Old man’s day out

By Joseph Muia

The path from his home to the market seemed long as Mzee Zakayo proceeded to the market that early morning. On the way, he met many traders who had camped at the market to sell or buy commodities. "My son, have those traders selling cows arrived?" Zakayo asked a trader, his bicycle squeaking under the weight of heavy merchandise. "Only one had arrived when I left," he answered as he panted. On hearing that, Zakayo hastened his steps as his right hand remained firmly in the pocket holding his money.

He arrived at the market and found it awash with humanity. Everyone was busy haggling over prices, packing or offloading commodities. He squeezed his way through the clothes and food sellers before reaching the spot where cows were being sold.

He looked at the cows on offer but none impressed him. Some were too emaciated to attract any customers. He walked to a trader who had just arrived with a cow and two bulls that appealed to him.

Disappointment

"How much are you selling the cow?" he asked the trader who was busy tethering it on a tree.

"Sh20,000," he replied looking straight at Zakayo.

"Sh20,000!" Zakayo exclaimed. "Do you mean the cow only?" He asked.

"That’s too much," he said.

"Old man, you can try at the dog market over there," the trader dismissed him.

Zakayo moved to another trader but more disappointment awaited him.

"Why are you bargaining so much as if you will go with the cows to your grave?" a trader insulted him.

Frustrated, he moved to the edge of the market and sat on a stone pondering his next move. He contemplated returning home but he saw two men shepherding a cow and a heifer to the market.

The animals looked perfect. Exactly what he was looking for. He approached the sellers.

"How much are you selling the animals?" Zakayo asked trying to conceal his excitement.

"Ooh! Welcome Mzee," one of them told him pleasantly. "We are selling both of them for Sh20,000," he offered.

After a little haggling, the men accepted his offer of Sh16,000.

"Mzee, I will take your offer," he told him. "I don’t want to bargain any longer while my brother lies in the morgue. Bring the money and take the animals," he said.

"We are selling the animals to finance our brother’s funeral," the man added after noticing a look of surprise on Zakayo’s face.

"It pains me to hear that. I will give you Sh500 as my contribution," Zakayo told the man feeling touched.

He then handed him the money and the man thanked him for his generosity. After counting it, the two men left hurriedly saying they had to organise the burial.

Zakayo could not believe that he had bought the two animals for Sh16,000. "One man’s misfortune is another’s fortune," he said as he made the sign of the cross.

Jubilation

Without wasting time, he bought new sisal ropes for Sh100 and hired one of the market layabouts to help him shepherd the animals home.

His wife Sarah was in jubilation. She almost brought him to the ground as she firmly embraced him. Zakayo directed the shepherd to tether the cows under a huge tree at the centre of his compound.

Thereafter, they spent the rest of the day receiving neighbours who flocked to see the animals and congratulate them.

The next morning, Zakayo woke up very early to release the animals to graze. At about 9am, as he sat outside the house sipping tea, he saw two police officers, the area chief and two strangers walking into his compound.

Zakayo could not believe his ears when the chief stated the purpose of their visit. In shock, he dropped the cup of tea and raised his hands while shouting for his wife.

Sarah rushed out. Seeing her husband’s hands raised over his head, she sought answers from the chief. "These animals were stolen two days ago from the neighbouring district and they have been traced to your home," the chief explained.

Realising that he had been conned, Zakayo gave a lengthy explanation of how he had bought the animals the previous day from two men at the market. But when he was asked to describe them, he was too shaken to remember.

"You will come with us. We are also taking the animals with us," the chief told him.

Serious offence

At the chief’s office, he begged for mercy as tears flowed freely from his eyes. He regretted that he had sold his harvest to purchase the animals.

"You have committed a serious offence of handling stolen property," the chief told him.

The two strangers who were the owners of the animals sympathised with Zakayo and asked the chief to let him free. To date, Zakayo still visits the market every week with the hope that he will meet the two cheats and recover his money, but he is yet to succeed.

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