Sons Disappointed their Fathers

  

 Shaggy hair that looked like ropes used in an old garage to pull vehicles,dirty and oily,torn trousers with a banana fibre which served as a belt or when he tried,a rope he stole from his mother's favourite goat Maara,a slipper and a shoe on either foot and a patched t-shirt was Kabutu's best look. His face was somewhere between that of a person who used to be brown and handsome but years of suffering and eating from the bins had transformed and eroded the beauty greatly but still,women would be heard commenting "Kabutu was very handsome before  he....". On many days, a skunk and a male goat would have sat down to take notes on how to smell like hell from Kabutu. 

 When he was born a horde of Kikuyu women came to celebrate his birth in what is commonly know as 'gucuugia mwana' and his mother had lots to do during that ceremony trying to hide the child's beautiful face lest some envious woman sees him and casts a spell on the child,making him ill. Soon the women broke in a popular kikuyu song,singing for the child.

"Mwana ndanyitagwo,

Na njara ya umotho,

Anyitagwo na ya úrío,

Tonya thíiní,

Wooe gakenge".

"A Child is never held with the left hand,

It is held with the right hand,

Come inside,

And hold the baby"

With that some women spat on the young Kabutu to give him their blessings,others held the baby,said silent prayers and congratulated the mother. In such instances,the father is a little remembered if not forgotten altogether. 

Kabutu grew up to be a very likeable boy. In school,he amazed his tutors with the ease at which he grasped concepts in class especially in  Mathematics and Sciences. Soon,his fellow students gave him a befitting Name,Isaac Newton. His mother and father were sure that after sitting his national exams,he sure would be admitted to parsue a prestigious course in one of the leading institutions of higher learning and true to their instincts shortly after sitting for his exams,he was admitted to take Applied Chemistry.

"Kabutu! You know we are poor. And you also know that we love you",his mother said,"when you go there,don't get lost in the craze of town folks,remember where you have come from and make your life and finally ours,better"

"I will mum", "I promise you that like many times in the past,you will be proud of your son" 

His father who was not a man of many words unless when he had tasted the 'sweet tears of his ancestors ' spoke last and said.

"Son,Múúgí ní mútaare'' (a wise person has been advised), and we have given you all the advise you need to survive out there. Go and remember us" and with that,he ended his talk.

Kabutu was ready and eager to go and meet his fellow students and get to know them. That was not to happen before his mother called him behind their hut and told him untying a large knot on her leso "take this. A man does not walk with empty pockets". She shoved a few folded thousand notes in the hands of Kabutu and leaving herself with none,wished him well.

On the old bus from his home to the big city where he was to school,Kabutu sat patiently waiting for it to take off. The thirty two seater was packed to the door with some passengers standing and the few who were lucky sitting.  When Kabutu looked around,he concluded that the bus was carrying twice the passengers it was supposed to with all their luggage tightly held in place on the carrier by ropes. Soon the bus took off and the driver put on some Kikuyu music which Kabutu resonated with.

The tune was by a popular Kikuyu Musician,Joseph Kamaru.

"Ndaciariruo itakinyite

Ni maitu kwenda kahíí,

Mwago wa ri kuo,

Kweruo hiuhia maai,

Mwana ndakanyue mííruru"

"I was born before i was due

For the love my mother had for a boy,

It was great celebration when it was said,

Warm some water for the boy not to suffocate in birth fluids"

Listening to the song,he was assured that it was talking about the love his mother had for him from the beginning. The bus meandered its way on the valleys and hills until at last,it came to a stop in the huge city. 

Kabutu had never seen anything as glamorous and grandiose as this city. Tall buildings, huge roads,street lights, executive hotels,all held hands to dumbfound Kabutu even the more. Looking at the tall storey building,he started walking as far as he could manage from them for he thought they could fall on him because they seemed to move as he moved. Thrice,vehicles had been forced to come to a complete halt when Kabutu was crossing the road not to hit him. Everyone in town could tell that Kabutu was not a commoner here.

                       ****************

"Yes Kabby", was the Lecturer asking Kabutu who had now changed his name to Kabby to fit in the school,to give an answer on how to name alcohols. Startled,Kabby said " beer,gin,brandy,whisky,chang'aa...", As he was naming his alcohols,the rest of the class was in stitches. The lecturer, agitated for he had been teaching for over an hour on the same,turned a blind eye to his answer but this only confirmed his recent fears that something was seriously wrong with his best student in class.

"Today we are giving you twenty mils Kabby", Oti,the gang leader was giving out instructions to his beloved 'Intelligence Team' as he called it. Among other duties within the school,the I.T was tasked with mugging students and  the locals as well as distributing hard drugs to students. From this,the I.T members used to get a small share of the drugs to keep them going as their pay.

