Last word
On Political
Leeches
Ochieng cannot quite remember when or where he first heard this story but he has known it for a while . He suspects it has West African origins , probably Nigeria , as it has that exquisite touch of a griot who can capture the moral of a story in any mundane situation .
The setting of the story is actually irrelevant since the African was put through a similar experience irrespective of the country since the coming of the colonist meant that Africans exchanged their labor for a pittance , usually under duress , to pay taxes .
An African worker got paid his monthly wages as a salaried worker in an urban center . As Africans were usually not allowed to move into towns with their families , so men toiled in solitude in towns to provide for their families .
As was the norm , every end month , there would be an exodus of men leaving towns to go and visit their families , to deliver the much-needed cash and to also break the monotony of lack of a family environment and the embrace of their wives .
The only female companionship that they could get in towns was from what was termed as loose women who had moved into the periphery of the towns to prey on lonely men and many a stories abound of men lost to these women .
Those who were disciplined and conscientious lived a stoic existence and dutifully waited for the end of month or a suitable length of time depending on the distance of their ‘ reserves ’ from their labor stations , to reunite with loved ones .
The worker turns up at a bus station and joins a throng of other excited and ‘ loaded ’ men who can ’ t wait for the bus to leave so they can get to their families while some are anxious because they have been told their parents are doing poorly , health wise .
As can be expected , the ne ’ er do wells also know the monthly patterns and the bus stops had become a haven for pickpockets
Kenya , by any standards , was never and is not a poor country , the problem is that the system has created too many pick-pockets by establishing too many bus stops where nifty fingered political pick-pockets thrive . who made a living relieving unguarded men of their hard-earned cash . They too had to survive .
Our protagonist struggles to board a crowded bus and has a smirk of satisfaction on securing a seat and the knowledge that he shall soon be with his own , totally unaware that in the melee he has been pick-pocketed of his entire treasure trove .
On arrival he confidently reaches for his wallet to pay his fare only to be stricken on realizing that it is missing . The bus driver is not in the least impressed and launches into a diatribe on men that think they can travel for free on buses .
The embarrassed worker is tongue-tied and wishes he could slip into a hole as the other passengers don ’ t seem empathetic to his situation and the truth is that every one of them has his personal issues and would not like to be drawn into another man ’ s troubles .
As the tongue-lashing continues , the driver is considering taking the stowaway to a police station when the pick-pocket , who is also on the bus , magnanimously offers to pay the fare for the hapless worker .
The look of relief on the worker is a sight to behold , he just falls short of falling to his knees and kissing the man ’ s feet . The other passengers applaud the generous and godly person and bless him wishing that God would increase his territory and protect his family .
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