Disappointed on Christmas Day

Merry Christmas

They say Christmas is the time to meet and share as friends and family. This Christmas I decided to go back to my roots, deep in Nyeri County to carry out the ‘annual ritual’. Well it has been months since I visited this place. Unlike the noisy, busy and not so fresh environment in Nai, I find a calm, receiving and fresh environment in Nyeri. I was back home. FYI this is where I  grew up, from a breastfeeding infant to a breast chasing adolescent and now opus dei, ooh wait really? Let’s leave that for now.

So I got a chance to meet some of my old friends who I only get a chance to see on Facebook, of course not twitter or instagram, for obvious reasons. I have met former classmates who are ‘happily’ married, others are single mothers, runaway fathers while some like me , have decided to concentrate and study Opus dei, please note its studying not practicing .

On 25^th evening I decide to visit the nearest shopping Centre; an old and dust place with utmost 5 shops, 7 churches, 14 bars (something usual in central Kenya), a coffee factory and one barber. I almost forgot the popular hotel owned by my neighbor, they call him Senegal>> a name adopted after him being a popular Supporter of Senegal in its heydays. Being a popular face around here, I put on hooded jumper to avoid attracting attention. Attention in our shagz means you will part with at least 20 bob for every tom dick and harry who greets you or else they will walk away saying how broke you are and praying that the gods strike you with a thunder ; this is a no go zone for a man of high reputation like me who has been unable to clear a 750 bob loan on mshwari, so its safer to hide under the hood.

Soon enough I find myself in Senegal’s hotel. Lucky for me , no one notices me easily. I settle for a table at the corner, I make a quick order of Uji Kubwa which is served in a calabash; of course it’s a tradition here. As am quietly flipping through the newspaper (dated 22^nd January 2005) , I overhear a discussion by 3 guys (wachira, Kamotho and waiganjo) who are very well known to me being that they were 3 classes ahead of me in primary school. They are discussing Kabiru, a seven years old boy who has been living with his grandma since he was born. Kabiru’s mum, Wanjira was married when Kabiru was 3 years old but the man could not take the boy since he was not his. So Wanjira left the boy with the grandmother and went ahead to be married by this guy who did not want to take up the son. For all those years, the boy has known nothing but suffering…

The story continued on and on, I was not able to concentrate as my mind tried to figure the situation of the boy whose mother sacrificed for her selfish intentions, the man who cares more about himself than a little boy who cannot even eat an eight of his plate, the woman who makes a boy suffer from her mistakes, I am disappointed in this society which allows this to happen.

Do we embrace love before ambition, what are our priorities? Why do we sacrifice what matters for what seems smarter. Do we love people for their perfections or the flaws that make them perfect? Call it judging people or whatever you may but we can do better.

Ashamed