Till it hurts

There is a way that you pucker up your lips when you are being naughty, it makes my head spin and the only thing that stops me is your warm lips on mine. The taste on your lips is sweetest right after you shower, because then they are fresh, wet and pink-ish just how I love them. I get lost in your eyes every time I look at you. The feeling makes me feel like you are seeing right through my soul. Feels vulnerable. My only way out is to kiss you because only then, can I see your soul too: with my eyes closed. Sorry love the world can’t be fair. What is the fun in that anyway?

When I get angry and fired up, you pop out of nowhere and touch my face. Your fingers run through my cheeks and they land on my lips. Pause. I can’t help pulling you closer and feeling your breath on my face just triggers a power surge. The anger turns to love and I kiss you hard till my lips hurt. My jaws ache at times from the effort. You probably don’t notice it because it is the kind of kiss that is rough yet tender. Succulent and lingering. I do it just enough not to taste yesterday’s supper. Forgive me am partly French. I go deep but not too deep. Just enough to touch your soul: with my lips.

Your lips, my favourite meal. I can’t save myself when you bite my lower lip while I kiss you. Makes me weak at the joints. You bite and suck as you get handsy and all am left to do is wonder whether to tell you to stop or not. Your lips are the reason I would love you even if I was to never see you naked. I can’t promise not to grab your ass when I suck on it. I would be on that straight diet without a worry. Kiss me till it hurts love. Always.

Graduation

Am sorry to disappoint you but am not talking about the famous Kanye West Album. Am talking of that time people clear one level of education to the next. In this case, University. I was called as a guest to my best friend’s graduation party last weekend and trust me I was the most excited for him, probably more than his parents. This is the one day you don’t believe you actually did it. It’s one of those ‘mama I made it!!’ moments.

As I was on my way there I was reflecting on my own graduation. To be honest I am proud of my friend George. The paths we have trodden on, even angels can’t dare look that way. Not to brag but George has been that little brother I never had. Big brother syndrome always affected me. Cleaning up after him at times or even watching his back when he didn’t ask for it. Call it bromance or whatever but I owe him so much in return.

Back in high school he used to get the special food that normally goes to the staff room. This was that type of food that one would only get to eat at home. He used to get a big share and I was the first beneficiary. I am quasi-vegetarian so all my meat was his too. Exchange is no robbery they say. The most interesting part of it all is the gikomba experiences and the suspension we both went for.

Gikomba is a popular market amongst Nairobians and we used to go there every time we were going home for midterm or end of term. Contrary to popular assumption, it’s not clothes that took us to gikomba. We went for a daily auction to get phones that had just hit the market. We didn’t care much about where they got them from but they were good phones of that era. It is where I got my first coloured phone. A Samsung slide phone which was quite prestigious by then. Not so many people had Bluetooth at the time either. The time we went with George we bought a phone that had infrared and co-owned it. That is how far our childhood had taken us.

I wouldn’t tell you of the suspension and other funny experiences because I wouldn’t know how to face everyone who reads this afterwards. All you need to know we is that we look back at those things we used to do and we laugh till our ribs ache. With such events, our high school life was not just a part of the educational system but an experience.

I was one of those who didn’t believe that George could actually stop being a cartoon at some point and focus. I was happier for him on news of his graduation that he was for himself. I told every relative that cared to listen that my best friend had passed both after high school and now after campus. I’d hate to look like the one who was wasting him. Am not any brighter but none of us should have passed more than the other. Stealing each other’s shine was against bro-code.

I may not have said this in my speech but George’s mother has been a mother to me too in many ways than one. I found in them another family. An emotional breakdown would be very ratchet. To be honest I can’t wait to graduate too and hopefully he marries before me so I get to date half his bridesmaids or his wife if am lucky. Hehe am just kidding. Talking of wives, we ever wanted the same girl at some point. I won’t say who won but wueh! That was just super dramatic and probably the most trying moment. Anyway, congratulations George. You may just be one of my lawyers sometime. As the budding journalist I am I will need a dream team.

