By Charles Ng’eno

A cook in one of the secondary schools in Narok County lost his job after he was found sneaking chapati into the school compund.

The cook, who was a darling of the students, was arrested by the school watchmen at mid-night with over 800 chapati as he tried to enter the school through a Kei apple fence next to the boys’ dormitory.

Ongeza kidogo (add some more), as he was popularly known by the students and other support staff, is reported to have began supplying the over 1000 students with chapati early in January at the cost of Sh15 per chapati.

Lucrative

The venture is said to have been so lucrative to the extent that other cooks wondered why they had never noticed a business opportunity that had been staring at them in the face for the many years they had served at the institution.

Out of jealousy, they reported him to the school administration for flouting the school rule that states: “No food from outside is allowed into the school.”

Charm

A trap was laid and the 40th day arrived for a man whose entrepreneurial spirit could charm the man who resides in the big house on the hill.

He pleaded with the security to let him go but his plea fell on deaf ears. He even promised to share the loot with them but the guards were unrelenting.

Desperate that his plea was yielding no fruits, the cook promised to give all the proceeds from the sale to the watchmen on condition that they release him.

Still, they remained unmoved saying that they did not want to be corrupted by wayward individuals.

Remorseful

Instead, they frog marched him to the security ‘office’ where he sat moodily a waited for his fate the following morning.?

In the morning, he appeared before the school’s deputy principal where he put up a spirited case in an attempt to save his job. Remorsefully, he begged to be given a last chance.

But fearing to set a bad precedent, the deputy relieved him of his duties.

He was also warned that should he be seen near the school compound, the police would be alerted because for he was deemed ‘a threat to the existing peace in the school.’

The school authorities should, however, be grateful that the cook only supplied chapati and not drugs, cigarettes or alcohol.