It's over... I can feel the peace that death brings now

[Jimit]

@Illuminated

elsewhere, it could be a different story. At my place, relatives are farther away than strangers. I’ve never had to count on help from relatives… there, a first uncle thinks helping a nephew like in getting a job, would give the young one a competitive advantage against him, I think.

Which part of Luo land are you from?

[system]

@Illuminated

I rarely show up for social events such as funeral and wedding services… even birthday parties. But today I attended a burial service of an uncle that succumbed to injuries from a road accident.
This is a guy with whom our family once had a conflict that lasted for more than a year before I intervened. It happened that my parents borrowed some sh7k from him in order that my younger bro could register for his kcse exams and I never knew about it until a year later. By the time I was informed, my bro was just preparing to join campus and the money borrowed had earned a total interest of sh21000, so we now owed the guy sh28,000.
The guy had already filed the petition and my parents had appeared before court two time before I knew about it.
My parents had very little to get around it. They couldn’t imagine I could help, cause perhaps in their minds I was just a little boy who knew very little. It’s my younger bro who called and informed me when dad was just about to sell some piece of our inherited, unproductive land to settle with case with the loaner.
I had no option but to rush home teke teke. I arrived home on a Saturday night and had some discussion about the issue with dad. He told me he couldn’t find any other means by which he could pay back the sh28k. I told him to hold on and give me a chance to negotiate with the loaner and promised him that I would find him a better way than selling the land for the debt.

So the following morning I headed to the rich man’s home and found him chopping fodder for his fresians after which he would leave for church. He knew me before, and was also aware I had joined campus, so obviously his first question would be, “kwani mmefunga shule tayari ama umekuja kusalimiana tu?”

Well, I sat with him and discussed the issue, beating him 10-nil, if not 15-1.
He was a little bit arrogant but I managed to convince.
Nilimwambia akubali alipwe by means that were available to us, but retaliated that my parents had taken too long to pay his debt. Mara akaniambia hiyo pesa, his wife had borrowed from a Sacco and she had been paying sh1400 interest every month just because my parents had defaulted.

Mzee akaniambia ati ye anataka 28k cash and my parents had promised, before court, to pay after selling some piece of land. Nikamwambia “That’s not possible, nay, unless you just interested in endless conflicts with us.” I asked him, “If you were paid back the sh7k borrewed from you, what else would you need?” “I can’t even accept it without the 21k interested that I’ve been paying to the Sacco.” He answered, but I assured him that I wasn’t against the interest and that eventually he’d get all the money.
He could not tolerate me, and always interrupted when I said something that if adopted, would mean to delay further his payment. He seemed to have had enough with my parents.

Anyway, how could I stand to see our small piece of land get auctioned for such a small debt?.. Niliamua katambe, kama mbaya mbaya…
I told the rich man, “Next time you decide to petition against my parents for this case, be sure to surmon me too through the court. And rest assured, that finally it’s me who will settle this debt with you. It’s unfortunate that you’ve never been able to notice my position in our family hitherto.”

Finally, he listened to me as I presented my terms whereby I he could be paid conveniently. This were the terms:
I told him that his money could not be paid all at once for two reasons:

1. As he was aware, that couldn’t be afforded by our family, unless he wasn’t more interested in getting back his money than in conflicts.
2. His money didn’t just grow that fast, exponentially or suddenly from 7k to 28k. It took more than a year to accumulate to that figure, and so would the repayment.
   -I simplified his 28k into two pieces, principal and interest. I promised to pay the principal in full, before the date for the next interest was due and as per our agreement, he agreed to withdraw the case from court after receiving the the principal. The interest was to be paid monthly to him;

I told him, the amount(sh1400) he had been paying to the Sacco every month as interest, hio hio tu I would be paying to him and at the same interval until the debt was cleared. So the pace at which our debt had built up to 28k, so would the fattening of his purse. Here, I outwitted him, and even he didn’t know that the shortest period he would have to wait before the final interest was paid, was at least equal to the number of months(15) he had been struggling with my parents.