SANASANA BAND

Sanasana is an upcoming band based in Maseno University. Don’t be mistaken because it is not part of the Maseno University band which has been an inspiration too in regards to how they handle most of their performances. The name Sanasana is a derivative from the first song done by the group that was originally written and performed by Dan Chizi. The band started when William Weswa commonly known as Williwes and Dickens who met in various artistic and musical events. One of these events was the music festivals and on meeting later at Maseno University, the two forged their dreams to the Sanasana we can see today.

The first Sanasana performance was outside Maseno University Media department to a friend of the band on phone who was in ICU and had requested a song Lazizi by the all-boys band Sauti Sol. At the risk of sounding superstitious she was discharged a week later. The performance created a need to come up with more songs to pass time and enjoy talent in the most subtle of ways. At this point Steve Babu joined the two man army with a bongo/Swahili blend. He later left to pursue a solo career in music. Two more people joined as soon as he had left. These are King, a guitarist, and Betty a vocalist.

Sanasana grew from having one guitarist who also doubled up as a vocalist to having two guitarists, one doing the lead and the other on the rhythm both using acoustic guitars. There was more need for variety and Betty gave the band a Rock touch that was added to the original Afro jazz fusion as was the Sanasana signature. As fate would have it, Betty had to leave the group due to her transfer to the city campus of Maseno University. Her place was filled by two more people, Adrian a bass vocalist and Olave a female lead vocalist. Later on we saw the need of versatility and introduced a violinist. Sanasana has since grown from a two man band to a big family of seven. From then on, Sanasana has had various big performances. These include having a live band show at bootleggers, a club in Kisumu, the school’s annual international cuisine at Kisumu Hotel. The cuisine has been the oldest Sanasana signature performance. Sanasana perform at weddings, major school events, performed at ISO certification of the Lake Basin Development Authority and also as the guest band at various clubs on live band days or on karaoke nights in Kisumu.

Our reputation has preceded us around school and the group keeps growing artistically and in stature. Sanasana is now working on own compositions but in the meantime colourful renditions of local and international hits rent the air whenever Sanasana step onto the scene. We perform every Thursday in school at spoken heart, an artistic event organised by the students to appreciate and nurture art and talent. This is the cradle of many artists and we are proud to be associated with the group.

sanasana at lifebuoy global hand cleaning day. from left Peter, Adrian, Olave, Weswa, Dickens and King

sanasana at bootleggers

GLOBAL HAND CLEANING DAY

RELIGION

This is quite a sensitive topic among most people. Christianity happens to be one of the popular faiths that is highly polarised on the terms of who interprets the bible best. There are quite a number of denominations sharing the Christian faith. Catholics, Adventists and the protestant category where it includes all the churches that were once part of the Catholic Church that broke off because of the doctrinal differences they experienced at the time.

Most of these issues included, the day of worship, the liberal Christians and the conservative kind. The stand on various pertinent issues that affected them at the time. Issues on contraception, family planning, morality issues mainly dwelling on alcohol consumption and temple prostitution. Persecution and combination of state and church also made many to dislike the mainstream church.

I won’t dwell much on the history of churches but you’ve got to admit Christianity is the most flawed religion of all time. This does not leave out any form of religion. Someone once said that if animals were to imagine they had a god, they would imagine one that looked exactly like them only with a few more features that made them gods. They’d adorn them with immortality, strong set of wings, tough claws or talons and maybe a sharp set of teeth. Likewise, humanity have had to create gods in their own image and give them the power that they would want real human beings to possess. This is mostly inspired by tough times in human life. This is especially by death and life that are practically inexplicable.

Human beings also fail to wonder how nature takes its perfect course. How night turns into days, how seasons come to being, how animals depend on each other for survival either directly or indirectly. From the cradle to the grave, mankind can’t begin to comprehend most things he witnesses. This pushes him to start thinking that we may just be puppets in a show. The man behind the curtain may be bigger, better brighter, and stronger in order to put everything in place as it is.

