"yo bro amka unalala ka umekufa"(yo bro wake up , u sleeping like u dead) a few slaps on my face and back and I was up.No am not being robbed, it's what I call my homeboy waking me up.My blurry vision only cleared after putting on my glasses,"sawa sawa eish! msee wahlai ka hatuna cat utantambua,nini kelele za asubuhi?"(Ok ! ok !dude I swear I'll kill u bro if it's not a school test, seriously why all the noise in the morning)
A typical East Africa native with dark short curly hair,dark eyes , inverted egg shaped head ,tall lean built young man appears in my vision ."Wacha kunikumbusha huyo takataka ,hata nilikua najisahaulisha,kam twende stivo akona form"(don't remind me of that trash that I was actively trying to forget,let's go Steve has plans bro).His name is Brian Mwangi , out going, loud and with zero boundaries."Give me a minute", I said while changing from my night wear,"Weeh ! nikutuua na kingoso ,naona,"(yooh u killing us with English I see). No comment.After wearing I held a palm sized mirror, black everything with brown eyes covered with rectangular glasses for my near sightedness, check."ok let's go".
Looking my door brought us to a bustling neighborhood of kawangare, hawkers and peddlers selling everything from foodstuffs to internal wear in the open , sometimes on your face."wewe!"(hey you!)A small nimble figure passed, only to be caught and brought back by the ever vigilant brayo."Boyz walenje haraka!"(Kid my wallet make it quick).I looked at the kid , small malnourished with shifty eyes ,he quickly returned the wallet and nimbly disappeared within the crowd."Twende"(lets go),hur getto Life for you, eat or be eaten.A few minutes to Steve's shark,we were not alone.With Steve was Simon(symo), Titus (tits-honest to God)and Benjamin (benja).
"So tunaenda"(so we're going),stivo began,"I don't know whether we should,"I began, still not liking this idea."Nini huyu "(what wrong with this one) Steve asked clearly getting agitated ,"nilithani tuliagree tunaenda kevo Wacha ujinga!"that's me kevo full name kelvin shititi ,18 year old male from the luyha tribe in Kenya, currently trying to calm down a pissed off friend."look am not saying we shouldn't go but we should really think about how most protests end with running battles against anti-roit police who by the way are very trigger happy.Look am all for fighting for our rights and all but all do that while am alive "I mean he's right ,it's dangerous out there,hatuwezijua what's gonna happen (u never know)"benja a shot storky square faced young man,spoke.He was quite most of the time but very insightful when he spoke."mi siendi ,hiyo risk bana !niende nikufe na sijakula caro! ndo nyi maumbwa munikulie manzi ! Wacha ikae !"(I ain't going nor taking that risk! I haven't even gotten with Carol! u want me to die so you bastards can get her! no way!)
"Ok wacheni kelele ,ju ni Mimi na stivo tunavuka nyi mbaki ,mtaskia tu story,yo kevo bro usisahau inhaler."(Ok shut up, since it's just me and Steve are going,u guys will be updated and Kevin don't forget your inhaler) Brian said while tossing me my inhaler which I had forgotten.Did I forget to say that I have weak lungs due to an infection I got a few years ago,it necessitates me to have an inhaler Incase am ever short of breath,u know, life.It didn't take long for Brian and a clearly angry Steve to leave, while Benjamin, Simon and me were left stewing in our own thoughts.
To better understand the situation, our country was experiencing a surge in patriotism,spear headed by the youth better know as GenZ . This has led to high political tension between the government who control the police and hot-headed youths who lead protests demanding for the end in bad leadership and corruption.The problem is that there have been cases of police brutality and some protesters have died,a point of concern for alot of people, and us in the room who fear for our safety avoid the confrontation when possible.
"Ok we going home,u can chill out here"Simon said while standing with Benjamin "badaye yut"(later homie).I was soon left alone to my thoughts, it's not that I don't want to be there with the rest of the Gen Z fighting for my country, but physically thin at best and my lungs can't take long runs without acting up.I sometimes questions the dice life toss me but ,u know fuck life.My grumbling stomach was able to break me from my Sea of thoughts ,I mean mans got to .While walking to a minimatt to grab a bite,I was still deep in thoughts.My life was good all things considered,I was in the University doing history ,I had a healthy obsession with novels and was reading another faceslaping young master story when I heard shouts and chaotic running.My attention completely focused when gunshots and loud shouts completely brought me back to the present, where my shit luck brought me seemingly to the path taken by protesters and police.While trying to get my bearings the protesters got near me and managed to over take me bringing me to the center of the chaos, fuck.Bad to worse, some bastard just swiped my bag which carried All my belongings ,Bang!a tear gas canister exploded close to me, too close oohh! fuck ! am cussing again cause...that bastard my in..haler oh sh..it can't breathe..
I feel my vision blurrying as I gasp for air "TAFADHALI SAIDIA!!"(PLEASE HELP ME!!)I manage to shout still short of breath,"HAKI YETU! HAKI..."(WE WANT OUR RIGHTS!WE WANT...) Their chanting are too loud that they drown out my cries.My vision starts to go dark and I just know that if no one helps me am a firking gorner , aaaannd no one realizes or looks at me as everyone is busy trying to save themselves.'So this is how I go , with protesters and police having fun while I suffocate my lungs with dust and teargas ...'was the last thought I had before everything went black.