18/09/2025
Village Tales
The songs of Kyalo Kya Kaka and Mwiitu wa Kanyole remind me of one evening. I was just chilling at my father's compound revising my GHC notes for the end of term exam. I heard a desperate voice coming from our neighbors compound. "Uuwiii, ndaanyie Munyao nukumbuwaa" (neighbours, come help me Munyao is about to kill me).
I threw my books and rushed into the direction of the voice, not because I wanted to help the victim from the claws of Munyao, but because I wanted to capture the moment well to come and gossip the whole story to my mother when she came from the market 😂😂😂.
Kumbe it was our other neighbor's son Mwendwa who was suffering in the hands of the old man. Apparently, Mwendwa used to time Munyao's movements and just when he was sure the man was some kilometres away sharing cups of booze with the rest of village wazees, thats when he would have an opportunity to tell Wanza (Munyao's teenage daughter) how much he loved to marry her immediately after they finished school. He used to promise that they would share his father's phoenix bicycle. While Wanza was a day school student at Kyemundu secondary, on the other hand Mwendwa was schooling at Kalulini mixed and exchanging notes was common among them.
But things didn't go well on that day as Munyao returned home earlier than expected. Mama pima was sick and gulping services at their usual spot had been stopped for a while. On arrival, he saw the two hanging on the ndau (euphorbia) fence. He had sold the last cow in his compound just to make sure his daughter's school fees was settled, she was his source of hope from poverty, but now looked like Mwendwa wanted to make him a grandfather earlier than he expected.
This agitated his anger and the nearest weapon was a rope. He tiptoed their direction carefully, and like 5 meters behind Mwendwa, he threw the su***de weapon around the neck. I knew Mwendwa had a long neck, but didn't know it would easily fit in a rope thrown from a distance 😂😂. Wanza took off immediately jumping up and down terraces at a speed and accuracy that will make my reader feel like she would have made it better in Tokyo than our Mutile Yavi and Toto combined. She could not defend her love against her fierce father. Mwendwa was left to fight for himself and his life depended on the strength his lungs would produce a sharp wailing voice to attract sympathizers.
Remembering my story with Muteti our other neighbor's son, I could not tell the story to my mother 😂😂😂. Let's meet at THWAKE RESORT KOMA. this Saturday I give you my side of the story with Muteti.