I can’t go in writing to discredit any form of faith or lack of because it may rub most believers and non-believers in the wrong way. This is just but my opinion though and I am entitled to it. I tend to think we should be bright enough to know that most of the stories in the bible especially are just Hebrew fables, epics and legends that have a moral significance. They mould better people and lessons are learnt from their mistakes.

As a realist I think god and religion as a whole are just a state of mind. Pure imagination by those who feel most inspired by the events in life that have no sensible or human explanation especially to those who don’t trust science. I can’t say what god has done for anyone but I can say what faith in him has done to the lives of very many people. I agree with the bible on the definition of faith. It is the belief in the unseen. Better put, the imagined. It can only be seen in the head of believers. Who is to say we did not create gods in our own image. They get angry as we do. They keep families. Their families disagree at some points. They get jealous. They are loving and caring to their own. This is to mention just but a few characteristics of the gods we worship. It cuts across Greek, Roman, Hebrew and many other mythologies.

We should however not overlook what religion has helped humanity and the world at large to accomplish. Mankind have always had the insatiable need to have faith in something stronger than them in case they need someone or something to look up to. The morality in the world has been championed mainly by religious zealots who are in pursuit of a world that has no sin or any form of immorality. Man is a perfectly moral creature without religion. Religion only helps remind and reprimand the wrongdoers in the society and help spread goodwill.

Most orphans would be forgotten if it were not for religion. The poverty and disaster stricken areas in the world would be devastated without religion. Most criminals would have nothing to run to in order to change their ways. If you look closely into this, it is the strong faith in god that inspires goodwill and not god himself that comes down in person. To most, faith is all they have. You take that away and they are left stripped of love, kindness, morality and their entire existence as they know it.

It can therefore be concluded that religion is a part of mankind that cannot be done away with. Man needs to live having faith that in death, there will be a better afterlife earned by the good deeds done in his lifetime. This way, the sanity in the world is maintained. Only now the battle is, whose imaginary friend is stronger than the other.

I will have you know that atheism is no religion whatsoever. It is just lack of faith in supernatural creatures. From superman, batman all the way to gods. That is my definition at least. Most Christians would want to call it Satanism because if you are not for god then you are against him but the labelling is up to them. I am just a man who prefers real solutions to real problems. 

LETTER TO MY CRUSH

This may probably come as no news but yes, I have feelings too and much recently I have seen a few developments in my life. I have a crush! I have been trying to go on a serious cleanse but damn this one caught me pants down – I wish. In other terms that may not have things confused, she caught me off guard.

It was one very chilly evening and I was walking fast from band practice. My place was quite far so I was minding my own business walking very fast to my room to get some cocoa or something really warm. I just didn’t know the something really warm would come so soon. The sight of her was heart-warming. She waved back in her ‘hello kitty’ mittens. I almost purred back at her. All I was hearing in my head was my inner voice trying to challenge me into at least asking her name. ‘Hey stranger!’ she giggled at me as I waved back while chewing words. I can’t tell up to now what I really wanted to say but I bet it was nice.

On my way to my room, all I could think about was how she smiled at me and her giggle kept ringing in my head like some kind of broken record. Did she mean it? Was she planning to stay a stranger forever? Did she want me to shake her hand or hug her? No, she probably just does the same thing for men thirsting after her but SHE NOTICED MY COLOGNE!!! A soliloquizing frenzy was going on in my head. Chains of rhetorical questions stringing like Polish sausages around my head.

I got to my place and to get rid of the teenage fantasy I decided I should maybe address the questions to the right person. In a letter. A moment of silence for that stupid yet bold idea right there… No right word came to mind. I flipped the pen into a rhythm that could have probably been a song for her. The tip got ruined from too much flipping and I had to get another one as I yet pondered what to say to this epitome of beauty I just unearthed.

