Hostels for students
At this time, I had known how bhang smoke smells. Though uncomfortable, I had no choice. I walked towards the window and peeped through the transparent curtain, but no one was around. Reggae music was booming for as long as I could remember. The clothes swayed on the hung line to the shy, silent breeze that blew from Wilson airport to the west. It blew far to the Ngong Hills on the west. It took its time and reached the mountain while still strong enough to generate wind power.
The clothing lines stood erected near the perimeter walls. Just across the borders on the west was a eucalyptus forest. It is here that the small black monkeys watched us in the evening. And when we basked in the orange sun rays that slipped through the eucalyptus branches to bid us goodbye, the little monkeys had their share on the top of the perimeter wall. Other walls had electric fences and Kei Apple on the outer side, but ours didn’t. I guess we were safe because for one to reach us, he’d one would be required to break the electric fences, the beautiful Kei Apple fences and escaped the ever ferocious German shepherds that barked and woke us at the middle of the night.
The other outer sphere was occupied by junior students studying mass media at the Tangaza College and ladies. How this arrangement came to be, I can’t tell. I came to understand these wore stylish torn trousers are known as ragged jeans, which could have been inspired by Kanye West and light t-shirts that showed goosebumps on their chests in the cold evenings. They walked with different types of cameras in their necks. A good number was with extension in the front, and some lacked. They applied perfumes that left a scent in the cold, humid atmosphere under the dark grey afternoons. The land lady’s quarter was situated here too. Her veranda faced the black gate that had rusted on the lower part and let you see the feet of anyone outside. Apart from her electric personality, the house was always quiet and seemed empty. An African curved set in the veranda, a pair of shy grey cats, an old sisal rag at the doorstep and green flowers that covered the wall and colored it leafy and green, nothing else.
The room I stayed in was on a string with other cubicles. They were built on a line and the back wall acted as the perimeter wall as well. The width was only enough to fit a door and a window that almost touched each other. When the door was fully open, one could see inside the whole room from outside. The entire structure looked like letter L. There was a bathroom next to my house, which lay on the right-hand side facing the door while in my room. My room was the last one on the structure on one end.
I lay on the bed on my back, wearing only a pair of shorts.
***
It was a wedding—visitors arriving in a consecutive flow. There was plenty of food and drinks. Many bulls had been slaughtered and the ceremony was gaining momentum. Those who best appreciated the local brew had nothing to complain about. People sang and women ululated. Men gathered in small groups to discuss numerous issues; education, politics, sports and economy. Those who had not met last in a long ago time laughed with joy, exchanging long firm handshakes. It was an occurrence of reunion. Many had come from far places. Their talks could be often interrupted by those who joined, they listened a while about the topic before jumping to offer their genuine contribution.
The last born son to the village Thatcher had a lot to share. He had recently secured a job as the county budget adviser. He could not hesitate to share a few facts about his new drive – a range Range rover Rover sportSport. He said with the new devolution system people were easily accessing money and getting rich, pointing at the car precisely with its key in his hand as a practical example. He pointed to distinguish it from the old convoy parked along the fence. He explained how it maneuvered in mud during rainy seasons and praised its posh interior which he believed was the best in all the cars.
Those arriving were ushered in and offered drinks which were prepared courtesy of a catering team and chefs from a far town who had been contracted for the dutypurpose. Soft music graced the occasion with collections from the best musicians exchanging. This was Khina Jazz Band, who doesn’t know it? It sang in radios and television. Its mostly sangwas played during in the area MP’s campaigns during the last campaign season. Most people do suspect that it was its coaxing and appealing songs that made him win the election.
***
I woke up abruptly from the dream and dashed off from the bed almost stepping in the cooking pan. I woke up and ran towards light that was coming from the window. The accident with the cooking pan made a lot of noise and I feared this could attract attention outside the room. It is only Daniel who knew that I was in the closed room. I was sweating all over the body and looked like I had just come out of a thermos flask. I was only wearing a short but it’s like I had instead exposed the body directly to the heat. There was a group of people near the room pavement who were telling stories. When they heard the noise, they were all shocked and kept alert for some time but thanks to the impatient narrator, he continued with his story and forced the group to ignore the noise. Though not convened formally at the concrete slab, I was jealous that someone else had taken advantage of the unfortunate turn of events for me and taken over my de facto duties.
The land lady had threatened to lock the house if we could not pay the doubled rent. She had doubled the rent from five thousand per head per month. shillings to ten thousand shillings We stayed two in the room. My roommate was a student at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa –School of Law. Even though her acts were against all tenancy law principles I have ever come acrossknown to legal scholars, she the landlady had actually put a padlock on Afro’s door the previous day. Afro had no place to spend the night and had to go back to Rongai where he had spent a whole week drinking. No one was allowed to accommodate a rent defaulter and anyone found was evicted together with the defaulter. Only a lover introduced to the landlady was permitted in a cubicle past 7.pm. This was Kibinges in Karen and those were some of the rules. She said that people took advantage of her kindness and evaded paying rent. The rent was ten thousand shillings per head per month under the new rules. There was a precedence setting case made the previous year making it illegal for a landlord to lock a premise to which tenant access. Despite that, there were controlled and uncontrolled tenancies. None of the laws written or unwritten was followed at Kibinges, no agreement, no debate.
The majority of the tenants here were students. About 50% were students at the Kenya School of law. Around 30% were undergraduate students at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa doing law. The rest were pursuing other courses at Tangaza College, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Corporative University and Kenya Medical Training College-Karen Campus. [MW2]
Having known the landlady as a woman of her word, I didn’t take chances. I had given Daniel our padlock with the key and instructed him to lock the door from outside. This is how I survived for the whole week but now the challenge was attending classes. We stayed two in our cubicle, but the other guy moved to his friend’s place. Under the new rules, the local arrangement we had for paying ten thousand shillings per month was rendered null. We were to raise twenty thousand shillings per month instead.
Because of the high number of learning institutions in Karen, there were hostels for students to spread worldwide. Some brought students to school and picked them up in the Wifi connected tourist buses with curtains on the windows. Some hostels were gender-specific. Those hosting ladies were the strict ones. They only allowed a male person who had special access note up to the reception area. Others hosted both genders and the students were expected to “behave” themselves and to me, these were the best. They let the students take care of themselves and make decisions about their own life. I’ve heard people testify that they met at school, and I guess love was brewed at such points. A law school compound is where I bet chances of looking attractive to a woman would be very slim. Their w [MW1]Reconcile with a marked paragraph at p 7 to avoid duplication
[MW2]This is a repetition of a section at pp 2-3 above