By Njoki Chege
Mary Zakayo could not control her emotions when she saw her son, Brian, who had been missing for the last five months. It was the moment she had been waiting for; after uncomfortable days and sleepless nights of wondering where her son might be.
But the story of 15-year-old Brian is not your normal ‘lost and found’ person story. You see, when Brian disappeared five months ago, he was a Form Two student, but when he was found five days ago, his parents were surprised that he is now a Standard Eight pupil.
According to his parents, Brian disappeared after a small feud with his father over some lost textbooks. It was a day before the schools opened for the third term and the father was not happy with the teen for losing some textbooks.
Brian hugs his mother, Mary Zakayo, when they met at The Standard Group offices on Mombasa Road[Photos:Jenipher Wachie/ Standard] |
Brian’s story appeared in The Standard’s Underworld pullout last Wednesday, and barely a day later, he was found.
He says he left home because he was uncomfortable with his parents’ incessant quarrelling over him.
"Sometimes, I was beaten for no reason at all. My parents would argue a lot, and in most cases, I was the subject of their arguments."
And when the textbooks issue came up, Brian felt it was the best chance to walk away from his troubles. That was Sunday, September 4, last year.
He left their Kangemi home and his first stop was Ngara, where he walked into a new life; the life of being a street boy.
"I had only Sh20 which I bought a snack and after eating, I slept in the streets. The next day, I looked for the street boys of that area."
Kept money safe
The street life would be his new home for the next two and-a-half weeks — collecting plastic bottles and selling them at a small fee. But even the street boys noticed that Brian was a differently feathered bird altogether.
"They tried to introduce me to drugs such as gum and bhang, but I refused. I wanted to seek help and study my way to success."
It was for this reason that he soon gained the trust of the other street boys, and before they knew it, they would entrust him with their money, since most of them would be too ‘high’ to keep it safe anyway.
"I was lucky I wore boxer shorts, which had side-pockets. Therefore, I was able to keep their money safe because the street boys would frequently get ransacked during the night and have their valuables stolen," he says.
When it became clear to the street boys that Brian would not succumb to their pressure to indulge in drugs, one of them let him into a little secret.
He told him about the City Council officials who go round the streets looking for street boys to take for rehabilitation and that here the boys get help and luckily, a sponsorship. Brian was greatly interested, and he followed this advice, hoping to get a ticket out of the street.
"I approached a City Council official and ‘cooked’ up a story about how my step-father had a fight with my mother, and kicked me out. I told her that she could arrest me and beat me up if she wanted, but ensure that she eventually gets me help."
Fortunately, the official neither arrested him nor roughed him up, but she took Brian to Muoroto Police station, and referred him to a certain woman called Muthoni who took him to Bahati Rehabilitation Centre where he stayed for a week.
Vivian Ndege Wafula, a teacher at a neighbouring council college near the centre, got to talk with her friend who works at the centre. This friend told her about Brian.
Says Vivian: "She told me that the boy doesn’t look like a typical street boy. Later that night, I could not stop thinking about the boy. The next day, I went to find out for myself."
Vivian found Brian doing some chores at the centre. She watched him for a while, and knew then she had to make a move.
"I called him and asked him to tell me about himself. He told me that his step-father and biological mother had a bitter fight, and the father asked him ajipange (fend for himself) by his step-father," explains Vivian.
Touched
Vivian was touched by the teen’s story. Later that night, she called her sister, Lindy Wafula, who agreed to help her take care of the boy. Brian was taken in by Vivian and her family, where he has been living for five months.
Apparently, when time came to go to school, Brian told his rescuers that he was in Standard Seven. Naturally, he was taken for an entrace interview at a primary school in Kaloleni.
"The headmaster called me and told me that we have a genius. He was admitted to the school immediately," says Vivian.
Vivian and Lindy bought all the necessary school items and Brian — who was in Form Two only a month earlier — was admitted.
Explains Brian: "I know I am a bright boy, but when KCPE exams came, I was shocked when teachers made us cheat the exams. They came to the exam room, then all, expect one invigilator walked out, and the teachers and the invigilator started passing small papers with the answers on them."
When the results were announced, Brian had scored 382 marks out of a possible 500, emerging the second in his school. He even appeared in The Standard as one of the top students in the Nairobi . Everyone was happy…well, except Brian.
He says: "Those were not my marks. I am better than that. Before KCPE, I used to get over 400 marks, but in spite of our teachers facilitating exam cheating, I still got way below 400 marks. That is why I wanted to go back to Standard Seven to have a fresh start."
Brian is humble, hard working and disciplined boy. He has held the first position in his class (now Standard Eight) and he is popular in his new school.
Until five days ago, nobody, including his rescuers, had a clue that Brian was already halfway through high school. They only read it in The Standard.
He doesn’t feel too old for primary school because, he says, most of his classmates are his age mates — 15-year-olds.
Brian beams with hope, now that life has offered him a second chance.
He wakes up at 3am to study and he is sure his is only a few steps away from his dream high school, Starehe Boys Centre.
How parent feud made teen flee from home
While Brian was happy to see his parents, uncle and little sister, he is not so keen about going back home with them.
Says he: "I am comfortable where I am and I don’t want to go back home. My parents keep arguing over me, especially on issues that make no sense at all. The stress and pressure at home is too much to bear."
He reveals that his two new mothers — sisters Vivian and Lindy Wafula — treat him very well, provide everything he needs, and most of all, the environment they have provided is conducive for his studies.
His father and mother are happy to have finally found him, and they admit that just like a typical family, they have their share of normal differences.
"It’s true we have been having our issues with his mother. Brian always had an issue with his school, but I could not get him another school. His performance had also started dropping and I was very concerned," says his father, Daniel Achoki.
His mother, Mary Zakayo, says although Achoki is not Brian’s biological father, he has taken good care of the boy since he was two years old.
She says although they have had some differences, these are not unique to them as they are normal fights found in any other family. Any conflict with Brian, she says, was in an effort to correct errant behaviour.
Bitter and frustrated
She further reveals that Brian’s disappearance threatened the family’s union, making her bitter and frustrated.
Mary spent quite some money looking for him — even going across borders — in vain.
But that is history now.
She is happy her son is safe and that he got loving people taking care of him.
At the moment, the parents have granted Brian his wish to remain with his new mothers as they work on modalities to ensure he has a stress-free year as he prepares to sit his KCPE at the end of the year.