When I say unearthed I mean it. Her skin tone just agreed with the colour of the earth after a little tan from the midday sun. On a cold day like the one we randomly met, she was kind of pale yet alive and radiant with a lot of positive energy. Her smile defied the weather, heart-warming and vivante! Did I just repeat heart-warming? I guess I’m playing on a loop, happens every time I start tapping deep into the part of the brain responsible for letting me down like this.

This is somewhat a let-down because I was hoping I’d stay alone for a while as I was trying to figure out what I want in life. A friend told me I can’t multitask. Well maybe it’s true because I couldn’t juggle thinking of my interests and hers at the same time. Men are hard wired that way don’t blame me.

On second thought, I had a feeling this was going to be one bitter-sweet experience. You know that urge to eat something simply because it is there? Yea, I hate to think I want her to be in my life for that simple reason that she is there. I want her to share my good and bad. Joy and pain. Sickness and health. Oh damn it! I already sound like am writing my vows. I think I have already seen our kids as teenagers. When a man’s mind wanders this far into the future, be sure time travel is real. Men only think about a future when you really mean a lot to them. It’s probably the one time our instincts don’t fail us.

My roommate now thinks I am in a trance because am smiling like a gecko and flipping my pen incessantly. The first few words come in mind and it is like pricking a boil when ripe. Ideas just kept flowing. Bad reference but you get the idea, no? The letter went something close to this;

Hey stranger,

You don’t know how many times I have wanted to ask your name but I couldn’t because well, your smile comes in the way of my words. How I wish it was your lips that came in the way of mine at some point. Am sure you have noticed how many times I lick my lips. It is pretty hard not to notice when someone looks like they practically want to devour you. How to do that without inflicting pain is something am still working on.  You are probably wondering who I am. Am that guy who waves at you. Still makes no sense. Okay. Am that guy who bit a coin trying to make you think I was a magician.  Am never really sure if you like me… even remotely. It is hard to tell in between the giggles and when you look right through me. I just stand there and wish you saw right through me instead.

I have resorted to old and hopefully a sweeter method to express my innermost feelings and declare my interest in you. That sounded like a business deal right there but trust me the only thing am selling is ideas on how to make you happy, for the rest of your life.

This is the plan. I somehow get to make you see how empty your life would be without me and we all win. It’s a long shot but I may just get lucky. Lucky is the word because not every man gets what he exactly wishes for. You are my ten over ten kind of lady. Perfect for me from the inside out. I have been sitting on the side-lines watching long enough to know that we could make a great team.

I know I have just about the lousiest pick-up lines you have ever heard but my insides feel mushed up and I can’t get my mind to think straight. I may be expecting too much but I have already seen a beautiful future. Not anyone who looks into your eyes sees what I see.

If I put everything down in writing I will only be left to look into your eyes and hope you say yes. There won’t be much left to be said. After the letter gets delivered there will be too many questions in my mind. Will she like it? Will she ever talk to me again? Did I offend her?

It may be too soon to mention love but I strongly feel that we should get to know each other better and see where this goes. Even if you don’t see me the way I want you too, I will live knowing I at least got to ask your name.

Adrian.

OBSESSED

He waited for half the semester and nobody seemed to throw even a glance his way. He held out his heart and it almost became a part of his hand. All he asked for is somebody to worry about. He was humbled and didn’t want much but a look in his way.

He then met this gorgeous one. A drop dead diva he had only been seeing in school and half the time in other men’s arms. He asked her out after a lot of overnight texting. He finally broke the ice and this finally gave him hope of a heartwarming experience.

The date was here and he got all nervous. He became clumsy and without realizing it, he stopped listening to her and stared at her face sheepishly. Who wouldn’t want to stare at a young, beautiful-to-the-bone teenager? This was the big break he had really needed.

