Bro leaves believing I could be the next MP

This Dar of ours is truly a busy city. Or to be precise, it’s a city of truly busy people. Yeah; we’re all so busy we hardly have time for each other, much as you could be brothers, sisters or close business or social associates.

But some of us often try—try hard, I may say—to find time to come together now and then. Yeah, that’s why readers of this column are, now and then, treated to stories featuring Uncle Kich, Ndugu Esaya and I having a drink together, though we reside in different parts of the city. And our agenda is, almost always: To meet and have one-one—tupate moja-moja.

Ndugu Esaya’s arrival to join me at this favourite local of mine is always eventful because he has made quite a number of friends here—sort of. The bro, not being a typical Mwasu (frugal by nature) like me, will normally extend some generosity to those who come forward to where we sit and address me loudly as “mzee wetu.”

The akaunta, Nelly, is especially radiant towards Esaya while narrating my virtues, real or concocted.

“Your bro is a very good guy, a most caring and generous customer, which is why everybody likes him,” she says to Esaya during his recent visit here. These are half-truths, of course, but who am I to dispute the good things that are said about me?

“Have you taken a drink so far, sister?” Esaya asks Nelly, even though, I’m sure, he knows what the answer will be.

Nelly says she hasn’t taken anything since yesterday. “The only person who’d have bought me something is your bro and he didn’t turn up here yesterday,” she says. Another half-truth, for I actually took my last beer of the day here yesterday. 

Nelly is soon busy serving other counter patrons and the barmaids coming with orders for their customers in the drinking arena, so her stories about me are interrupted. Esaya and I can chat on this and that—family matters and other things.

Fellows walk up to the counter now and then to greet the “brother of our best friend in this neighbourhood.” Eti, that is me, Wa Muyanza!

It’s like they’re aware Esaya isn’t just my bro, but also a friend who’d like to hear good stories, true or false, told about me.

One of the fellows, a notorious freeloader who holds some title in the grassroots administration in our locality, tells Esaya that the popular view in the neighbourhood is to agitate for me to become the next MP in our constituency. It’s all fiction, of course, but that makes my ndugu happy—so happy that he orders two beers for the guy.

Well, the idea for Esaya’s visit here had been to enjoy quality time with me but it hasn’t turned out that way—not exactly, so to speak. However, he leaves a visibly happy man—happy that his bro enjoys popularity within his neighbourhood—in a way, that is!