THE SET UP

It was a random busy day in CBD, hawkers hawking, horns blaring from the graffiti Matatus, shops loudly playing their pre-recorded adverts about the products on sale, and pastors preaching the good word to people who never listen. I once heard that one of the street pastors prophesied about an attack that happened but people thought he was an alarmist. Sometimes I wonder how people believe all the miracles and prophesies that happened in the bible but in our generation they have nothing to believe in.

Andrew walked fast, he needed to get a Noah which was just about to leave so that he couldn’t waste time waiting for people to fill the car. He wished he had done prior booking using Easy Coach but he would have delayed getting to Kisumu on time since the next bus was at 2pm yet he needed to leave at 11am. These personal cars have been a huge convenience for most travelers, someone is always traveling and this means if buses or shuttles are not available, one will always get to their destination. Andrew already knew this and that’s why he always made random trips to Kisumu to visit the mother.

Kisumu ? He asked a man who stood next to a Noah…
Hapana, ile pale mbele ndio inaenda kisumu, hii inaenda Kisii.
Sawa, Asante, and with that he walked to the Blue Noah and inquired whether it was going to kisumu, which it was. There were already 5 people inside, 3 ladies and 2 gentleman. There was only one remaining seat and Andrew felt quite lucky to be the only person remaining before the journey began.

He was hoping to get to kisumu by 3pm since it was already 10am. If he  arrived on time he would go to the hardware and do the shopping of the materials the fundis had request for.  Being the only boy in the family, his mother had constantly reminded him to build a ‘Simba’ ndio asilete aibu Kwa Boma. He was working hard in Nairobi to make sure before the year ended, he had a place he could call his own house back in Dala and make his mother happy.

Moments later the journey started, everyone was quiet while on engrossed on their phones. The driver had put on a selection of Lucky Dube, it seemed everyone was enjoying since could hear voices from behind and forward in low tunes sing to the songs. Andrew decided to take a nap, he was too tired to be awake and the  journey was quite long.

By the time he was waking up they we fast approaching Naivasha. The lady next to him decided to engage him in some small talk, something he really hated but he wasn’t in such a bad mood. He could entertain her for a while.

To his surprise she wasn’t as  boring as he thought,  she claimed to be a final year medical student. She seemed quite knowledgeable on many matters, and knew quite a lot when it came to what Andrew knew and this created some kind of bond . By the time they were done talking, much had been shared.

Andrew had taken her phone and put in his number, this is someone he wouldn’t mind meeting again. She also had this lighter which she kept playing with and Andrew was fascinated by how good it looked so he borrowed it to have a look at  the make. Suddenly the Car went off the road, at first no one paid attention until one person asked the driver if everything was okay. He was silent for a bit before he started talking.
Naskia dizzy sana,  wachane nipumzike halafu niendelee kuendesha . He said.

Wewe ni mgonjwa ? Uko sawa kweli ? The lady beside Andrew asked.
Siko sawa, sijalala tangu Jana. Ni uchovu tu lakini nitakua sawa.

It’s very dangerous to drive when fatigued.  Andrew said.

Why don’t you take over the car and just drive. Suggested the lady next to Andrew.

Ukweli, kama Kuna dereva kati yetu itakua sawa akituendesha tu. Wengine wetu hatujawahi kuendesha gari.

It’s okay, if its fine with the driver I can take over and deliver everyone peacefully. Said Andrew

Ni sawa tu, kuja mbele basi. Said the driver

The two of them exchanged seats and Andrew moved forward.

Andrew ignited the engine and drove away. As they approached Naivasha they could see a road check ahead and Andrew remembered he didn’t have his Driving License. He cursed why he agreed to drive that car. As soon as they got stopped he panicked but decided to pull aside and try and act as normal as possible. The driver assured him things will be okay and that he had a budget for such cops.

The police approached the car and started inspecting it. He went round once, then twice, as if he was looking for something specific.

Then he came over to the drivers window and asked for a Driving License. Andrew told him he had forgotten it but he could have a look at the NTSA portal to confirm that he was compliant.
At first the police was not amused by this option but he decided to do this regardless. Luckily Andrew was compliant and the police pardoned him. As he started driving away, he saw the police beckoning him to stop as he spoke over the Radio Receiver. 

The police walked to the window again and asked him to step outside. This time round Andrew Panicked, his heart was racing fast.
Over afande, Umesema gari inakaa aje ? The police asked whoever was on the other end of the line.

Gari ni a blue Noah, Iko na scratch mbili za yellow hapo Chini karibu na front right wheel. Gari ilibiwa Jana and it was robbery with violence and murder. Aliyehusika Ako Kwa hio gari tu. Said the Police

When Andrew heard that he started trembling, he wondered what the hell was going on.

Afisa hii gari sio yangu, nasaidia tu dereva juu amechoka, alisema anaskia usingizi.

Nyamaza Kijana !!! Don’t talk until spoken to.. Said the cop

Afande, weka huyu kijana pingu. He is a suspect of robbery with violence and murder.

Everyone else in the car was silent, no one said a single thing.

The cop continued to talk to his colleague over the radio.

Nimeona hizo alama, na huyu mshukiwa anakaa aje? Mko na CCTV footage…? He asked.

CCTV footage ndio hakuna lakini kitu tumeambiwa na witnesses mpangaji wa hio kazi alikua Mjaluo. He is around 6ft tall, ako na scar Kwa forehead na Hana jino Moja ya mbele…

When Andrew heard that response, it dawned on him that he had just been described by someone he had never seen or heard of..It’s at this point that he became hysterical and tried to argue his case.

Afande hio yote ni uwongo, Mimi naenda Kuona mama yangu kisumu. Mimi hata sio dereva wa hii gari, nimewachiwa tu niendeshe nisaidie dereva because he was feeling unwell.
Everyone in this car is a witness that sijafanya kitu yoyote na Mimi ni msafiri kama wao. You can even ask them, please ask them. Even ask the lady who was sitting next to me before I switched the seat with the driver.
Andrew pleaded,

Weeee, Wacha uwongo. I was not seated with you. Ni wewe umetubeba kutoka town, Mimi hata sikujui na sijaongea na wewe tangu safari ianze. Usiniingize Kwa shida zako na polisi. Ama nadanganya ? She asked the rest of the passengers to which they replied , Ofisa huyo ndio dereva, hakuna mtu mwengine ameendesha hii gari. The so called Medical student, the driver and all the passengers threw him under the bus.  Andrew was so shocked he just started crying.

While crying a heavy slap landed on his face and he was shoved to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Hata ndio hio jacket yake afisa pengine Kuna evidence. Said the lady who had sat next to him as she handed over his coat to the cops who had now surrounded the car. When they searched the coat they found his phone, the lady’s phone which had input his number, and the lighter he had requested to see. He tried telling them that those things were not his but all this fell on deaf ears. At this point no police believed him, he was guilty until proven innocent.

Aren’t these the evidence that were stolen from the scene. Huyu mjinga alidhani ameshinda polisi Akili aki.. isn’t this the phone of the deceased ? Na hii ndio lighter ulitumia kuwasha moto Kwa scene after kuiba ndio umalize evidence? Kijana you will rot in Kamiti kuanzia Leo.

They whisked him away like a thief holding him by the trouser waist and thew him in the waiting police car. The rest of the passengers were released and told to board another car. Andrew was shaken to the core as he watched all this happening. What’s was surprising was how the same passengers boarded another Noah which was conveniently packed right across the highway. It’s like they were being waited for.  Something was completely wrong, he wouldn’t do anything now. But he knew he had a chance to fight. This was a set up, and he had fallen right inside the pit.