MWALIMU ANDREW: Last day of the term turns tragic for Kuya teachers

What this meant was that on closing day, the prefect should prepare to be beaten up. In short, he or she needed to apply for State security on closing day, as the beating would not be a school matter, but a civilian case.

I can tell you that this still happens, and every last day of the term, we always deal with such cases. While students ‘closing on others’ is widely known, you have never heard of a teacher threatening to ‘close on another’. Except that it just happened in Mwisho wa Lami during the just ended term.

Just a week before schools closed, Saphire, openly threatened to ‘close on’ Kuya.

You know Kuya. Kuya is the muscular teacher who always considers himself second in command, when in reality, he is not even third in command. After Bensouda and yours truly, the next in line is Mrs Atika, then Madam Anita then Lena – her bad hair notwithstanding.

Yet Kuya behaves as if he is the deputy, always undermining me and taking up responsibilities that are mine, and behaving as if he co-manages the school with Bensouda. Anyway, as long as he does the work and I earn the responsibility allowance, who cares.

Then you know Sapphire. Fifteen years as a teacher, but with basically nothing to show for it – except for scars on his face. While other teachers have been promoted several times, he has been interdicted countless times, and reinstated on all occasions.

While other teachers religiously go to school every day, and drink once in a while during end month, Saphire religiously goes to Hitler’s every day, and once in a while when he is broke, he goes to school.

ACTION

"This time we have to take action against you,” Kuya told Saphire two weeks ago, when he disappeared with marking sheets, delaying everyone. “People have been treating you like an egg, but you don’t know who Kuya is. I can’t be sitting here for a week waiting for you to record your marks, kwani who do you think you are?”

Saphire did not answer him. Kuya pushed Bensouda to take action against Saphire. He drafted the letter that Bensouda took to the county TSC office. Not just that, Kuya had been recording the days Saphire had been leaving school before time. For the first time, there was a solid case against Saphire, not just hearsay that other heads usually take to TSC.

Saphire panicked. On Friday last week after visiting TSC and learning that things were hot, he came back to school.

“Utajua mimi ni nani,” Saphire told Kuya. “Nitafunga na wewe. Kama naenda nyumbani pia wewe hutaonekana hapa shuleni tena,” he added. “You can’t threaten me Saphire,” retorted Kuya. “I am not the kind to be cowed.”

“But I just did, nitafunga na wewe, and I am serious,” Saphire added.

As you know, the last week of the term is usually an idle one. Students coming to school and just loitering around, and playing. We usually ask Saphire to be the teacher on duty – for the simple reason that even if he doesn’t come, not much will be lost. While class teachers were finalising on report forms, Saphire moved from class to class telling stories. Saphire is very popular in school, and although rare, students look forward to his lessons. He never carries a book to class, but even during class, he narrates to students hi heroic college days!

STAFF MEETING

We should have closed school on Wednesday but by then, Bensouda had not signed the report forms. So closing day was postponed to Thursday. We all came to school, ready to close. Except that we could not, until Bensouda arrived. The students were making noise. As Saphire had not arrived, Kuya moved around all classes to restore order.

Saphire arrived just as Kuya had returned to the staffroom. “What time is this you are arriving?” Kuya asked Saphire. “I have had to restore order in school when it is your job!” Saphire ignored him. He took a piece of chalk then left the staffroom.

“Wewe Kuya kile unanitafuta utakitambua leo,” he said before leaving. Everyone laughed.

The previous day, I had taken all the report forms to Bensouda’s office for signing. A few minutes to 10am, she texted and asked me to call for a staff meeting at 10.30 am, after which the school would close at 11.30am. I alerted all the teachers. Bensouda arrived at 10.37am. Everyone was seated in the staffroom except Saphire. The students were excited to see us go for the final staff meeting of the term. There was noise outside as they excitedly left classrooms. Kuya rushed towards the classrooms to check what was happening.

He had not gone far when we heard him make a sharp sound. He quickly started walking back to the staffroom, his hands covering his face, which was bleeding profusely. He almost fell at the staffroom door, but Erick helped him to sit down. He was in deep pain, his shirt soaked in blood.

“This is serious, call a boda boda,” Erick said. “His eyes have a problem. A bodaboda rider arrived. Erick and Kuya boarded and left.

Bensouda instructed all the students to go back to their classrooms and await further instructions. We proceeded for the staff meeting

“I released the students to go play, but it turned out one had a sling, and he was testing it without thinking there would be someone coming from that direction,” said Saphire when Bensouda asked for an explanation. “Unfortunately, the high speed stone hit Kuya, who was leaving the staffroom.” Saphire added: “I don’t know what he was coming to do since I was fully in control.”

Bensouda called the student who had thrown the stone. Although she confiscated the sling and suspended the boy for two weeks for having a dangerous weapon, she concluded that it was an accident. Saphire was the only one who spoke against the suspension, arguing that the student had done nothing wrong. We closed school shortly after. Eric later told me that Kuya had lost his left eye.

Later that evening at Hitler’s, Saphire, after a few drinks, was heard bragging that he had “closed on” Kuya, just as he had threatened. We will never know for sure whether it was an accident or it was Saphire ‘closing on’ Kuya!