Bundles of Kenyan currency notes.
Many people have something to say about thieves and robbers, either through experience or stories told about them by other people. These are among the most hated in any society, mostly because of what they leave behind: poverty, a trail of destruction, injuries and even death.
But there are people whose lives have changed because of thieves.
I embarked on a series of interviews with people whose fortunes changed because of thugs. They stole, but left behind the loot.
Dave Kanyuaheho* from Mathira had a friend, Ruoro*, who had come to Nairobi to look for a job.
The friend lived with his elder brother. One evening, he was kicked out after his brother got tired of housing him. Hungry and worried, he picked up his bag and left his brother’s house, wondering what to do next.
With no money or a friend in mind who could accommodate him for the night, he found himself at the far end of Uhuru Park. There was a tunnel near where he was. He needed a safe place to sleep. He entered the tunnel slowly and moved further inside, and decided to settle in for the night.
Dave says his friend heard a commotion at the entrance of the tunnel. People were murmuring among themselves, then he heard a thud, like something had been dropped inside the tunnel. Holding his breath, he prayed the people would not move further inside towards where he was.
It was completely dark.
He heard them say they would come back at dawn as they walked out of the dark tunnel.
He tiptoed to the luggage and slowly started opening it. He put one hand inside the bag. He felt several bundles, which he believed must have been money. He picked a note from one of the bundles and put it in the shirt pocket. Within a short time, he had squeezed all the money in his own bag together with the polythene bag carrying it.
Then he tiptoed towards the tunnel entrance and, once outside, surveyed the area to ensure there was nobody around. He walked towards the nearest bus stop to catch the first matatu. He jumped in, holding his bag tight. He produced the note he had kept in his shirt pocket and gave it to the conductor. He was asked where he was alighting, to which he said “mwisho" (end of the route) since his idea was to get away to a safe place.
Rolled bundles of Kenyan currency notes.
The first thing he did after alighting was to look for a hotel since he had not eaten. Once full and relaxed, he took a matatu for the city centre, then another to Karatina. Then he took another matatu for his rural home.
All along he never showed any sign to suggest he had money beyond imagination. He kept cool as he looked at his empty plot, which was a family inheritance.
Within a short time, Ruoro had decided what type of house he needed. The plot was cleared, and the foundation areas were well marked. Building materials were brought simultaneously to ensure nothing was lacking. The construction work started, and neighbours and friends had an assumption that his well-to-do brother had given Ruoro supervision work for the house.
Out of curiosity, some neighbours came to realise that the plot belonged to Ruoro, and there was no way his brother could build there since he had his own.
As the house neared completion, many of his old friends admired it. One of his friends approached Ruoro and asked him in a whisper: “My friend, this is indeed a well-done house which you have built within a short time. How have you managed all this since we know you as one struggling to make ends meet? To which Ruoro simply answered: "Just leave me alone. A simple and struggling person knows better what it means to really be tormented."
With the magnificent house complete and well furnished, the next move was to have an official opening and prayers to bless the owner and the entire property and the larger family living around.
Ruoro insisted on his brother in Nairobi to be invited as a special guest to grace the occasion during the official opening. His brother accepted the invitation.
The occasion was colourful, and guests enjoyed every moment as some moved around the beautiful compound. Then the time came for the speeches. The star attraction was Ruoro, and as he stood to give his speech, there was total silence.
According to Dave, Ruoro was clear, straight to the point and very brief. He told the attentive guests: “I wish to take this opportunity to thank you so much for accepting and gracing this occasion. As we thank God for making this day a memorable one, I wish to thank my brother, who is just next to me, so much for the major part he played for this occasion to take place. I had visited him in Nairobi not long ago, hoping to get a job. I did not stay for long with him as he felt bothered by my presence. One evening, he just told me to get out of his house, which I did. What I encountered that evening and the entire night is a miracle I cannot explain. Had my brother not sent me away from his house, I would not have built this house. Thank you.”
Ruoro never disclosed the details of his fortune to anybody save for Dave, who was in a better knowhow but not figures.
One can just imagine the reaction of the thugs after returning to the tunnel to find it empty!
Money in garbage site
In Majengo, Nairobi, a story is told how Mariam Nyagacu* would wake up very early in the morning to go to Marigiti Market to collect vegetables to feed her three children.
After collecting whatever was edible, she would clean it and set aside what to cook for the family, with the remaining being sold to her neighbours to raise money for house rent. She could only afford to rent a single room, which had no electricity. She used candles sparingly to light the house at night.
One night, Nyagacu heard a commotion, like that of people chasing one another. Then there was silence.
Bundles of Kenyan currency notes.
Out of curiosity, she woke up and slowly peeped through a small opening in the window curtain. Not far from her house, there was a huge garbage heap where she saw someone making a big hole very fast and squeezing a huge sack inside and covering it with part of the garbage.
Then the man disappeared.
Nyagacu could not sleep, opting to remain awake and observe whatever could follow. Nothing happened.
