Naskia Umoja kuna majamaaa walituacha? Pombe mbaya. Poleni.
Mwenyewe pombe imenitesa sana. But the person who nearly lost his eyesight is a colleague of mine. Let’s call him David. At the time we were BOG teachers at a certain sec school. Man hapa mshahara ilikuwa 6, 500 and ukiongezea remedial money, take home ilikuwa 7, 500. But the remedials were never consistent. This is a job many salivated for. Daily we used to patronise a nearby village for a few pints of cham. My favourite dealer was Ras. Very respectful but above all, angekukopesha regardless of your arrears. His neighbour was another dealer (Tina) who liked taking shortcuts. I was never her customer in part due to the excess of use methanol in her drinks. It was known.
So guys ni end month. Nimeingia was office ya Principal. @Meria Mata amenipea 6380 for my salary. Why? Because he had deducted 120 shillings on the basis that he had given me lift 5 times that month. Each lift cost me 20! I used the same route as the principal who had a Datsun pickup (chopper), blue in colour. Chopper was the beast along the rough terrain. Akikubeba unakaa tu nyuma na hapo ndio shida ilikuwa. The wind would be so strong such that it could unbutton your shirt. It could even untuck the shirt and curl your hair. Ushawahi shiba upepo? Hizo ndio lift alinikata hizo mbao. My colleague, David was deducted 20 bob apparently for a tea the Princi had paid for him a certain hotel.
Sisi hao tumefika base. We parted ways as I went kwa Ras while David went to Tina’s. Tina’s cham was cheap and she was also not good in memory. Several hours later, we hear that watu wa kwa Tina wamegonjeka. We hurriedly went there but Dvid was not sick, only that macho zake zinawasha, side ya chini zote. Aliseme anasikia a form of utamu. Some two other guys complained of stomach-ache ache. “Naskia ni kama nadungwa na kisu kwa tumbo”, one complained. “Wewe Davi osha macho na maji baridi”, someone suggested. Over time, Davi akaanza kusugua macho aggressively.
Hapo hapo nduthi ikam. The guys were taken to the nearest dispensary but were immediately referred to the district hospital. They had to be taken to hospital the same night, else. David was admitted for three days but he has never regained his sight fully. As at 2010, one eye had lost considerable power. The other two were discharged a week later. But the guy still continued with cham. Venye alirudi job, the Princi deducted pay for days not worked.