 "Okey,Senior",Kabby answered.

"Mwas, you will go with thirty mils",Said Oti.

Remember,he continued to speak,this time in more of a threatening tone than a friendly one

 "You better get caught or get killed,but don't dare lose my stuff!"

By this time,I.T had gotten used to their task and they manouvered in the school and the city with ease. They knew the dark corners where the drugs were sold like the palm of their hands. Kabby could never believe that it was still in that city,he had looked so lost when he first set foot on it. He soon began to miss classes because at times he was too high on drugs and on the other times,he was running his errands in the city to sell drugs. He rarely went home or send a word that he was still well. His old folks worried about him all the time. But like the old saying goes "nguku ikuaga o ikomereirie"  A hen dies while still incubating its eggs with the hope they will hatch. They waited for their son with hope that some day after he is done with school,he would come home.

His father who had now turned to a Daily Drinking Officer(D.D.O) used to brag to his fellow folks.

"Guciara úru ti  kwenda kwa mwene", that giving birth to unfortunate kids is not the will of their parents. "I am not the one who told you to birth dumb kids. Hahaha" he would scornfully belittle them.

"When my son comes back,tell your daughters to line up on the road to see success and knowledge in a man", he would drankily say.

"Buy me a bottle and i will put in a good word on behalf our your handsome daughter to be married by Kabutu. Hehe"

"He who used to dance,became an onlooker. Tread carefully Wa Kabutu",the other drunkards would warn him.

"Your wife battered you yesterday and you want to advice the only man in this village to have ever taken a son to the big school?" Baba Kabutu would retort.

                           **********

Finally Kabutu Showed up in the village. When he alighted the vehicle at the stage, a word was quickly sent to his parents that after such a long , long time,their son was finally back. His father wished that his son had sent a word prior to his triumphant entry in Jerusalem, for him to parade a group of onlookers and women to welcome him home five five ullulations of a boy. 

"Haidhuru",he said dejectedly as he waited for his son to get home. Kabutu's mum was also in high spirits,she could not wait to hold in her arms her long lost son,her prodigal son. Time had done a great injustice to baba and mama Kabby. His father was now bald,and the beards on his chin and the hairs on his hands compensated for those that were missing on his skull. His face was wrinkled and looked like furrows dug on a land in preparation for the planting season. His wife had not been spared either,her lovely face was now withered and cheek bones showed on either side of her face. Two of her front teeth were missing. She had convinced her neighbours that her favourite goat 'Maara' knocked them out when she was one day feeding it but Wa Mwangi knew better of the story behind them "Wueh,she was beaten like something you want to kill and eat by her husband the other day. If indeed it was a goat that knocked her teeth out,then it was Baba Kabby"

At first,even the villagers could not recognize Kabutu. They talked in small groups as he passed them without greeting them which was considered rude given that greetings were more important than anything else in the village. In a torn trouser and a dirty t shirt,Kabutu walked past them indiferrently. When they greeted him,to some he answered and to most,he ignored them completely. The grand reception was at his home. The father waited eagerly and the mother dearly.

When Kabutu entered the old iron sheet barrier that acted as a gate but which could be brought down by a running dog,his father put a hand over his face to get a clearer image of whoever was approaching. He shouted at him "Hey! Can you go away. This is not a rehabilitation centre for mad people!" But the person continued approaching anyway. 

Kabutu's mother started wailing as she ran towards the figure which was approaching. She held the smelly Kabutu in her arms and sobbed. Tears of joy that only a mother could experienced. His smell did not put her off. His dirty clothes never mattered. Finally her beloved Kabutu was back though in a bad shape,but it was better than nothing. His father did not dare approach this shame of a son. The son he had so much praised and worked hard for had repaid him in an ungrateful way. 

The father used to walk shamefully among the men of his riika, and he also talked less as compared to the past. 

"We used to warn you not to laugh at the flint in the fire from the firewood rack. You stuck your finger in porcupine's arse and now you are crying that the  quills hurt" Mzee Kagero teased Baba Kabutu.

"My lunatic son is better than that son who turned to a bull which impregnates evwry heifer on heat in the village" Mzee Kabutu retorted.

                         **************

On many days,Kabutu is seen roaming in the village,in a heated conversation with God knows who. At times he is very happy and laughs and rolls when talking to his spirits and on others he is as sullen as a hen which has lost its chicks to a hungry hawk. His favourite spot in the village is on the big Mugumo tree where his forefathers had stood praying "Thai thathaiya Ngai Thai!", In the name of God,let the Peace infinite prevail>