#THE_MINISTER’S_SON
EPISODE 11
It was one week gone since the incident, according to my mother, Serena was in a critical moment in Kenyatta hospital. It was difficult for me to get the whole thing out of my mind, Brian had not deserved to die. Someb©dy had deliberately run them over with a car. Immediately after they left me in MAMA Lucy hospital, the two had hired a taxi but before they closed the Ruiru bypas-s, a truck was chasing after them and eventually running them off. The taxi driver died instantly, Brian died in Kenyatta hospital the following day, now one week was over and Serena was still unconscious. Nob©dy was around to visit her for she was the key suspect of Joyce Ndegwa’s attack. Every second on the clock added distress in me, there was no doubt that I had indirectly caused Brian’s death, the boy that could have done anything to save my life, the boy who had done anything to see me smile, he had not deserved such a desperate end.
I mourned and cried for his life every day and night on my hospital be-d. Joyce was alre-ady recovering though she had lost her pregnancy which belonged to Judas, that was not my concern whatsoever, my mind was occu-pied by Brian’s death and Serena’s condition.
On that afternoon, I was taken to court for I had alre-ady recovered at least halfway. According to my Dad’s instructions, I was to object the accusations of causing a fight between Serena and Joyce, my mother ‘s lawyer madam Achieng had advised me to say that Serena had invaded Joyce and I in the house and sh0t the two of us. I didn’t oppose Achieng, I just nodded in agreement.
The courtroom was into its capacity, journalists flocked and filled every remaining space. It was a story that had made headlines the whole of that week. My mother and Dad sat on the front benches of the courtroom. The cops must have felt shy to guard me as a suspect in pres£nce of my Dad who was their boss.
Achieng win-ked at me as the Judge opened his file.
“David Kamau Mutua.” The judge called lowering his oversize pair of spects to look at me.
“Yes your honour.”
“Explain to this court what happened into your house on d@t£ twentieth July this year.” He re-moved his spects and placed them on his file.
“Thank your honour, on that fateful evening I had a fight with Joyce Ndegwa who is allegedly called my wife.” I saw my Mom stand up and my Dad flown. Achieng tried to gesticulate something to me, there was murmuring in the courtroom.
“Silence!” The judge roared.
“Proceed.” I saw him write something.
“As we fought we happened to shoot each other..”
“Objection your honour!” Achieng shouted.
“Silence!” The Judge ordered.
“Your honour, Joyce and I were the only people in the room, my begone servant boy and Serena are just but victims of injustice, if there is a price to pay for harming Joyce Ndegwa, I will be re-ady to pay it. Thank you your honour.” By then he was busy writing. I saw my mother wipe her tears, Rozina esc-rted her outside. Dad was staring on the floor.
“Your honour.” Achieng started. “I beg this court to un-derstand the condition of my client, he has just lost his servant boy whom he loved dearly, his lovely wife Joyce is in a bad condition in the hospital, my client is in distress and due to desperation his mind is no doubt not sobre for…”
“Objection your honour! I condemn an insult to my condition, I am perfectly alright my lord. Thank you.” I bowed.
“As I was saying my lord, I think this case should be adjourned until my client gets back into his rightful condition, he loves his wife Joyce and he was sh0t protecting her.”
I was hurted by her words, everyone at home knew I loved Serena not Joyce, she was busy lying to the public and the court.
“Enough of these insult my lord, my interest is the truth, I regret my fight with Joyce who had suspected that I had another woman outside our marriage, your honour, my family wants to use the poor girl to get me free but I won’t allow that, justice must be done. plea-se judge me on the basis of attem-pted murder or domestic violence, am at your mercy my lord.” I saw Dad stand and leave the courtroom looking so furious. I knew he was up to something, I remembered Serena in the hospital. I s-en-sed trouble. My mother had not come back into the courtroom.
“Do you have any plea to make David?” The judge, who appeared confused inquired.
“Yes your honour, the so called Serena should be freed from any accusation and be given security for the time being, I fear her life is in danger. That’s all your honour.”
He cleared his throat.
“This court finds Serena innocent of all the accusations, if her family wishes to file any case against her accusers, they have the space. Meanwhile, this court finds David Kamau Mutua guilty for causing violence and deliberately as-saulting his wife Joyce Ndegwa, I therefore rule that, you David Kamau Mutua should be s£ntenced to seven years imprisonment…
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I wasn’t afraid, infact the judge was fair. I had just gotten out of a life prison into a legal prison. Growing up in my Dad’s compound was more of a prison than a home, I had no freedom to make even my most basic decision. My mother and I had to follow my Dad’s orders, no matter how weird they seemed to be, I had violated his decision of my marriage with Joyce Ndegwa and that’s why I was now in prison. That was why Brian was dead, that was why Serena’s mother was dead.