For a first date she was well groomed. She had a short, black evening dress with a scarf that went all the way through her back and hang in her arms. Her mascara glittered every time she blinked. Her heels didn’t only elevate her body but her beauty too. She made a trademark head swing every time her hair blocked her view that was followed by a smile as she talked to him. She was full of life and energy and he had a field day checking out all the dimples that formed with every word she uttered. Her hair flowed down her cheeks. He wanted to reach out and put his fingers through her hair but he was scared she might not have liked it.

He couldn’t help but notice the envious look on everyone’s face...or was it just confused pity? He couldn’t tell them apart in between all the groping. She had held his hand with one hand and the other was round his waist. Her head rested on his shoulder and he had a glimpse of heaven for a while there.

She proved to be quite a handful though…he took her to an event for a first date and she suddenly decided that the event wasn’t thrilling enough!!! Even after the tickets had been bought. She felt thirsty and she insisted that they take a walk to the shop. “Oh shoot! I only have coins!” he had this priceless look on his face while he said that. Looked more like a kid who had just messed the diapers. “No problem. I will walk you to your room so long as you promise to carry me back,” after that remark she paused awkwardly. “Of course am kidding! But you should never worry they say I am feather weight.” He heaved a deep sigh of relief not because he didn’t want to carry her but because he’d want to kiss her with their faces lined up that close and no one could tell her reaction. This was the reason he didn’t carry his wallet around. The most expensive drink there is served to her and while halfway through, “I think I can’t have more than that” she said that as she put the fruit juice down.

All this while she threw hints that she could be in some better place but he was blind to this. All for that warm re-assuring embrace and the look in her eyes that let him in straight to her soul. She smiled lovingly at him. Show me the clever guy who would see past this entire charade even if she told you she is bored by the event you planned all week for.

He braved the cold and stayed with her doing small talk as they waited for her ride to her hostel. All this while he hoped against hope that she would agree to spend the night at his place even if it means watching her sleep. He’d give his life at this point just to hold her arm while she slept. He wished she’d take to his bosom and make it her pillow.

In his head, he had her in his arms staring deep into her eyes with soft kisses at all the right places telling her how much he loved her. All this couldn’t happen then because half the time he was with her, he was staring at her dazzling beauty. He hadn’t been smiled to, embraced or given that look that melted his heart in a long time. One hour of this was like an eternity’s worth of frolicking.

It was that time of the week again and all roads led to the drinking hole. He headed there like a zombie majorly with one agenda- just to have a glance at her. He danced normally but suddenly stopped to look right after she passed by. The lady he was dancing with wondered why he lost his step every now and again. Little did she know that his eyes were feasting on another.

He couldn’t ask her to dance because he wanted to see her gyrate her body even if it is with another man. She never disappointed at all. She always shook it like she owned it. It didn’t take so much effort for her to be the center of attention. She finally noticed him (I think it’s hard not to notice someone staring blankly at you) and gave him a warm hug probably to keep his eyes off her body for once. She told him she had missed him and he went silent. He tightened his hug to say ‘I missed you too’. This is something he never gets to hear much often so he just stood there speechless and made the hug linger but a second longer. She got back to dancing with the girls and all he was left to do is stare at her as she left.

After the greeting, she didn’t even notice him every time she passed him to seek another man’s embrace. It’s like for a while there he didn’t exist in her world of men. He didn’t dance as usual but sat in a corner and watched life pass him by. He was acting like he was widowed. He got the best vantage point and his heart slowly warmed up. His face lit up every time she came her way. Every time she hugged another guy, all he could hear above her giggles and the music was his heart breaking. The night was too short and they parted ways.

At this point he hated her as much as he loved her and the days seemed endless as he plotted and schemed on ways to have her just for himself. The jealousy and obsession grew on him like a bad weed and it was spreading fast through his system. He could no longer think straight. He had problems concentrating in class. He only saw his princess with every turn he made every smile he saw and it was almost like she was haunting him.

 His closest friends tried to talk some sense into him. “You’re going to get hurt by that conniving two timing enchantress.” At this point he felt like everyone was against his hard found happiness. To him, it was them against the world. The major reason he could not stand any open criticism is because his heart had been broken one too many times and he couldn’t imagine it happening one more time.

