(Psalm 91)
By Maina Kiruri
(with some firsthand report of Steve Kiruri)
A Scene from the aftermath
of 1st August 1982 The
Shop Today
The
day was 1st August 1982. Everything started slowly, being a Sunday.
My mother switched on the radio as was her custom every morning before she
began preparing breakfast. Pancakes on Sunday were always special. The radio
sounded different that day, not because the batteries were drained; but the
music, the songs being played…..
Before
we could start to guess, the voice of Leonard Mambo Mbotela then a renowned VOK
(now KBC) announcer came into the air ‘Serikari sasa iko mikononi mwa
wanajeshi wetu. Kila mtu akae mahali alipo. Polisi wakae kama raia’. (The
government is now in the hands of our armed forces. Everybody should stay where
they are. Police should be like civilians)
That
was the beginning of a long and eventful day that would come with many life’s
lessons (and change many people’s
lives).
Exactly
4 years earlier in August 1978, a man with a very promising business that was
doing relatively well accepted the call of God to go into ministry. He planted
a church in Kerwa location of Kikuyu Constituency, Kiambu County. The church
started with services being held at the home of a young couple who were the
very first converts.
Getting
into the ministry for the sole purpose of obeying God did not make much sense,
more so in those days when being saved and becoming a pastor of a Pentecostal
church was not fashionable but rather detested. In those days nobody wanted to
be associated with you. Even your family ‘disowned’ you once you joined the ‘Wamathina’
(needy) Church. There was no financial gain to be made by pastoring a church
and starting a Pentecostal church then was not easy. In fact it was unheard of
in Kerwa for anyone to be a member of any but the mainstream churches then.
This
is where God had sent Francis Kiruri Maina to farm this virgin land, to be
jeered at and persecuted. But He promised this servant one thing, “I will
take care of you and your family.” (Psalm 55:22) I remember him praying and
God giving him a sign when the spot on our fore heads he had touched with
anointing oil became swollen.
As
the day (1st Aug ’82) proceeded, Kenya Air Force Soldiers started
going round the Estates of Nairobi atop Military Land Rovers and civilian
vehicles they had commandeered. Shouts of ‘Power, power!’ rent the air as wananchi
joined in.
In
retrospect we were sent to the shops to buy maize meal for future use. It was
then we encountered men carrying assorted high-class furniture and electronics;
TVs, hi-fi’s, stereos, fridges. Others were carrying boxes of brand new clothes
and wearing expensive suits and shoes.
We
came back home with this news and my father became restless. This meant that
looting had started in the city. My father could not wait much longer. Thinking
of his shop, our only source of livelihood and a business with the accumulation
of more than 20 years of hard work falling in the hands of looters was too much
for him. He had to see it for himself.
Without
any thought for his safety and taking his eldest son Steve (then 11 years old)
with him, he walked out of the house and headed to the CBD.
As
the father and son pair entered the outskirts of the CBD they started
experiencing firsthand the devastation and destruction being done to shops.
Civilians with the assistance of the soldiers were breaking into businesses at
their pleasure. The soldier’s main interest was the cash box due to the nature
of their work, leaving the civilians to take care of the rest.
(Steve)
We made our way towards Eastleigh Section 3. We were going against human
traffic, all from the looting spree; men and women, young and old. Going
through Majengo slums, we could see people pushing large electrical items
(fridges, TV’s) into their mud walled houses through doors that weren’t wide
enough.
We
finally got to Ngara Flats. There was a large expanse of land separating Ngara
and the Central Business District then. Nairobi River passed in between with a
foot bridge connecting the two.
A
large crowd was looking towards the deserted shopping area. Gun fire was still
reverberating. A determined Francis, with me firmly clutching his hand pushed
through the crowd, and made his way into the CBD.
‘Mzee,
unaenda wapi?’ (Old man, where are you going?), shouted someone. ‘Wewe
mzee, unataka kufa?’ (Do you want to die?), echoed another.
His
ears were deaf to the calls. He was determined to know the fate of his
business. He raised his hands as a sign of surrender and asked me to do the same
as we made our way past Grogan (now Kirinyaga Rd) up the steep Accra Rd hill.
We
started seeing the destruction that had been meted on people’s property.
Motivated and fueled by their hatred for the Indians who were the majority shop
owners but without a thought for their fellow African shop owners, shop after
shop had been looted. Shop doors were ajar with empty shop counters and shelves
strewn all over. By the time we reached River Road, the devastation was total!
We moved from shop to shop hiding as we made our way to River Road.
We
moved stealthily, scanning the environment. We crept from shop to shop, being
careful lest we run into an army officer or a rebel air force one. We reached
the corner shop at the Duruma/ Kumasi Rd junction. As usual, we checked to see
if there was any danger. Seeing that all was clear, we started our walk towards
River Road.
As
we made the turn, we found a Kenya Army soldier on one knee with his gun
pointed at my father whose hands were already high up in surrender. In a harsh
voice, the soldier demanded to know where we were coming from and where we were
going. My father calmly responded that he was going to check if his business
was still standing. The soldier let us go, but with a warning. If it weren’t
for my father’s afro hair, he would have shot him. It was then that it dawned
on my father that he was wearing a light blue shirt, the same color the rebel
soldiers wore.
We
hurriedly moved into River Rd and got into River Road Corner Hotel and Lodges.
We got into one of the rooms and on the bed saw an orange T-shirt. He quickly
removed the blue shirt and wore the tightly fitting T-shirt that could barely
cover his belly button.
We
got out and as before made our way towards the shop which was less than 100
metres from the hotel.
But
wait ………….
It
just can’t be true …… The shop was intact. Nothing had been taken. The shop was
not broken into or looted. How was that? On reaching there, tears started
flowing down my father’s cheeks.
What
none of us knew at the time was that on the night before and for no apparent
reason God had caused a
cousin to Mr. Bernard Nyasinga who worked at the shop to come and spend the
night with him since he resided at the shop complex. (Romans 8:28)
This
cousin to Nyasinga,
a Kenya Army officer, was standing fully armed and in full combat uniform
dissuading the looters and Air Force officers from breaking into the shop.
All
the other shops had been broken into except ours.
Having
ascertained that all was well, we started on our way back home. We were tired,
thirsty, and hungry. We stopped at Ziwani to have some tea at a roadside kiosk.
It was while we were taking tea that the president made an address to the
nation. A dusk to dawn curfew was announced. It was to take effect in about 15
minutes. We quickly left the tea and hurried home.
As
we approached home at about 6:30 pm, we could see our family and neighbors
huddled looking towards where they expected us to come from. It was a great
re-union.
The miracles of that day continued but let us
leave that for another day.
Francis K Maina died still preaching and was the
Presiding Bishop of Soul Saving Gospel Churches.
The shop still stands and apart
from selling all kinds of clothes and accessories (Maina Clothing Store) it
hosts several other businesses. The family is also involved in Tip Top Bikes
Ltd which sells motor cycles and spares, servicing and repairing them (Tip Top
Ventures) and Petty Errands Ltd, an errands and messenger services company. It
is on the Junction of River Road and Price Road.
They are part of the Bible Club
House, a team that aims at challenging as well as helping people appreciate and
read the whole Bible by offering different reading programs (plans). They offer
prizes to encourage retention of what one reads.
Facebook: The Bible Club House
Blog:
biqil.blogspot.com
Tel:
0722 220 147
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