LAST WORD
ON PERCEPTUAL
DISCOMFORT
When Ochieng arrived at his
shags he could not drive into the
compound as he was blocked by a
sullen looking crowd milling around
the entrance. As it was the Easter
weekend surely these people were not
sad about an event that took place
two thousand years ago.
According to him one was either
pregnant or not pregnant, stupid or
not stupid and stating that one was
very pregnant or very stupid did not
qualify the condition. Every pregnancy
eventually grows big and a child is
born and every uncorrected stupidity
also grows and has consequences.
The mother’s protest that the girl was
too young and her desire to see her
continue with school was what had
brought them in front of Ochieng’s
uncle for resolution. The father saw
no reason why the teacher cannot
continue to tutor his wife once
married.
Ochieng parked the car outside and
threaded his way through the throng
of humanity only to find a village
court in full session, presided over by
his venerable uncle. He was the only
one seated on a dining table chair
looking sufficiently stern to suit the
gravity of the situation.
Ochieng was not grasping what
the issue was as he saw no problem
with girls being married off until he
was informed that in this particular
situation the girl in question was a
thirteen year old schoolgirl and the
paramour was her teacher.
Ochieng’s uncle then turned to all
assembled and dropped a bombshell
when he asked them who was
to blame for the mess they were
discussing. The uncle was not one
to miss an occasion to impart a
social lesson when an opportunity
presented itself.
Ochieng’s intention was to skirt
around the crowd so he could then
walk towards his house when he
stopped to listen as a weeping lady
had just started to speak. She was
miserable because her husband had
arranged to marry off her daughter
who was a little pregnant.
The statement provoked a reaction
from his uncle who asked the lady
to stop sniffling and trivialising the
issue and informed her and all those
around that there were two things
at that moment that did not require
superlatives and that was pregnancy
and stupidity.
To be pregnant at age thirteen was
stupid and a life changing event
that should have been avoided but
impregnating a thirteen year old girl
was not only stupid but criminal and
the culprits’ protestation that they
loved each other had failed to impress
the mother.
The father’s stand was simple and face
saving. If the girl was old enough to
play house she might as well do it for
real and since the teacher had neither
denied being the one responsible nor
appeared unwilling to marry her it was
best for all around.
‘‘In Kenya we steal because we can and are
confident that there is nothing you can do
about it. The police are always for sale and
the one holding the purse is the one that gets
justice. It is a pity that the police do not accept
visa cards as this would be a growth area for
card business.’’
94 MAL 11/16 ISSUE
He wanted to know if the girl was
to blame for being promiscuous,
the teacher for being predatory, the
headmaster for not instilling discipline
to both teachers and pupils, both
the girl’s and teacher’s parents for
improperly raising them, or their
friends for not warning them on the
consequences.
The holier than thou in the crowd
had by then started squirming
uncomfortably as it transpired that the
relationship was an open secret and
the whole village except the parents
seemed to have been aware of the
affair. They had just come to witness
the bloodletting.
Ochieng was jolted by the similarity
that pathetic situation was daily being
played out in the national arena.
Kenyans read the global corruption
index and somehow manage to
convince ourselves that we are only
a little corrupt compared to other
nations lower in the scale.
Let it be reiterated here that Kenya