big bowl and filled it them with Githeri. A story must be swallowed with something to sink well!
"Well, surfing into the great cybercity of social media did not start now, my wajukuu! You enjoy 'liking' and 'commenting' on your friends, family and classmates group photos, don't you?...Good! When you are old enough you will discover more things alongside the cyberavenues(CAs) and insides the cyberstreets (CSts)of the cybercity!
Now, during those days, the big people used to tweet, retweet, react, comment and share into the cyberavenues and cyberstreets of prominent political supermen and you will be shocked to learn what they did there!
Millions of politically bigotry Wajikos rallying behind the aforementioned leaders spent quite a considerable amount of their time cybernetically insulting and debasing their opponents. So sad, isn't it? Never engage in such primitive habits. They don't help at all!"
Kiulizi Ole Kisi, Kitawu's grandson, looked at his grandfather in bewilderment. "How, why were they doing that?" He questioned. A sip of Muratina.
"Oh yes! I forgot to tell you! But because it's a long story, I'll poise a parable and will ask a question after that. The first person to answer correctly I will reward handsomely, are you ready?" They choruses many yes' in response.
"Two men, Tundu and Sueldo from different families living in Yaakeland once once found themselves tied together and thrown outside their Yaakeland gates because they had been suspected of being part of a gang that had taken part in turning neighbours against each other with blood thirsty weapons after unfairly conducted city elections.
One of them was bitter because he cried his honcho, Jaro, had betrayed sacrificed him. While his boss, enjoyed a half power-pie in the city's leadership after striking a peace building deal initiated by the leaders of Nyaakeland neighbours through a power-sharing consensus between the winner and the beaten mayoral candidates, he was suffering outside the city gates.
The two men finally brought together by fate decided to join hands in forgiveness when they realised they would die together out there if they didn't unite. So they united and moved to the Nyaakeland hand in hand. They swore they are so sorry for what had happened and wanted peace in the land. They had turned on a new leaf! The now settled Nyaakeland welcomed them back.
Finally, the duo decided that for their unity and love for peace between their two fighting families against each other and also other supporting smaller families on either side; the two would agree on a terms that Tundu would support as assistant chief for Sueldo's chieftainship and Sueldo would support Tundu to be chief after his chieftain period was over.
So they competed like shrewd bullfighters against against Jaro three times and won every time. During the last period Jaro repeated the same wrinkled trick of not accepting defeat. He was so proud to decipher the meaning of "asiyekubali kushindwa si mshindi (not conceding defeat doesn't make someone the winner)."
Peace was paralysed.Unfortunately, Sueldo secretly met Jaro and made a deal with him...Are we still together?" Mzee Kitawu plied. They nodded their little heads energetically.
"Finally it was time for Sueldo to pass on the baton to Tundu. But Sueldo was determined to betray his promise to Tundu. Instead, he made friends with Jaro and wanted to leave the chief's stool to Jaro!
Now, you would like it after a former, mama's-old-friend-turned-foe secretly got married to your baba, took over and pushed your mama out of the main house to be sleeping in the storeroom, won't you?"
They shook their little heads that Mzee Kitawu silently admired their sympathetic comprehension.
"So that's why these people abused each other in cybercity, due to supremacy feuds?" That was Shivadadi Ganyarissa, the oldest of them all. "Good, clap for her," Mzee was happy.
"Good, I see you are very intelligent chaps here, clap for yourselves again! Tomorrow each of you will have a lambalolo lollipop!" The giggles and smiles bonded grandfather and grandchildren in happy tendons of love.
"It happened that Chief Musa Makihuru Parao and his new friend Shungwara collaborated against Arapa partly because the chief wanted to stop chaos and at the same time dehorn his deputy's pride.
But this did not deter or shake Arapa from her chieftain ambition. Infact, Arapa continued gaining more and more support by the people! Gûtirî wa nda na wa mûgongo (nobody is better than the other), Arapa remained a darling to many.
Arapa was considered the high priestess of cunning robbery against the people who oftenly fooled them by dishing some of the stolen cash to Wajikos through little donations here and there.
At some point, Chief Musamaki and Shungwara made their plans to change the law of the land. Unfortunately their plans didn't get favoured by the spirits."
Thus the bitter exchange of words escalated daily, even after church service on Sundays, especially between Shungwara and Arapa followers.
I tell you the obsessed charlatans hastily matched as if on some stringent automatic command, launched and frivolously fired insult missiles towards each other's cybercity embarcaderos to flagellate and deflagrate sentiments. It was not a peaceful worship day afternoon anymore.
So I wondered, why all that embittered hatred for each other? Was one a demon and the other priestess of the saints?
My wajukuu, such are still the same ACB, "army of cyber bullies" who not only continue to pile unprintable profanities on our beloved each other but also paralyse national peace even today.
Perhaps you will resonate with my bewilderment. But why were many citizens cyber bullied by these cybernetic hooligans in those days? There's a big history behind that.
