Of students who fake their graduation ceremonies

The graduation hoax

December is when most local university students graduate. Graduation ceremonies are a big deal around here. Universities buy acres of space in the media to advertise graduation ceremonies, and live broadcasts of such celebrations have increasingly become commonplace, too.

In the village, such a ceremony excites people and they plan for it well in advance. In some cases, they don’t need to be invited; going for a graduation ceremony to them is pretty much like a ritual. One of them only needs to be invited or the village to get wind of the fact that one of their own son or daughter is graduating. They hire buses and matatus, which they adorn with twigs, flowers and banners and travel hundreds of kilometers to celebrate one of their own.