Apostle Elkana was behind the dead black cats, the ash and the fresh human waste mounds that Reverend Awinja and her deacon had encountered.
When Reverend Apostle Elkana, the Principal Spiritual Superintendent of The Holiest of All Ghosts (THOAG) Tabernacle Assembly, called me to complain that he did not like the fact that I was engaging Reverend Turufosa Sapeti Awinja, the Lay Leader at St Monica’s ACK, Mwisho wa Lami, I took the matter lightly. It wasn't a big deal, I thought. It was just a case of working with the church that is rightly the true sponsor of our schools.
I did not think that in the coming week, I would see ugly scenes as the two churches—nay, the two church leaders—fought over the heart and soul of Mwisho wa Lami Comprehensive School.
It all started last Monday. That morning, Apostle Elkana came to school, wanting to meet me. I told him I was very busy and couldn’t see him. Okay, let's be honest here, I was not so busy, I just did not want to see him. Also, unless you give Apostle Elkana something, he doesn’t let you go. And I did not have any money.
Despite me telling him several times that I was busy, Apostle Elkana told me that he had no problem; he would keep waiting for me for however long it would take.
Since I had a meeting with Reverend Awinja that afternoon, and fearing that Apostle Elkana might see her, I left the school, pretending that I had an urgent meeting with the Sub- County TSC Directors. I made it clear that I would not come back.
I just went to Mwisho wa Lami market for lunch and came back. That afternoon, Rev Awinja came to see me. We wanted to formalise a plan she had discussed of appointing a chaplain for the school who will serve as a guidance and counselling lead. I also was keen to find out how I can co-opt her into the school Board of Management (BOM), and drop Anindo, who was actually Apostle Elkana’s appointee, as she is his choir leader. Anindo, Nyayo’s wife, doesn’t miss any meeting, doesn’t contribute anything in meetings, but is always the first to collect the sitting allowance. She even asked for it for the one meeting she missed.
As our meeting with Reverend Awinja was going on, we heard a knock. It was Apostle Elkana.
“I thought you said you were away for the afternoon?” he asked me.
“Yes, but the director called me to say she was unavailable, so I came back,” I said.
“You should have told me then, because I wanted to see you,” I told him I was busy, and would let him know when to meet me next.
“So, you were coming here?” he asked, looking at Reverend Awinja, “You said you were going to meet your Padre. Is this your Padre?”
She did not respond.
He needed no calculators to know that he was unwanted, so he left; but before saying: “Nyinyi hamnijui. This week mtajuaApostle Elkana ni nani.” He said, banged the door and left.
We continued with our meeting. We agreed to meet the subsequent days to implement the things we had discussed. However, Reverend Awinja did not come on Tuesday. She promised to come on Wednesday morning, but she did not come. I visited her in church on Wednesday afternoon to check why she had not come as agreed. She told me that strange things had happened to her anytime she left to come to school.
“That Monday when I left school and went home, I found a dead black cat at my gate. I did not think seriously about it at the time, but what happened the next day made me so afraid.”
I asked her what happened the next day.
“When I left the next day, coming to school, just outside my house, I found a mound of fresh human waste. It was so fresh I thought it must have been a few minutes old – and clearly from an adult. Not a child.”
“I am so sorry,” I said and wondered what that had to do with her not coming to school. “A part of me thought I was being warned to not come to school while another asked me to sojourn on and continue. I listened to the voice to continue and left. Just a few metres outside my gate, someone had placed ash and leaves across the road. You know, ash is not a good thing. I immediately had a headache, so I went back home,” she said.
She went on: “I had other plans yesterday and when I left home, there were no issues, so it looked like there was something off about coming to your school. This morning, I prayed to God to give me wisdom to come. Exactly outside my gate there was a fresh mound of human waste, a dead black cat and ash spread across the road. That was it. It was clear that I was not wanted at Mwisho wa Lami school.”
She added that when she later on left her home going to church, everything was well: no ash, no dead black cat and no mound of human waste.
I understood her fears but disagreed with her conclusions.
“You are taking this too far,” I told her.
We agreed that she would send one of her deacons on Thursday morning. He visited me and we had a long conversation. He even called for a school parade and prayed for all the students. As he left, he promised to call me within an hour. He did not call me. Instead, Apostle Awinja called me. I went to see her.
“I am sorry, but me and my church will keep off your school,” she started, sounding dejected.
I asked her why.
“As my deacon left, just outside your gate was a dead black cat, a fresh mound of human waste and ash spread across the road,” she said. “Since we do not cross ash, as the man did not want to go back to school, you can imagine the route he used to get here. He is still shaken.”
She added that the deacon was still shaken by what he had seen. In fact, Reverend Awinja was getting restless with my continued stay. As I left, I wondered what to do. I met Apostle Elkana not far from church, perhaps a confirmation that he was behind the dead black cats, the ash and the fresh human waste mounds that Reverend Awinja and her deacon had encountered. I did not respond to his greetings.
True, I would not be engaging St Monica’s ACK, but equally, my decision to drop Anindo would not stop. That day and the next day, Apostle Elkana called me several times, but I did not pick up.
He may have succeeded in sending away St Monica’s ACK Church, but that did not mean he had won, for I was also not going to engage him or his church. We would rather be church-less.