Prison was not a good or comfortable place to be, I had to live a totally different life. Nob©dy would call me sir anymore, in fact I had to bend so low. On the first day I had to empty the buckets of urine and sticky faeces of my cellmates, I was new and therefore I had to follow their orders. None of them knew whom I was, I even feared that they would be more bully to me if they discovered that I was the Minister’s son.
They spoke everything bad about the government. I remember one day in the field as we were busy transferring heavy metallic doors from the s£nior warden blocks. The doors were so heavy but each had to carry his. A boy of Brian’s height and size was ahead of me when a cellmate beside me pushed him and the poor boy went down with his door landing on him. I had to throw mine aside to help him up, the heavy door was squarely on him. I didn’t know why a prisoner would wish to kill his fellow prisoner.
“Don’t help him you idiot!!” The tall black guy lowered at me. By then the prisoners had alre-ady gathered around, some shouting and cursing. The boy was struggling but the door was so heavy on him. I had no option than to pu-ll it away so that he was now free to get up. I only turned on time to see another door flying towards me, it was targeting my head. The same guy had thrown it to me, I had violated his order by helping the boy. I bent over and the metal landed heavily behind me. He used his boot to kick my che-st and I lost my ground. Anger c@m£ over me, for sometime I hadn’t gotten into a fight. He still made steps towards me but I hastily pu-ll-ed his right leg and he lost his ground too. By then the other prisoners were shouting and cra-pping. We stood simultaneously, I saw his fist on the air and I blocked it simply, he raised his right foot but before he knew it I had made a perfect sweep on his left foot. By then there were thun-derous applauses and shouts. He still got up but I didn’t give him time to make his mind, I s£nt him back to the ground with a simple dropkick, I knew he couldn’t fight more, my boot was full of his blood. I had learnt various fighting skills in London where I was a member to Karate and Kickboxing clubs. I saw everyone stand aside for me as I carried my door towards the offices.
On that evening my mother visited me, she was accompanied by Rozina. “My son, you have to get out of this place…”
“Tell me about Serena, mom.”
“She is recovering though her w@!st is still in a critical situation, she may never walk again.” I was glad to learn that my Serena was no longer unconscious. I wished to see and share with her, I wished to k!ssand hvg her, I wanted to cry with her, to cry and mourn for Brian’s death. I wondered if it was not the right moment for me to use my Dad’s influence in the government and get out of prison.
“David, we have to have you set free, this can only be throu-gh having Serena accused, Joyce is re-ady to file a case against Serena as the one who attacked her.” I wondered whether it was my mother who was talking. Had she not promised to support my relationsh!pwith Serena?
“plea-se get out mom, leave me alone! How can you, my own mother betray me? You know I love Serena!”
“But I can’t have my son die in prison because of love!”
“You have no choice mom, plea-se go home and forget me, I will remain here for Serena to be free.” I stood up and left the waiting room, my mother was trying to call me but I had no more patience, I vowed never to see any of them anymore, I would turn down all their visits.
Ndegwa himself had visited me, requesting me to change my mind and have Serena carry the cross.
“You are my son in law and I can’t have you rot in prison, your Dad and I are s£nior government officers. Its ironic.” Ndegwa had remarked.
“Sorry sir, I won’t have Serena accused for me to be free. I am sorry for the trouble I caused to your daughter.” I had stood up and left the room. If I knew whatever was ahead of me was heavy for me to bear, I would have considered being free.
One morning that was two days gone after my disagreement with my mother , I requested the daily newspaper from our cell warden, he had alre-ady become my friend, he knew whom I was and therefore was soft on me.
I took the newspaper, obviously expecting my name on the headlines. My shock c@m£ when I saw Serena’s picture on the cover page.
The bold re-ading on t©p re-ad. *REST IN PEACE *
#THE_MINISTER’S_SON
EPISODE 12
When I c@m£ to life, I was in the prison’s hospital be-d. My mother and Rozina sat beside me. It took me sometime to remember anything. I remembered borrowing a newspaper from Warden Damian, I remembered seeing Serena’s ph0to on the cover page, tears flow on my cheeks when I recalled what I re-ad before I fainted.
“St©p crying my son, plea-se come down David.”
“Tell me it’s not true mother, tell me my Serena is alive,,,,” I couldn’t help it, I felt so desperate, I nee-ded to die and follow my Serena and Brian, why would I live? Did I have anything or anyone to live for? I had my mind made up, I must be buried together with Serena, she had gone with my heart, I had no life to live, I had lived for her and now fate had taken her away from me. If at all there was next life, Serena and I would love and live, the world was too small to contain our love, it was too ignorant to un-derstand our affection, it was too blind to see how much we loved and fitted for each other.