The one thing that kept him going was the thought that the girl could have chosen to be with anyone but she chose him. Even if it was not for dating, she must have had a reason. She must have seen something the rest didn’t see in him though he could not put a finger on it just yet.

As the days went by, he sank deeper into what he thought was love and he spent most of his days building castles in the air for his princess. He gazed blankly into space and it was clear whatever he was feeling had retarded him. He had a picture of her as the background picture on phone and laptop. He had the pictures on the ceiling so that she could be the last thing he saw right before he slept and the first he saw the moment he woke up.

He had never invited her over to his place. She always took her time and always postponed her long awaited visits. There was this one day it rained hard and it was up to the knees outside. She called and a damsel in distress is never ignored. He quickly rushed to pick her in the rain and she was warm and dry in his room as soon as possible.

The girl finally had a chance to get comfortable. She looked around and what she saw startled her. She saw all kinds of her pictures on the walls and she got freaked out. She hurried out of the room like a spooked cat and walked into the rain without a word. He tried to talk her into staying but she wouldn’t oblige. She thought this guy to be some kind of freaky person who might make wrong advances and since she too had had a few bad experiences, she could not risk it again.

He did not sleep at night. He tossed and turned and sleep was to no avail. He called her severally but she didn’t pick or return his calls. That was his breaking point. It not only broke his heart but also his will to go on living. Life had made him think that the people especially the ladies he cared about were never meant to stay in his life for too long. He had lost his mother and his high school sweetheart at a go and this was probably the last straw on his back. He spent his days in bed and on one fateful night he slept a dreamless sleep. One he hadn’t had in a long while.

He vegetated in his sleep. The stress was too much for his fragile heart. He had a mental breakdown. His brain could hold just enough stress at one go. He felt abandoned and dejected. Loneliness set in and he was just a phone call away from riding the short bus. It caught him staring up at her picture on the ceiling and the last sane thing on his face was a smile though now it grew weird as it was perpetual and the only thing keeping it there was a piece of her picture. He had soaked up the picture in his drool and nobody could make out who was in the picture but him.

Obsession was clearly not working for him and his need to feel loved led to a lot of compromising and he broke his heart more than he mended it. She clearly didn’t deserve all that love.

He might not have seen the imminent dementia but it was probably for the best. “You won’t suffer anymore,” This is normally what they say to any patient but the love sick. He might not have had the chance to enjoy his prime years of his life but he certainly had a chance to love…or whatever you’d call what he was hopelessly falling into. It’s at times like this that we wish we had iron veins and hearts cold as stone. This way, we’d never get to love and subliminally evade any kind of heartache.

THE WAKE UP CALL

As I slept the previous night I looked forward to so much. At about four in the morning a call comes in waking me up from my sleep. Normally, nobody calls in at four unless someone is dying or I had asked them to. It was a panic call from the school. She had called to inform me on the unrest and she asked me to be there urgently. I didn’t take it seriously at first because the biggest unrest I’ve seen in Maseno University is when the students are campaigning for the elective positions in the student organization. I couldn’t imagine anyone starting their campaigns in the wee hours of the morning like that.

Sleep caught up with me as text messages kept flowing in from the students who were in the heart of the unrest. I woke up an hour later thanks to another panic call. This time I believed it was real. I woke up with a start and got dressed real quick. On my way all I could see was scared faces. Students were making calls home and saying something about someone getting attacked in Mabungo, a common shopping center that has been hosting a few students for quite a while.

Apparently a student had been critically injured and rushed to hospital. The student had sustained injuries from a foiled robbery in Mabungo at his place of residence. In the wake of the recent crimes, it was understandable why the students were very agitated. Just recently another young lady was raped as she walked to her hostel and the students were not satisfied with the actions taken if any. She was from a late night event hosted by Safaricom Live within the school when she was attacked and the boyfriend was injured as he tried to save the situation.

