The days when 'mpango wa kando' never invaded our wallets, heads

You have every reason to think twice when the deal is too good, that’s the truth.

That’s why I want to focus on young men out there. Those of us who belong to the past generation knew our boundaries even when it came to relationships.

For instance, even in my teenage years, I knew all too well that some women were strictly to be admired. I would only dream of them during Christmas.

We grew up knowing all too well the type of women we could date. With this knowledge, young women could not try any funny tricks on us.

So, young men, whenever a beautiful woman approaches you in a pub showing an interest in you, stop and and first question yourself if you’re the most handsome man on earth.

There are three things a man should never indulge a woman unless she is the missus: don’t pay her rent, don’t pay her college fee and don’t even try having a joint account.

I know of a married man who lost a lot of money thinking he was paying college fee for his mpango wa kando. The young woman had lied to him that she was studying at a university on Thika Road. In love, the poor guy would give her cash, since he didn’t want a paper trail. He was sure she was in the said college, as he would at times drop her at the college’s gate.

After two years, the truth was revealed. This was after he decided to pay the fee himself and clear arrears. He was surprised when the accounts department told him his mpango wa kando’s name could not be found in the records.

He called her to confirm the name, but her particulars could still not be traced. Let’s just say she went missing after that and has never picked the man’s calls.

The man could have probably sent his children to a good private school instead of having them in public school while wasting money on a woman he clearly knew very little about.

Had he taken time to do some background check, the truth could have probably been unearthed earlier.

It is such careless actions that have made young men to distort the market by pushing the costs up, much like soccer star Fernando Torres in the English Premier League.

One wonders why a young man would buy his girl a mobile phone worth Sh70,000, yet her rent is only Sh6,000.

I once overheard a young woman asking a man I know to send her money by Mpesa, and the guy actually sent a really pretty sum. Interestingly, at the time, she was out of town with another mtaa boy, who is pampered and gets benefits for free. In short, the man paid for their romantic trip.

So when that SMS comes with the predictable “I need a favour...I’m in a fix, can you Mpesa me Sh3,000” message, think twice before you send a dime.

Note that  you might not be the only one receiving that message. Several other men are probably being played like marionettes and she could easily rake in up to Sh30,000 or more from the same message.

Married men should know that keeping a young woman is like buying a novel for young boys to read. Men should be able to say no without feeling ashamed - it doesn’t matter if they don’t consider you a gentleman, just be real.

[email protected]

@AineaOjiambo