“David, gone or not gone, you will not have to ruin yourself in agony.” I hated her un-un-derstanding voice, had she ever been in love?
“Listen to me mother, from now henceforth, you and Dad don’t have a child!”
“What?! What has come over you son?”
“I will never want to see any of you near me again. You failed me as parents and now I have lost the joy of my life!” I mourned between bitter sobs. Serena had been recovering, how could she just die? How could my own Serena leave me? She had refused to die in the accident because she never wanted to leave me. Something dawned to me, someb©dy killed Serena on her hospital be-d. Before my suicide, one person was to die, my Dad, the minister was responsible for Serena’s death. I would shoot him and shoot myself before being arrested.
“My son.” My mother’s voice was sad and gloomy. I didn’t even look at her.
“You are my joy and happiness, in the whole of my life I have wished you joy and prosperity, you have been my comfort from when I lost your..I mean plea-se try to comfort yourself.” I was so desperate to discover that in her statement , she had skipped and avoided something, who did she loose? My who? She obviously failed to say it that she had lost my Dad when I was young, how I wish she had said it and make things easier for me. Mutua had never treated me as his own son, his decisions about me were based on his own interest.
“Mom, am sorry but you will have to loose me. I have always been a good son to you, I un-derstand that you have no choice than to support Dad but I won’t join you in it.” I stood to leave the hospital be-d.
“No son! Am your mother, I will…”
“Its rather too late for you!” I headed to the door ignoring my mother who was trying to block my way.
The nurse tried to call me back but I ignored her, the cops took me back to the cells. Tears were still flowing down my cheeks, my heart was in a great pain and I felt I would die anytime. Loosing Serena meant loosing my life. I couldn’t help crying even in the cells. My cellmates had no idea on why I was in tears, none of them knew whom I was.
“Captain you have to be strong me’en.” Mushtafa encouraged, they had nicknamed me Captain after beating the guy who had always bullied them in the fields, he was so muscular and violent and everyone had feared him.
On Fridays we used to eat a piece of meat in the evening, the violent guy used to order ten guys to give their pieces of meats to him on every Friday, he mostly targeted the new prisoners , his biggest mistake was to sl@p me on face after picking my piece of meat which I was re-ady to let go. He was taken to hospital on that evening as I was taken to the displinerly committee. From then, everyone called me Captain David.
Mushtafa was a kind guy, so nice to be in prison. His home was in Somalia, he had just been caught in Kenya unlawfully and suspected to be an Alshabab member. He had just escaped from Somalia after loosing his both parents on an Alshabaab attack. He wished to live in Kenya and away from his own land but he was arrested and imprisoned for twenty five years, it was obviously my Dad’s order to have any non citizen from Somalia arrested. What if Mushtafa knew it? That I was the minister’s son?
On that day I made two calls throu-gh the warden’s phone. I was glad to reach Maccain who was a fellow lawyer, we had studied together in London. He promised to visit me in prison the following day. I wanted to appeal on my case, now that Serena and Brian were no more, I had no one to protect by being in prison, I nee-ded to be out to revenge for them.
de-ep within me I still didn’t feel it that Serena was dead, I felt her breath in the air, I felt her heartbeat in my mind, I saw her smile at the back of my mind but her death was the talk of the media.
On that p@rticular night I didn’t sleep, I stared to the darkness listening to my slow heartbeats. My mind was on Serena whose burial was now being planed. At around dawn I leaned on the wall and sleep took me away. I was walking in the streets , very lonely and suddenly I sported a familiar figure walking across the streets holding a kid who walked alongside her. I hurried and caught up with them. The figure was familiar, she turned to look at me.
“Serena?”
“David!”
“My love Serenaaa!” I woke up calling her name.
I was so disappointed to wake up from the dream, it was alre-ady 09:00hours and it was time to take our strong tea.
The warden c@m£ for me even before I wiped my face. He told me that I had an important guest in the waiting room. I wasn’t excited to see my mother and Rozina again, but I was glad to meet Mohammed the cop who had vowed to work with me for justice. He had accompanied Rozina and my mother.
“Good morning sir.” He greeted me, was I still sir?
“Morning to you Juma. Its long since we met.” I shook his hand. “Sorry sir, I should have come to see you but…..”
“Its okay Juma.”
“David, take this phone and talk to your friend.” My mother requested. I didn’t take it.
“plea-se do, its important, that’s why we c@m£.”
“Take it sir.” Rozina begged, I turned to Juma who nodded in agreement. I hesitantly took it.
I placed it on my left ear, they were all stating at me.
“Hello..”
“David my love?”
“Serena! Serena!”
“David its…….
WATCH OUT FOR EPISODE 13