I returned home and explained to both parents the agreement I had reached with the loaner and assured them I would settle it all. I however urged them to let me know if anything happened while I was away.

Later in the day, the mzee who had offered to purchase the land came in… my father asked me to join them after their discussion had gone sour. The guy was so angry with my father, claiming his time had been wasted cause dad was no longer selling the land. He had changed his mind.

I was also very angry… so I confronted the guy harshly and told him to go away. I even challenged him, “nyi mnajifanyaga mko na pesa gani? If you really believe you are rich and got money, why bother poor folks in the rurals where land is so useless. Neggah, if you got money go to urban, ununue plot na ujenge.” I chased him away.

The following day I returned to school and thought of a way to clear with the loaner. I didn’t have any reliable source of income.

It seemed that I didn’t options. I just decided to download all loan apps available on playstore. I borrowed from a few of them and from M-Shwari too, a total of sh3700. This was way below the sh7k the loaner expected in a few days. I decided to sell my phone too. It wasn’t that classic, but its sale added 3k more. Now, I had a total of sh6700, so a deficit of sh300. Sh300 was too little, I just asked asked mom to sell 3 of some few chicken I owned at home… and she was able to get the remaining sh300 and an excess of which I think aliweza kununua unga ya wiki mzima.

I wired the money to the guy it was owed but through mom. He also withdrew the case as we had agreed.
I then decided to turn against him, but it was part of my plan from the start.
Ushuru silipi… he called me after the first month ended to demand the first bunch of his 21k interest. I was always promising to him, never rude, but in my mind… nay, Ushuru silipi!
First month, second month, third passed… nothing at all. He went to my parents occasionally but they couldn’t help. They always referred him to me, just as I had directed. I always told them to pretend, they had no idea what my agreement with him was. They’d tell him, " Si illuminated alituambia mlielewana, just talk to him." I never ignored his calls.
After I defaulted for the 5th month, the rich man threated to go back to court. I dared him to go ahead and refile his case. I also, at this point, reminded him of something I decided not to mention during my sitting with him. The amount my parents received from him was only sh5600, not 7k. This is because, at the time of the transaction, they didn’t have the sh1400 interest for the first month that was required at the time money was borrowed, and therefore, it had to be deducted from the loan to leave them with sh5600 only.
I think he didn’t go to court, ju I’ve never been summoned neither parents for the same issue. When at home, I occasionally ran into him driving his car.
I always told him, “ni kubaya sana especially right now, but one day nitakulipa.” One day we met, and as it was usual, he stopped his car and demanded his money. Nikamwambia, “Ni kubaya sana, especially right now, imagine huyo bro wazazi walimkopea fees kwako then akiwa form 4, even now he still needs your help. We planning a fundraiser for his college fees.” He was angered and threatened to have me arrested, he started dialing contacts… niliondokea balaa fasta nikajiendea zangu… I didn’t even spend the night home, nililala kwa kabeshte kengine tulikuwa tunaua mbwa za majirani na yeye when were boys. I had to return to Nairobi the next morning.

I think finally he decided to write it off… anyway today I made sure he was buried. I took part in the ritualistic session where people throw soil at the casket after it has been lowered to the grave.
I had eagerly waited for this, so when the time came, nilichota a few groundnuts nikarusha kwa mdomo (I had bought about 100 grammes of raw groundnuts before leaving Nairobi, just for the event. While chewing, I took off my specs and put them in my pocket zisiangukie kaburi, alaf nikaokota mchanga, not mchanga though, but I can assured I hit that casket with a very large lump of soil. I actually broke the glass fitted at the head section. Everybody stared at me.