The hatred for Arapa and her supporters by Shungwara sycophants was not only misplaced but also depicted them as lacking proper footage of Wajikoland's history and Mt. Wajiko's region power consolidation project since independence of Wajikoland from foreign masters.
Why? Because the Shungwara who now dined with Chief Musamaki who together with Arapa, had previously thwarted her chieftain dream many times (in which Shungwara's supporters were severely punished for conducting mass demonstrations claiming that Shungwara had been rigged out of presidency during Wajikoland general elections).
Besides, apart from the public dalliance between the chief and his main opposition leader, the general public only knew about the pensions, fleet of cars, city askari security, fully paid office and staff and Shungwara's job at the Unity Of Chieftains headquarters in a faraway chieftain.
Meanwhile, the embittered Shungwara supporters were insulting Arapa's troupes while hunched at some slum's jobless corner on a very keen look out mode incase flying defecations land on them since their cotton-walled and old, rusty tin roofed houses didn't have toilets.
They never realised that they were trusting a woman who had abandoned them when their eyes not only shed tears from being irritated by teargas smoke but also from mourning for their loved ones. A loving mother doesn't abandon her children, does she?" Mzee asked. "Nooo!" They chorused.
Yes! Shungwara had betrayed them, left them stranded and started dining with the people whom she had previously led her supporters to believe, are the lords of corruption and ruthless thieves of her chieftain seat. Is that foolishness or witchcraft?" Mzee Kitawu paused.
"That was more than the origin of all foolishness and it's offspring!" Chaisha responded fast. A sip from rûhîa. She looked at her grandpa with pregnant expectation.
"Haha! Mûndû mûûgî ndarî mîheere ya ûhoro (A wise person doesn't have to be fed every detail to understand).
Still, it was widely rumoured that Arapa was the most cunning lord of corruption and grabbing other people's properties and even public land. Shungwara and her supporters advanced these rumours as fast and far as Savannah bushfire... Yes, Nanoko?" Mzee noticed his grandson's anxiety.
"Guka (grandpa) Arapa must have been really a bad woman! How many years was she jailed?" Nanoko's pot of simmering curiosity eventually pushed the lid down.
"Gacûkûkûrû gakwa (my grandson), whenever you hear of a rumour, be very apt and careful before you pass it on. Rumours are the tantalising poisonous apples that an enemy will bait you with. Woe unto you if your hand is faster than your brain! For they will get not only your hands but also your head chopped off! Arapa knew the trick.
So she dared them to take their allegations to the court of law! They did not! Why do you think they did not?" Mzee poised. "Because their accusations were just rumours!" Wahome replied quickly!
"Correct! Hûûrîrai Wahome karûheni (clap for Wahome)! Yes, indeed; a rolling stone gathers no moss! The rumour remained a rumour that put Arapa ahead of them as it backfired. But then, where there's smoke there is a fire, right?" They nodded at him.
"Our other guys supporting Arapa were no better too! As she flew into their areas with a chopper to "offer financial support to uplift the small business owners and contribute in fundraisings," their neighbours children were crying and dying in hospital beds since nurses had striked for non-payment and hospitals had no medicine.
Was Arapa not the deputy to Chief Musamaki's? Yes she was. There were no medicines, barely well equipped hospitals, no enough salaries for most civil servants yet the chieftain borrowed huge amounts of money from foreign kingdoms and highly tasked Wajikos! Where do you think that money disappeared to?" They shook their heads.
"The money was said to have disappeared into the pockets of cartels in the government! Every time a suspected cartel was arraigned in court for robbing hundreds of millions, they were remanded for two weeks and later released on a several hundred thousands bond. Meanwhile, the public prosecution never acquired any evidence! Justice was a poor, helpless widow who was stringently oppressed without any ado.
Shungwara, the official opposition leader had joined with the chief to end chaos after her refuse to concede defeat and also intensify the fight against corruption. Unfortunately, most allies of Arapa were suspected of corruption, their powers were relegated and fired.
Peculiarly, none of the allies of the former were ever suspected and even when the media exposed some, their cases were never advanced beyond gossips!
Now tell me, which among the two sides was more justified than the other: the Shungwara and Chief's side or Arapa's?" Mzee queried.
"Arapa's!" "Why?" Mzee asked Ragathi. "Because she was being unfairly treated!" Ragathi answered with the confidence of an expectant cloud. "Didn't you judge a book by it's cover?" Ragathi kept quiet.
"Gûtirî kîambîrîa gîtarî mûico (Everything that has a beginning has an end)! Finally, elections to search for the next chief were held. Can you guess who became the new chief?" They kept quiet.
"People who try to climb up the ladder by pushing others down don't succeed! Similarly promise breakers, those who insult the hand that helped them climb the mango tree because it is no longer useful fall off in a thud! And so it was.
Na karûgano gakwa gaathirîra hau (That's the end of my story)."
©️ Written by Gîtau wa Kung'u ✒️
