tumekuja chokoza-R.I.P Mercy Keino

There have been great women in history. Some that will never be forgotten; at least as far as history books are concerned.

Clara barton for instance was the organizer and founder of the American red cross which has since grown to be one of the leading humanitarian organizations in the world.

 And take the forceful and fearless Margaret Brent who was the first to ask for women’s  voting rights in the 1600’s and was probably the world’s first feminist (I stand to be corrected on that though).

 And Eva Peron the former first lady of Argentina whose charity organization built homes for the poor and homeless and provided free healthcare to citizens

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 And who can forget Rosa parks who refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white passenger; the mother of modern day civil rights.

Closer home, we have the world re-known conservationist Wangari Maathai, politician Martha karua, human rights activist, now judge, Njoki Ndungu just to mention a few. 

Oh and the vice president hopeful Esther Arunga…or maybe not.

These are all great women and perhaps thousands maybe millions unrecognized respectful women wander out there changing the world and sacrificing their lives for their fellow women and men.

 Mercy Keino (with all due respect because am basing my argument on suspicion) in my humble opinion does not make this list. You will remember her as the 25 year old UoN masters student who was knocked down by a car on the road to or from westlands…or if you know better than the Kenya Police was killed by friends or associates or even a flamboyant local MP himself.

Personally I choose to believe the police. I am sure their investigation techniques are quite sophisticated. Did you see that investigator on TV?  The one inspecting the green Mercedes Benz? He seemed quite knowledgeable of his expertise…I mean he had on a lab coat and white gloves…white gloves! That should be enough to figure out everything. Who needs DNA, hair fragments or microscopes when you have intelligence…and white gloves? But the efficiency of our very talented and very capable police force is the discussion for another day.

So well back to mercy, I have no personal issue with her. She was on her masters and getting married later this year which is pretty impressive plus she was quite a looker. What I have an issue with though is the group she represents; college and post-teen girls. Yes, those between nineteen and about twenty six. The ones who are yet to secure a meaningful source of employment but are addicted to the expensive fast life. The ones that would give a foot and a leg for a night out in town drinking Smirnoff ice and smoking embassy lights. The ones skimpily clad and with acquired twangs. The ones who brag about the cars they were picked in and the older men they are dating. The ones you will see spotting fake designer handbags and expensive, often pink smart phones that neither they nor their parents paid for.

Being from a certain private university along Thika road (to quote a certain Sunday nation author), I am quite familiar with this kind of girls. You would not tell who they were by seeing them in class or the library corridors, but god forbid you should go out to a club where the top working men of the nation hang out. Say bachus, Havana and a few reputable out of town hang out joints.

These girls, you will not see around campus during the weekends or at your hip college party where they serve good old Kibao and Popov. No sir, that is not classy enough for them. You will not see them at changes or ‘Chipo Central’ as my friends and I call it sipping a 180/= beer either. No good sir, they are at expensive apartments, 4-star hotel rooms, Naivasha get aways or spending the weekend at the coast. All at the expense of a certain married good gentleman; a politician, top company executive or successful businessman looking for a thrill or a boost of ego.

No wait, actually you will every now and then see these “classy” girls at your local cheap bar or at chipo central but they will be in perks and with one mission…”chokoza”. You will recognize the word as a title for quite a popular song by two quite talented and quite reputable ladies…I hope. Well not the talent part because their musical prowess is not in question. About reputable the reputable part… the internet is an ugly place with underwear pictures, pictures suggesting lesbianism and whatnot. 

Am diverging again…where was I?  Oh yes…”chokoza.”

Chokoza is a swahili term for tease or ramble (forgive my translation).  And the popular song is about just that…teasing. Good looking ladies come to a club, stun the male folk with their long legs and dancing techniques, extract a few drinks from them and then scatter before returning any favor so to speak. 

So when you see these classy girls at your local bar or at chipo central, make no mistake. They are not there to be chipod by you. They are there merely to assure themselves of their beauty, dance a little, flirt, chokoza a few college kids spending their weekly pocket money, and scamper leaving their chokozwad lot with fake phone numbers and the scent of expensive cologne. The chokozwad lot will then follow the girls outside in a gesture of a good gentleman-ship or watch them from the balcony of chipo central only to  see them picked up in a an expensive tinted European car. They are off for the night to an expensive apartment in the leafy suburbs or to a private party at an off the radar private club. To be seen again on Monday in class or library corridors.

Sigh…I don’t mean to be judgmental after all we are all in search of the good life whether you are paying for it yourself or exchanging it for sex with someone’s successful husband. And I am sure some of these ‘classy’ girls have very good reasons for their actions. Some are from very poor families and can barely afford pink smart phones and fake designer handbags. These are very essential things for a young lady in college and it’s not like there are any women in the world who have overcome difficulties and poverty to become great without the help of a rich older man. 

With all due respect to the late Mercy Keino and her memory I know it is quite insensitive to use hers as an example with the investigations not complete, but I lack a better reference point. Here is what I am saying, these girls engage in quite a lucrative and financially fulfilling venture that is also quite dishonest and greedy. And just like any dishonest and greedy venture such as drug trafficking and other crimes, there are bound to be a few demises every now and then.

So when one of these classy girls is ran down by a car (or several cars) or is roughened up and killed by a rich man’s bodyguards or associates in unexplained circumstances…it is in my humble opinion a just a professional hazard. A profession they took up and have been engaging in willingly. It comes with the job. 

But what do I know? I am just a pro-teen student from a private university along Thika road. The kind who attends college parties where good old kibao and popov is served. The kind that frequents chipo central on my saved pocket money…the kind that gets chokozwad.

Rest in peace Mercy Keino and I hope the boys in white gloves and lab coats come up with a conclusive investigation into your death. And I hope those with expensive apartments and European tinted cars that are responsible for your demise are brought to book. At least for the sake of the remaining ‘classy’ girls from my private university along Thika road.