Nobody, nothing would have prepared me for my encounter with gangsters on the loose. Had any one told me that i would meet with any on that sunny January 2023, I would have brushed off the idea and continued with my journey. After all it was mid morning and i don’t live in the ghetto. I live in a civilized world where incidences of day time insecurity are uncommon. It would not have occurred to my mind or my family that in a few hours time, my phone and the little money i had on me would be taken forcefully.
I picked my brother from the shopping Centre and chatted with him as we headed to his plot to view and decide what needed to be done. The morning bliss was still blowing and the sun was scorching the earth mercilessly. We headed to a piece of land owned by my brother just to see if we could identify it. We knew the general area but had no exact co-ordinates. We ended up calling someone to show us the dimension of the piece of land. The person who i will call Makas promised to come in 30 minutes.
Makas told us he was a bit far but he would come before the end of that hour. We told him we would wait. We were just chatting when a motorcyclist who was carrying one passenger come to where we were standing. Coming 15 minutes after our call to Makas we automatically thought it was him coming to show us the plot. The young men greeted us cheerily and we answered them. I specifically remember returning their greetings expectantly as i waited for them to direct us to our plot.
When the lead gangster, a young man barely out of his teens announced ” put all your money and phones down here” after whipping out a pistol, i was flabbergasted. I thought it was a joke or an act in a play. I mean, who robs people at 10.30 A.M?
I honestly thought he was not serious but one look at my brother’s face instantly communicated that the boys were damn serious
and the pistol was real. I was terrified at the thought of being shot and a thousand thoughts went through my mind. The boys demanded my car keys. They turned it upside down but fortunately there was no much money, just some ordinary pocket change. One of the thugs jabbed me with a pistol several times as he demanded for my pistol or gun. He had a feeling i was a police woman. He was not entirely wrong because i was with my brother who is a Kenya Defence Force employee. I thank God that my brother stayed calm throughout the ordeal and spared us from catastrophic results. They threw my car keys away and left us locked up in someone’s compound. In a split of second when i thought my life could easily be cut short, i realized very few things in this life matters. My first thought was my mother, in the event that we were shot, i was sure she could not take the pain of loosing two children. I said a silent prayer requesting God to spare me and my brother’s life. I remembered my children and briefly wondered if they can withstand the pain of loosing a mother who had been a ” rock solid” in their life. I wondered too if my daughter who had recently travelled outside the country would make it back for my burial.
The whole episode took something like 5 minutes but the longest five minutes i have ever lived through. The incident also spoiled the rest of my day. I had to call telecommunication companies to block my Sim cards, then go to the police station to make a report, and finally go to telecommunication companies to unblock my lines. It is suprising how a simple act of madness by lazy youths will affect many people and destroy their day. During moments of adversity, you will know your priorities. May God reform our young men so that they start earning honest living. May He also open doors to the hard workers and righteous ones.
True story narrated by Wairimu Karongo