the day city councli askaris beat me until they forged my future

If you’ve ever had a run-in with the Kenya police, then you know what it’s like to feel helpless. You know how frustrating it can be when they start enumerating the laws and by-laws you have flouted or outright broken. How much worse do you think it is when you’re dealing with county council askaris?

I remember the day I got the clarity of knowing I would become a lawyer. I had been in a matatu travelling from town to Westlands when we were stopped in transit by a group of county council askaris.

To say I was excited would be to sell you a lie. I was on my way to a date having just completed my KCSE exams a few months prior and I had worked up the courage to ask my crush out on a date. Now picture this, I had dressed in the best outfit I had and had on a new pair of sneakers I had saved up for. I had borrowed some of my elder brother’s cologne and I felt like I could do no wrong.

I had strutted through town like I was walking on sunshine and whenever I caught a few stares cast my way, I convinced myself others were appreciating my swag. It was a Friday afternoon and I was on my way to Westgate to catch a movie with my date and it took all my energy not to squeal with joy as I made my way to the stage and eventually found my way to a seat.

Then things took a nosedive like a twist from your favourite soap opera. The matatu made its way out of the city centre and snaked its way through University Way and onto Waiyaki Way. And just as we got to Chiromo, the matatu stopped to drop some passengers and it was at that point that county council askaris pounced on the matatu.

They declared that they were there to check whether passengers had on their seat belts but fortunately for us, the tout had warned us as we departed from town so most passengers had belted up. The askaris were clearly not happy to realize this so they began looking for any and every excuse to harass us.

Either the issue was the fact there was litter on the floor around our seats or that they had “seen” us fumbling to put on our belts. At this point, my youthful exuberance and the fact that I was running late for my date caused me to speak up in protest.

“Msee, kubali tu haujashika mtu nauwache tuendelee na safari” -I instantly regretted the fact that I had spoken up.

“Kijana unijifanya human rights activist? Unajifanya mjuaji? Afande kuja tukamate huyu”

“Hapana! I know my rights!” -I declared half in fear and half in defiance wondering why no one else was speaking up on my behalf.

“Hiyo ujinga utasema mbele” he said as he and his colleague in a grey sweater ambled in the aisle of the matatu towards me. I was sweating bullets, I could feel my stomach turn. How is it I had ended up asking my crush out on a date, finally mustering the courage only for the universe to work against me so cruelly?

I felt one of them reach for my belt and attempt to lift me up but my seat belt kept me pinned to my seat and as they started fumbling around trying to release it, an older lady thankfully found her voice and she began heckling them. Soon enough, the entire matatu was in an uproar. Realizing that they had lost this fight, the two askaris walked off the matatu cussing me out and throwing threats my way. Even before they were off, the driver had started peeling away from the stage and I sighed a heavy sigh of relief.

I was in a daze but the elderly lady helped calm me down and within a few minutes, I had gathered my thoughts enough to remember I was headed to Westgate. I had missed the actual stage but I managed to get off at the St. Mark stage and I made my way to Westgate.

The entire time I was reflecting on my ordeal and when I met my date, I recounted to her what had happened and how powerless I felt. I knew I didn’t want to be in that situation again and that was when she made an off-hand remark about how I would actually make a good human rights activist. The rest of the date was pretty standard once I had calmed down but her remark stayed with me for a while as I had no idea how to go about making activism my career.

It was only weeks later that I brought up my ordeal to my elder brother and he suggested first becoming a lawyer then specializing in human rights. What a blessing he was because he had given me my epiphany. But what if you don’t have a big brother like mine to pull through for you? Worry not because I got you covered. Have you heard of Craydel? It’s a website that specializes in offering career match assessment online and get career and course recommendations ensuring you get the best advise of how to choose a career path best suited to your unique personality traits and passions.

I would strongly advise you to check it out or share the links with anyone you know who is either at a career crossroad or is thinking of which career to pursue. All you need to do is to buy the assessment online and get career recommendations. And just incase you’re wondering, I am currently in lawschool.