It is sad how students cannot live in peace while they pay through their noses for security. The last incident was the last proverbial straw that broke the camel’s neck. Maseno students have always been known as the peace loving types which I’d now like to refer to as sleeping giants. The anger had piled up for a while and it took a toll on the locals at Maseno center and Mabungo center. There was debris of fridges along the Kisumu-Busia road. There was property strewn all over. The owners tried to save a little of what was left from the fire and the looting.

Wanton destruction of property was uncalled for but the students and locals took advantage of the lapse in security and looted the shops around there. It was an ugly sight. The police had held the students in the main campus hostage. The police had completely surrounded every possible exit and all the students inside could do is hurl stones at them. The police, both administration and local police, appreciated the gesture by launching tear-gas canisters right at them.

The students ran in a stampede on every shot. Everybody ran helter skelter and it’s only now that a sense of unity was not really making sense. All I could hear from outside the school was screams and moans. The war cries were encouraging enough every time they survived a tear-gas canister launched at them. The police noticed a rise in the number of students who were outside and they realized they had to deal with two battle fronts. They were outnumbered twenty to one but they still carried on. All we had was stones and numbers anyway and they were well prepared for that.

As the students in the inside had them busy, the students outside hid at a vantage point and targeted the civilian cars passing after the barricades were removed. The trailers didn’t feel the hail of stones as much as the sedans and saloon cars. They hurried past ignoring the bumps. Anybody on their way would have been road kill. The students put the barricades again after the police relaxed a bit. The police at the gate still maintained the siege. Nobody went in or out for fear of the worst. The few students who were unlucky enough to get caught were held in the AP holding area.

After a lot of running battles, stampedes that led to several people injured and looting and destruction of public property, the students got convinced to have peaceful dialogue. No sooner were they out than they got rowdy again. The numbers on the two war fronts was balanced and the police were being pushed up the wall. They might have had the live bullets out of desperation. For when push comes to shove probably.

Students were interviewed by the press that was present. Just as the police were being pushed to the edge by the very angry mob of students, the vice chancellor’s car was spotted at the students went at ease hoping against hope for dialogue and understanding. The students became a little calm and listened to the VC. He wasn’t audible and he had to request to be given time to organize for a public address system so that he may address the students at the graduation square.

In the meantime, the students did not want to be addressed while some of them were in custody of the Administration police. The students marched to the AP camp and demanded the freedom of the students. The APs tried to make an example of them but nobody really cared about that.

The students that got trapped as they fetched water or any other business in the main campus were held under a siege. Again. The rest followed the VC to the pavilion at the graduation square. After a while the police decided to let them go to avoid getting two battle fronts as there was a mass piling up behind them. They were allowed to walk past the gate in a single file with hands behind their heads like it was prisons shake down.

The students hurried to the graduation square and got to hear the few things the VC had to say. The VC had promised to build a swimming pool in an effort to calm the insecure students. It didn’t work out well until an aspiring SOMU chair, James Okumu, took the mega phone and addressed the students on the way forward. The VC had recognized the accommodation and security problems. The students gave him the benefit of doubt and calmed down. A procession was led into Mabungo to view the residence of the victim.

The damage done to the place was appalling. A hotel was burnt down and they were collecting the debris. Much more was turned over earlier in the night and all we witnessed was in a sorry state. The students were turned down at the residence and later informed that the student was recuperating in the hospital.

Meanwhile, the students had stormed the mess for food on being told by the VC that they’d eat for free that day. The cashier’s place was looted and all of the cash taken. Everybody was rowdy in there until they started serving. Some students were not the rowdy type and stealthily engaged in panic buying because all the shops were closed and there was no place to get food for supper or lunch.

A cease fire was called and the students went back to their respective residences. Some went back in fear of retribution from the locals for the damage and harm caused. Am sure peace will be maintained by all means as promised by the VC and the police. It’s a long shot but we tried. We gave them a wake up call. 

check out the video on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsSvcgY9nO0&feature=g-all-u