FIRST YEAR'S FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH A SHOPKEEPER

By Elizabeth Asasha

As I padded the hoof to a kiosk located in Soweto my nerves were pre-occupied with the new chapter I had turned in the Journal “My Life Span” and little did I know about their pricing. I failed to understand why some guys played blind by covering miles to secure essentials while the very same commodities are well available in the shops around.

I thought it a way of exercising their muscles through a free walk… I knew better when I got to the shop. I paid for a commodity I had ordered but I was dumbfounded when I received my balance. Just to be sure it was the right quantity I had requested, I enquired from the shopkeeper and he flatly assured me that.
“It goes at that price young lady” He said with finality.

I swallowed my grief and walked away. It settled a day and as I strolled around Studie, my eyes caught a group of students who were reading articles on the notice board. An instinct urged me to find out what glued them to the walls. As I squeezed myself in the crowd, I realized why they behaved so. A smile escaped my lips as I read through the sarcastic words used to criticize the student leaders; their opportunistic character, as depicted by the misuse of their positions to exploit innocent comrades. Unfortunately, my smile was cut short when I read about the hiked prices of items in campus yet these shops are owned by our own ‘voice of the voiceless/ revolutionists”

I skimmed through the articles and set for stage. I bought the same quantity of the commodity I had bought at Soweto shop and to my surprise it cost me ksh 15/= less than what I had spent on it earlier. I did calculate and realized, amid shock, the much I had contributed towards funding a pool of some corrupted individuals to build up their waistlines. My concern is not about the few coins you steal from us, but it pains that the very same people who should be minding the comrades have turned to a clan of man eaters.

Hey people, this is 21st Century! We cannot continue propagating political mediocrity, corruption, impunity and exploitation of innocent people. It is sharply disheartening when the people you entrust with power fail to keep promises and instead take advantage of their positions to ‘kandamiza’ the electorates.

Comrades should remain vigilant of all the evils that may be on our way, for those who have taken it upon themselves to unleash the fiddles in Main Campus keep the strength.