Since her time to go to Marigiti was approaching, she decided to check what the man had hidden under the garbage. She went straight where the sack was hidden, removed it and covered the hole to make it appear as the man had left it. She took it inside her house and locked the door. Her children were sound asleep.
Nyagacu then decided to open the sack. Her heart was pounding, wondering whether it was a bad omen or good luck. In a dim light, she saw several bundles of notes and nothing else. She put the sack under the bed and covered it with dirty clothes to seal any suspension from any curious mind.
She had to wait to see if anyone would come to look for the sack. Nobody came. She decided to skip her daily trip to Marigiti to plan her next move.
She didn't tell anybody about the money. Gradually, she started changing her line of operations - starting with a better rental house far from Majengo, where nobody knew her. This gave her a better opportunity to plan her family’s future.
Nyagacu managed to buy a plot in Umoja estate and put up a house big enough to accommodate her family and the rest as rental houses.
Her life was completely changed - thanks to the thug’s failure to come back for the money under the garbage.
Street urchin’s bag of cash
In another episode, a woman went into a church compound with her two children in the outskirts of Nairobi because they were starving and had nowhere to stay. When she approached one of the pastors, she was told to hold on as the church administrators discussed their matters. She also became part of the discussion.
Behind the church, there was another compound and a small house at a corner. That part of the church property appeared neglected. It was agreed by the church administrators that the woman and her two children could occupy that small house, where she could also keep the compound clean.
Faith Nyakio* was thankful to God and the church administrators for giving her a shelter where the children would be safe as she went around looking for casual jobs to feed her children. She did her best to keep the compound clean and always joined the congregation during Sunday services.
As time went by, a chokora noticed there were people living within the church compound and decided to try his luck on matters of food. Faith was a kind hearted person who generously shared whatever she had with the street urchin (chokora) and her children.
Sometimes, things could get tough to the extent that Faith could only afford turungi (black tea). The chokora appreciated whatever was available. However, the children were not happy and made it known to their mother that the chokora was not allowing them to eat well as he took part of their share. The mother ignored her children’s complaints and went on to support the chokora with whatever was available.
Many people have something to say about thieves and robbers, either through experience or stories told about them by other people.
One day in the middle of the night, Faith heard a big bang within the compound and opened the window curtain to see what was happening. She saw it was the same chokora who visits them often that had dropped something in a big bag and left without even coming to alert her.
She waited for a while to see if he could come back. He did not, and Faith decided to bring the bag to the house. She opened it and found a lot of money, in bundles. She kept it safely, hoping the chokora would come back to claim it. He did not show up.
On the second day, Faith decided to disclose to the pastors what had happened. She had not used any money from that bag. The pastor advised her to keep the money for two weeks, and if nobody claimed it, the pastor would pray for it, and Faith would be free to use it as a gift from God. The pastor did not ask for a share of that money. The money was prayed for to allow Faith to plan her new life.
With enough money to start a new life, Faith’s major concern was to buy a plot and build a family house, as she planned other things. She managed to get one in Dandora, where construction work started going on smoothly without any hitch up to the end. The beautifully done house easily transformed the area, with some people in the neighbourhood thinking Faith was a well-connected businesswoman.
When the day for the official opening and to bless the house came, the invited guests started coming in and were shown which direction to take within the well-kept and expansive compound. Food was plentiful, and Faith moved around to ensure everybody was well taken care of.
For Kageri Heho*, he had already attained his retirement age after working for his White employer for 19 years and was wondering how life would be after he left employment. He had two weeks to prepare himself as his boss worked out his terminal dues.
He knew he had many family challenges and the money he would receive could only solve a fraction. He lived in a servant's quarter facing the main compound in a posh estate west of Nairobi.
One night, as he lay on his bed, wondering how he would cope with his new life without his usual job, he somehow caught some sleep, but not for long.
Suddenly, there was some noise outside their compound and a sound of something dropping a few metres from the door where he lived. There was silence as those chasing one another disappeared.
Kageri first opened the window curtain and saw where the bag had been dropped. The compound was heavily secured with a high fence all around.
A thief breaking into a car.
He then opened the door and reached for the bag. It was heavy, and that could have been the reason why he decided to throw it where he perhaps thought it was safe and could later come for it rather than be caught by those chasing him and lose everything.
Inside his house, Kageri untied the heavy bag to ascertain the contents. Inside the bag, he saw the kind of money in bundles he had only seen in movies. He summoned his inner energy and courage to help him cope with the new status. He poured all the bundles of money on his bed just to feel it as he planned the next move. He arranged it in such a way that nobody could suspect what he was carrying.
Then something came to his mind. He could tell his boss he wanted to leave the following day since there was not much he was doing. His retirement dues could be deposited into his bank account, which he had opened earlier. He did exactly that, and his boss had no objection.
And so Kageri retired to his rural home in Rift Valley, a much happier man.
