MWALIMU ANDREW: How Fiolina killed dream of completing my house

For those of you who have been following my stories here, you will remember that last Saturday we had a Summit on the completion of my house. The Summit ended up being something between a thanksgiving ceremony and a fundraiser. Presided over by Apostle Elkana Apostle Elkana, The Revered Spiritual Superintendent of THOAG (The Holiest of All Ghosts) Tabernacle Assembly, the event was such a success, depending on whom you speak to. According to everyone else in Mwisho wa Lami and its environs who attended, it was such a big success.

“The food was good, the house was good and very big and a lot of gifts were bought,” is what I overheard Anindo, Nyayo’s wife and card carrying founder member of THOAG, tell other people.

“God loves you,” Apostle Elkana sent me an SMS on Saturday evening. “I have attended many house prayer sessions but this was the best ever.”

When I reminded him that not enough money was raised, he differed with me. “The Lord we worship is a God of blessings, and blessings are not just about money. Mungu atakuonekania.”

But Fiolina and I know that the event was not as successful. We spent so much on food.

“This was not a harambee,” said Apostle Elkana when he visited us on Sunday after church for more prayers accompanied with his usual leadership. That meant that we had to prepare lunch for them. And that meant money.

“Can you count the blessings you received yesterday?” he asked. “You can’t. Before he left, I told him that I was considering stopping the fundis from coming stopping due to lack of timber.

“No Andrea,” he said. “Read Mathews Chapter 14 and see how Jesus was able to divide five loaves of bread and two fish to 5,000 people. That is the miracle that God will do to you. Trust him to do a miracle tomorrow morning.”

Early Monday morning and Nyayo was the first to arrive, accompanied by Tocla, his person of hand – or rather mtu wa mkono. Fiolina prepared some breakfast and they joined us for breakfast, after which we started to “beat stories”. Shortly after, Ali arrived.

“Sisi tumekuja kazi,” he said. “Tunataka tumalize utulipe pamoja na ile pesa ilibaki. Wapi mbao na mabati?” he asked.

I told him we had not bought any timber. He left immediately saying that he would return when we have timber. I like the fact that he left, as I did not know how I would have handled the two fundis.

“Sio lazima mbao,” Saphire said. “Mko na miti nyingi hapa mnaweza kata tano mtumie.”

That is when I believed in the miracles that Apostle Elkana had been talking about. Like Jesus made five loaves of bread be enough for 5,000 people, he had also opened the eyes of Nyayo to the fact that we could use trees that we had in plenty. And what more could I ask? We would get the poles from trees that I had planted seven years ago.

“Nimejenga nyumba nyingi bila mbao.” We took pangas and axes and walked to the lower part of the road, where I had planted trees the year I started my teaching career. The trees were on the lower side of our land, near the river.

I instructed Brandon and Bedford to go to the store and remove blue irons sheets that I had bought months ago. Apostle Elkana’s word seemed to be coming true. I may just get into the house that day, I thought to myself.

We walked past my father’s house to the tree plantation and Nyayo marked at least eight poles that he wanted cut. Tocla, carrying a sharp axe, started cutting and within minutes, one of them was down, and it fell down with a loud thud.

This attracted the attention of many and I could hear my father shout from the house, asking who had invaded his trees.

“Mwizi,” he said as he ran towards us.

“Ni mimi,” I told him as he came.

“Unakata miti ya nani? Umeomba nani?” he asked as he would ask a stranger.

“Mzee miti ni yetu na mimi ndio nilipanda,” I told him. “Tunachukua tano pekee.”

“Ati miti ni yako na nani?” he asked, perplexed. I told him that I had planted the trees for our use as a family and I thought I could be allowed to use a few.

“Hii ni shamba yangu,” he said.  “Na miti ni yangu,” he said, then added in English. “Si I gave you a place to build? Why don’t you plant trees there?”

By 10am, Tocla had cut down the second tree. Knowing that I could not win a public spat with my father, I walked with him to the house. Once in the house, I did what every right thinking man does to silence their parents. I gave him something small. I also game my mother something smaller.

“Asante,” she said. “Tulikuwa tunashangaa mtoto wetu amepata pesa ya harambee halafu hatukumbuki”? Immediately, my old man changed and was ready to leave. It was clear he was going at Hitler’s, his pockets having been loaded. Before he left, we walked to the tree plantation. He allowed us to cut only five trees, which Nyayo said would be enough. “Ni bedroom pekee yake tunafunika,” he said

Once mzee had left, and Tocla continued cutting the trees, my brother Ford incessantly called me. I ignored but only picked the 7th missed call.

“I hear you are cutting my trees?” he asked when I picked. “Keep off my land,” he said, and reminded me that as the last born, he had been allocated mzee’s compound and the piece of land behind my father’s house. I told him to grow up and disconnected his call. Once we had cut down seven trees, we carried them to the store as had been instructed.

I walked to the house in a foul mood, asking the two boys why they had not removed the iron sheets. “Hakuna mabati hapa ndani,” said Bedford. I walked to the store. There were no iron sheets. I had not been in the store for so long and could not remember the last time the sheets had been there.

“Mabati yangu ilienda wapi,” I loudly asked, speaking to no one in particular. I went out and told Nyayo and Tocla that my mabati were missing. “Ulisema ni blue?” asked Tocla.

“Ama ndio ile Mwalimu Juma, ameweka kwa nyumba ya kijana wake,” he added. I did not hesitate but walked to Juma’s home. Indeed, he had recently put up a simba for his son, with blue iron sheets. He was not around so I asked his wife who said that her husband had bought the iron sheets from within but she wasn’t sure from who. I called Juma. He admitted that they were indeed my iron sheet but that he had bought them legally.

“From who?” I asked. He told me that had bought them from Fiolina. “Na nilinunua kitambo sana,” he said. I walked back home, quite upset. Fiolina was arriving from the river when I arrived. I called her to the bedroom, closing the door behind her as she entered. I was ready for anything.

To my surprise, Fiolina quickly accepted to have sold the iron sheets. “Kwani unafikiria school fees ya Mosoriot ya mwisho ililipwa aje? Na unafikiria tunakula nini?” she asked, arms akimbo

It was indeed true that I had not given her money and I never sent anything for her college but those were no reasons to sell my prized iron sheets. She opened the bedroom door and left. I lay on the bed gazing on the roof for about half an hour. I was only interrupted by Nyayo. I walked out and found they had cut three of the poles into pieces.

“Leta misumari,” he said. I told him that I had no nails. “Kilo moja tu ndio tunataka, kimbia ulete.”  I then told him that even if we got nails, we had no iron sheets. They abandoned everything and packed their tools.

We left for Hitler’s. I did not speak much. It was very late when I staggered back home. To my surprise, some of the poles we had brought and prepared for use for roofing had  been converted into firewood.

Fiolina was not in otherwise… I just could not believe it. I walked into the house to plan my next move. Whoever said that behind every successful man is woman had not met Fiolina. For I can authoritatively say that behind the broke and unsuccessful Dre is Fiolina!

[email protected]