Former Deputy Prezzo Rigathi Gachagua, aka Riggy G, understands a thing or two about performance, what I have in mind here is not the quick tilt of the head, the glitter in the eye, or the flash of the teeth. What I have in mind is his sense of timing.
So, early in the week, when the courtroom was flooded with TV cameras and blinding light, as two lords and a lady delivered a staged reading lasting nine hours, which meandered through a gibberish tale titled “The Ouster,” I instantly thought of Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot.”
For those who have forgotten, Beckett’s path-breaking play gave rise to the “theatre of the absurd” genre, which delves into the pointlessness of man’s existence. Similarly, nothing significant happened in the nine-hour reading marathon, and which was delivered in poor diction and near-inaudible sound.
Many esteemed critics quickly, including the ‘boda boda’ riders in Kiambu county dismissed the performance as incoherent and undeserving of the lofty perch that the show was allowed at the High Court gallery. The ‘boda boda’ operators were invited to test the legal arguments for their soundness using the maxim of “ordinary men in the streets.”
In the end, nothing made sense until Riggy G delivered his performance. His platform was not the courtroom, even though his comments wholly and fully focused on the courtroom drama from yester-night. And he was garlanded, not by lawyers in sheep’s wigs, but by handsome men and women, as he responded to the court’s performance.
This is a paraphrase: “I am astounded by last night’s performance regarding my quest for justice in our courts. I wasn’t courting contradictions but clarity. I wasn’t seeking 30 or 50 pieces of silver. I have enough silver, if you know what I mean…
He then tilted his head in that famous manner, and a glint shone in his eye. “The idea that someone is worried about my restoration to my old job is a silly idea. I did not seek such a relief. That’d be akin to two suitors chasing after one comely lady…”
So, if he won’t take cash, or ask for his old job back, then what to do? The two lords and a lady will keep on reading for eternity in this absurdist theatre.
