Biba - Hakuna Matata

Biba

Austin Macauley Publishers

2019-08-30

Biba was born in Kenya, the first-born in the family of seven, four girls and three boys. His grandfather moved the family from the top of Manga escarpment in the then Kisii highlands southwards to virgin land, where he curved out what was then considered huge tract but in fact a couple of hectares! Much later, when the colonial authorities presented him with a choice to host a school or church, without second thoughts, he chose the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Unlike the school, the church grows beyond its borders without eating up your land, was his logic. From this humble origin, his eldest grandson obtained earlier education before venturing into schools in various parts of the country, and university, graduating in medicine before specialising in surgery and public health. He has worked for universities and governments in Eastern Africa, the horn of Africa and Southern Africa. He is married with four children.

The DNA of a nation is cast at the dawn of its independence from any form of subjugation. This template lives on, replicating frequently but transforming through political mutations. For Kenya, this dates back to 1963, when the country gained independence and the legacy lives on. In this setting, the life journey of Salimo bounces along professional and political adolescence, as well as close relationships with international friends and the people he serves. Collectively, they leave a lasting imprint and shape his future life. Hakuna Matata is the spirit of the nation and its young generation. The people, the nation and the profession, all are at the mercy of the ruling class that is shameless in the orgy of violence, political intrigue and corruption. The story straddles the political lives of the founding president, Jomo Kenyatta, and his often-violent regime through the political turmoil and corrupt regime of President Moi. However, the people and its youth are not cowed but they march on stoically, always expecting a better future of which they are as much a product of but also its architect.

To Archie, Brian, Michelle, Peter (Jr.) and generations to come.

Biba (2019)

The right of Biba to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781528956963 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2019)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

This book is the product of collective experiences, nuances and dreams. Any attempt to name all those whose contributions I should acknowledge will not be fair. Therefore, suffice to state that without Akoko Orinda, Peter Nyagonchonga, James Wambura, Eric Singombe, Said Osman, and George Rae, this book would never have been possible. Many decades of dialogue, shared struggles and dreams; heated arguments, disagreements and reconciliatory conversation; not only provided to help shape ideas but more importantly the trajectory and substance of the book. The notion of this book, reflecting on real events and situations may not have led to this narrative without the prompting by Alberto Gallachi. His role as my mentor, as we shared one desk for many years; him as project manager and myself as permanent casual worker as he categorised my employment was provocative and inspirational. Each moment with Charles Nyameino and Joseph Orina is a live but unwritten soap opera. Narrating some earlier experiences helped me crystallise the soul and spirit of this book. It is impossible to measure the contribution of Jacob Mufunda, Ghirmay Andemichael, Usman Abdulmuni, Andrew Kosia, Saleh Meki, Musi Khumalo, and the senior management of the UN team in Eritrea, who made life in the country bearable through endless stories and great sense of humour. The final text was only possible through the painstaking efforts by Christian Hunter and Colleta Kandemiri. Finally, the many friends who over the years helped to help me steer an even life course, we cannot finish thanking you. No doubt, every reader who derives pleasure from reading this book adds an ounce here and a pound there of much deserved gratitude.

Salimo was watching the clouds float away in the sky as he sat turning these and many thoughts that were running through his mind like a broken dam. A floodgate in his mind had broken, tormenting him like never before.

Sitting under the only casuarina tree in the homestead, Salimo was exploring the inner depths of his dark mind. He was trying to detangle the cobwebs suffocating his life.

When did the rains begin to drench my body, my soul and my entire being? he wondered.

What I need is to be in motion; to keep moving like the untamed westerly air currents from the tropical forests of Africa across the Atlantic, transporting moisture to distant lands!

I have to move or I lose myself. I have to escape my shadow. Motion is overcoming lifes resultant forces of inertia.

Salimo OMasaii had just returned from Mombasa where he visited many nightspots, especially one with a striking name Casuarinas. Regina Akinyi had an expensive commodity Michelle, an associate from Bordeaux in France, as it was popularly known.

Salimo OMasaii wondered if one could take pre-exposure prophylaxis, what medics referred to as PEP, for protection against HIV infection.

As to be expected, he had twisted the health strategy from post-exposure to pre-exposure, to suit his motivation.

Michelle, do you know if there is any interaction between PEP and Viagra? Salimo OMasaii enquired of Michelle.

Michelle just laughed.

He lamented on how HIV had interfered with the enjoyment of life. It was not like the old times when Salimo OMasaii was a medical student. This is when he dropped the Salimo part of his name and became known simply as Masaii.

It was during his medical school days that one John Odhiambo Opar, or simply The Man of Letters designed the magic bullet for the prevention of any sexually transmitted infection!

The Man of Letters recommended that, one should swallow eight tetracycline capsules half an hour before actual sexual intercourse. However, he warned that it had to be within the thirty-minute period or one risked serious infection. The concentration of the antibiotic peaked thirty minutes after ingestion and the concentration rapidly dropped to a non-prophylactic dose.