I also helped guys cover the grave with soil, I did the most… nikashikilia shovel until it was done.
So I’ll never meet him again on my ways, alale huko bila kusumbua

Yaani uncle anasumbua namna hivyo…Uncles and aunties are meant to give money sio kudai.
Kudos for popping in when you were needed.
Your small bro tops it all for calling you at the hour of dire need.Suppose he never called you,so many things would have gone wrong

[Bigfish1]

We can only speculate what was his real motive but burdening interest on that cash seems to have been a move to squeeze the blood out of your fam… But people forgive family especially for such small amounts and you know the guys can’t afford to pay back…
Surely blood line and family doesn’t really matter, it’s only character that does…

[system]

@ndume

Why should he consult you? Your parents should have consulted you, not him. The amount of interest does not matter. It rose to 21k because money was not paid back. Your parents knew in advance the interest amount. The guy gave them time, but they never paid back. That he listened to you shows your parents never bothered to renegotiate with him to change payment terms

You must be very cold like that guy,how on earth do you heap such kind of interest on a relative.This guy paid up the money the guy gave out.
Are you in the same kind of business

[othello]

@ndume

it is geometric progression my friend. monthly compound interest

I dont believe it can sum up to that. Huo ni wizllFor one, that’s an unimaginable interest rate, and two, I bet there should be some limit to the accrued interests.

[Illuminated]

@ndume

You are just a sadist. Your parents had agreed to pay back the money they had been loaned with interest, what is wrong with the man demanding his dues? An agreement is an agreement.

I find this post to be in a very bad taste, to put it mildly. This is a man who agreed to withdraw the court case because he believed your word, and despite your refusal to honour your promise, he never put pressure on your parents again. And here you are bragging how you did not pay and how happy you are because he is dead? He was not responsible for your poverty, however unfortunate it is.

My friend, kukopa na kulipa is the way of life. Otherwise, i guess you are too young to know this.

You missing the point… he didn’t really help, but brought more miseries to the family. His was a business and he did it a business. if he didn’t give the loan, elsewhere, wangepata at better terms. I never regret that he wasn’t paid… I liked it that way, I gave him 7k and that was enough, more than what he gave out

[inzhener_otmetka]

Revenge served very cold…

[ndume]

@Illuminated

You missing the point… he didn’t really help, but brought more miseries to the family. His was a business and he did it a business. if he didn’t give the loan, elsewhere, wangepata at better terms. I never regret that he wasn’t paid… I liked it that way, I gave him 7k and that was enough, more than what he gave out

If they could get better terms elsewhere, why did they not go there?

[ndume]

@Kimakia

You must be very cold like that guy,how on earth do you heap such kind of interest on a relative.This guy paid up the money the guy gave out.
Are you in the same kind of business

You are missing that the guy eventually wrote the debt off yet he is happy because he died.

Tena he is saying they used to kill neighbours dogs, that means something

[ndume]

@Illuminated

You missing the point… he didn’t really help, but brought more miseries to the family. His was a business and he did it a business. if he didn’t give the loan, elsewhere, wangepata at better terms. I never regret that he wasn’t paid… I liked it that way, I gave him 7k and that was enough, more than what he gave out

What misery? He eventually wrote it off and still you are not grateful for that

[othello]

@ndume

You are missing that the guy eventually wrote the debt off yet he is happy because he died.

Tena he is saying they used to kill neighbours dogs, that means something

If you have ever read this guy’s story, you could have realized the guy is a legendary savage. He once narrated how he tricked a highschool girl to his hostel room and used her for a week. Of course assisted by his criminal friend

[system]

@ndume

You are missing that the guy eventually wrote the debt off yet he is happy because he died.

Tena he is saying they used to kill neighbours dogs, that means something

In my community we say micii ni ndogo (manyumbani ni moshi)
Its clear from his story the two families never got along.
To avoid all the altercation mentioned in the hekaya,the monied uncle would have written off the debt having seen the struggle they were going through to pay up.It was clear they did not have the money.For Such amount one can declare it a bad debt and forget it,
Why would he want a family to sell off their land over such debt.What would have happened after that.Lot of things would have gone wrong.
The uncle was the big man but did not stand to be counted

[Alchemist]

There is money, riches and finally wealth. A fool and his money… All the riches in the world… Finally whoever seeks wisdom cannot be evaded by wealth.

