Around the country in all major urban centers we have police stations, police booths and Chiefs camps. In this facilities we have not so big pleasant rooms known as CELLS. This is where any rightly or wrongly accused person is held as investigations to the alleged crime begin. If you are lucky maneno inaeza ishia hapo after TKK na kaa sio hivo unajipata kortini and onwards to prison if you cant raise the bond or fine.
Having lived in this striking and waterless nation for over four decades ive seen the inside of a few police stations na mungu ni mwema sijawai enda jela ama rumande, 90% of the time I was innocent na hio ingine makosa ilikua imefanyika, chukua kiti, keti paleee nikusimulie masaibu ya ndugu Meria akiwa chini ya ulinzi.
#1
1988, cant remember the month. Here I was going home from college at around 5pm inside a Nyayo bus nakufika hapo Guru Nanak hospital tukapata msako mkubwa wa wolia, walikua wanatolewa kwa all vehicles and being taken to pangani police station for vetting, in our bus kukatolewa wawili and the driver was given the all clear, lakini bus ikiondoka nikitizama inje we locked eyes with a cop and I felt a shiver down my spine hadi nyee zikashake na kumalaysia inside my stomach, akakimbiza bus akaishimamisha akaingia ndani na nikatolewa nje. Hehehe, Ngai! picture this scenario, I was tall, very slim, wearing a viscose flowered shirt, fiatu open and worst of all I had nywele ya makamasi. My goose was cooked. I found myself in a truck full of foul smelling foreigners na truck ilipo jaa mimi huyoo pango police. Msako ilikua inafanyika eastleigh yote and you can imagine the situation at the station. From the lorry tulikua tuna “cover” and hold that positon till you were called for vetting. As other guys were being brought in nikaona mimi leo nitalala hapa kaa sijitetei na mapema. I started talking kisap to one of the cops guarding us telling him am not wolia and that am a student, akaniuliza student ID and national ID of which sikua nazo but he was impressed by my sap akanirukisha line nikajipata kwa vetting panel at around saa moja ya usiku.
Niliulizwa maswali mingi in sap like kwetu ni wapi, neighbouring ridges, prominent people in the area lakini ile kitu ilifanya niachiliwe na niambiwe pole ni ile majibu niliwapa kwa zile proverbs za kikuyu walioniuliza, “Ndatema muti …………….” , “ kaihu gachangachangi ……………….” , “muremwo ni ndugo ……………” among many others. There was no way a wolia would have known the answers to all, only a pure blood. And thus begun my unfriendly relationship with cops. (#2 loading)