A tale of crime, revenge, alcoholism and luck
Caiphas Gitonga is a cold, conniving master of the underworld. He has money… loads of money. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP
Book title: Finders, Keepers
Author: Patrick Ngugi
Publisher: Moran Publishers
Review by Rwandet Choge
Caiphas Gitonga is a cold, conniving master of the underworld. He has money… loads of money. But he is not done making more. Expanding his criminal empire is his sole reason for existence. Any unfortunate soul to get between him and his greed will be dead meat.
Jackton Kadenge is your run-of-the-mill Nairobi white-collar worker. All he does is work and work some more. But all he has to show for it is mounting debts. He loves nothing better than to hit the bottle, perhaps just as the next city accountant.
He needs money. Well, not as much as Caipha’s, but some money nonetheless. His prayer is that one day the heavens will open up and sack loads of money will fall from the sky. This prayer is about to be answered sooner than he anticipated.
Cobra Njoka is a killing machine. As a former soldier, he is the chief enforcer of Caipha’s orders. But things are about to change. His only concern now is revenge. Revenge served on a chilly Thursday evening to avenge the cold blooded murder of his lover.
By a twist of fate, these three men’s lives become intertwined.
Just as he is agonising how he is going to spend his leave with his family broke again, Kadenge walks into his rural home, drunk as skunk, only to find he is Sh4 million rich. God does really care about the drunks, doesn’t he?
As Kadenge is welcomed home by his long suffering wife, in Nairobi Caiphas, is just about to realise one of his most trusted lieutenants has not just bailed out on him, but made away with a substantial loot from his office safe — the money which has somehow ended up in the hands a penniless accountant in Webuye.
As is the practice in Caipha’s domain, the search for Cobra Njoka will be swift and ruthless. No resource will spared to recover the boss’ cash and teach Cobra a lesson or two about loyalty.
In Malaba, Njoka wakes up to find that instead of Sh4 million, his bag contains a few clothes, children’s toys, second hand shoes and Sh3,000. How could his plan have gone so wrong?
The money was meant as a reward for all the dirty work he had done for his ungrateful boss, but now, just like in a magic show, it had gone up in smoke and all he had was similar bag sans the cash.
His getaway plan will have to be put on hold as he tries to uncover the mystery of the missing bag first.
And so the search begins: Caiphas for Cobra, Cobra for Kadenge.
In two short days, one man will see his dream evaporate, while a few thousand people will bear witness to a miracle.
Patrick Ngugi has weaved a deceptively simple tale. Only once you are done with the book do you will feel the weight of its message.
One of the poignant issues that Mr Ngugi manages to capture in startling clarity is alcoholism. Through the character of Kadenge, we are presented with the reality faced by thousands of Kenyans as they struggle with alcoholism. Kadenge is a hapless drunk trying to put his life on the mend but almost always fails. You will agree that such is the lot of many Kenyans.
The writer has distilled the good, the bad and the ugly of Kenya in 162 pages. There is the Kenya that we love… and laugh about. And then there is the dark and terrifying world, inhabited by the thieving class. When these worlds collide, the result is glorious carnage.