[ndume]

@Kimakia

In my community we say micii ni ndogo (manyumbani ni moshi)
Its clear from his story the two families never got along.
To avoid all the altercation mentioned in the hekaya,the monied uncle would have written off the debt having seen the struggle they were going through to pay up.It was clear they did not have the money.For Such amount one can declare it a bad debt and forget it,
Why would he want a family to sell off their land over such debt.What would have happened after that.Lot of things would have gone wrong.
The uncle was the big man but did not stand to be counted

We have very little information to conclude anything. We have a one sided story from a partisan and a savage. For instance, we do not know how many other times they have refused to pay. This is a possibility because the guy eventually did forego the interest, meaning that his intention was to make them pay the debt fast because of the high interest rate.

[captain_obvious]

@Illuminated

Who are you to wish me that… Are you immortal or living in another world where you decide on how, when or where to meet death?

I don’t like shylocks, but your attitude stinks. I just hope you made up this hekaya coz if this is how you are in real life, utabaki maskini kama wazazi wako. I also suspect that guy wasn’t your actual uncle but some very distant relative.

Having said that, now that umejigamba hivyo, what if he’d used his money to have your folks arrested? Ungeuza nini ndio uwatoe, na ushachukua Mshwari na ukauza coocoo? Alafu juu ulirusha mchanga mpaka ikavunja kioo (allegedly), mwenda zake aliumia aje? He’s dead, he doesn’t care. But most likely people saw the glee on your face as you did that, and you may approach some of them in the future for help.

Wewe inakaa unatoka zile familia haziezi saidika. You say all the bad things that have been done to you but don’t reveal the evil you’ve done.

Heneway, like I said, I hope it’s just a twisted story.

[ndume]

@inzhener otmetka

Revenge served very cold…

it can only be revenge if the other party feels it. He is dead, he feels and sees nothing. That we are all going to die means death cannot be a form of revenge

[system]

@ndume

We have very little information to conclude anything. We have a one sided story from a partisan and a savage. For instance, we do not know how many other times they have refused to pay. This is a possibility because the guy eventually did forego the interest, meaning that his intention was to make them pay the debt fast because of the high interest rate.

True,I get where you are coming from.The uncle would not have just reacted like that out of nowhere.Something must have led him to it to the extent of taking his folks to court.
Mhhh leaves a lot to ponder

[magreb]

Not to support the OP but the law dictates that accrued interest can only be up to 100% of the principle. Anything above that ni wizi.
ION, going to relatives ukiwa juu ya mawe is the biggest fuck ups one can do. I learnt this the bitter way ile siku biz ilianguka miguu juu.

[ndume]

@captain obvious

I don’t like shylocks, but your attitude stinks. I just hope you made up this hekaya coz if this is how you are in real life, utabaki maskini kama wazazi wako. I also suspect that guy wasn’t your actual uncle but some very distant relative.

Having said that, now that umejigamba hivyo, what if he’d used his money to have your folks arrested? Ungeuza nini ndio uwatoe, na ushachukua Mshwari na ukauza coocoo? Alafu juu ulirusha mchanga mpaka ikavunja kioo (allegedly), mwenda zake aliumia aje? He’s dead, he doesn’t care. But most likely people saw the glee on your face as you did that, and you may approach some of them in the future for help.

Wewe inakaa unatoka zile familia haziezi saidika. You say all the bad things that have been done to you but don’t reveal the evil you’ve done.

Heneway, like I said, I hope it’s just a twisted story.

He does not say why for 15 months his parents never paid even a coin back. They had those chickens to sell and pay, however little

[LePhilosopher]

@Illuminated

elsewhere, it could be a different story. At my place, relatives are farther away than strangers. I’ve never had to count on help from relatives… there, a first uncle thinks helping a nephew like in getting a job, would give the young one a competitive advantage against him, I think.

Kwetu you’ll become an outcast pulling such dishonorable stunts.In the event i get like real rich and someone in my immediate clan in in a real fix such as a health emergency I would be expected to settle it naturally.I might not even know the guy but provided i can afford to do so and he’s from my clan i will do it without issues and not being compelled.In return now in my peasant days if am ever in a bad fix God forbid, am sure some billionaire that I don’t even know well enough will settle the matter.