Skip to main content

"The Weight of Grain"

Ngala watched the rooster in the dusty courtyard, its spurs slashing at the tied opponent with mechanical brutality.


"Animals are worse than humans," Owalo had once said. "When their enemies weaken, they finish them. But we—we show mercy."


Ngala spat. Mercy? What mercy existed in a city where men rolled up bus windows to avoid speaking to beggars? Where looters pried grain from overturned trucks while the dying gasped beneath sacks of maize?


He adjusted his collar against Nairobi’s acidic smog and waited at KenCom, observing the human swarm. KBS buses belched exhaust as commuters elbowed for space—sixty percent of the nation’s wealth, crammed into ten percent of its land. A woman recoiled near Bus 17; some bastard had shut the window in her face mid-sentence. Ngala’s fingers twitched. We’ve perfected cruelty animals can’t fathom.


Obonyo arrived like a relic from a kinder past—same easy grin, now framed by a corporate beard. They embraced, the kind of hug that momentarily shields men from the city’s teeth.


Cafedeli’s air smelled of imported coffee and disinfectant. Obonyo ordered like a man who’d memorized the menu: strawberry milkshake, white coffee, beef samosas.


"You’re eating your education," Ngala remarked. The porcelain cup gleamed—real coffee, not the burnt silt most Kenyans drank.


Obonyo laughed, but it died when Ngala mentioned his mother.


"The flyover at Nyamasaria," Obonyo said, tracing the table’s wood grain. "The truck tipped. They… they went for the maize. Left her there. Even stole her purse after."


Ngala’s samosa turned to ash in his mouth. Capitalism’s logic laid bare: grain had market value; a dying woman did not.


"Poverty?" Ngala muttered.


"Greed," Obonyo corrected. The word hung between them like a noose.


Ngala quoted census data later, sterile numbers to mask the rot: "Fertility rate—3.8. Replacement level in decades."


"Meaning?" Obonyo stirred his milkshake.


"Meaning Kenyans are too broke to fuck." A bitter joke. "You’re thirty. No wife. No time. Just… projects."


Obonyo checked his watch—a reflex. "Client deadline." He tossed cash on the table, the paper whispering its judgment: This is what matters now.


They parted without promises. Ngala watched him dissolve into the crowd, another well-fed ghost in the machine.


At the bus stage, the rooster still attacked its bound rival. Ngala understood now—Darwin got it backward.


Animals kill to survive.


Humans destroy just to prove we can.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Critical Examination of Zara's Nikah: The Unfair Portrayal of Kabir's Ambition and the Problematic Notions of Success in Modern Relationships

The recent episodes of Zara's Nikah have sparked considerable debate, particularly concerning the narrative arc where Zara employs emotional manipulation to pressure Kabir into pursuing conventional employment. While the show positions this as a feminist assertion of financial independence, a closer examination reveals troubling undertones—not only in how Kabir’s character is unfairly diminished but also in how the series perpetuates narrow definitions of success and ambition. At its core, this storyline raises essential questions about societal expectations, the true meaning of feminism, and whether love can survive when one partner imposes their ideals of achievement onto the other.   Kabir’s Existing Ambition: Overlooked and Undermined From the outset, the series establishes Kabir as a man deeply committed to his faith and community. He is an Islamic scholar, a respected leader, and someone who dedicates his time to meaningful projects—qualities that reflect a different bu...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Flawed Logic of China Fearmongering: A Rebuttal to Phillip Inman

 Phillip Inman's recent article, "World must be more wary than ever of China’s growing economic power,"  recycles tired Western anxieties about China's rise while ignoring the hypocrisy and self-interest driving these concerns. His arguments—framed as warnings—reveal not China's threats, but the West's inability to compete fairly in a changing global order.   Inman begins by praising Donald Trump's economic blockade against China, framing tariffs as legitimate tools of economic policy. This stance is baffling for anyone who believes in free markets. Tariffs artificially inflate prices, denying consumers access to the best goods at competitive rates. When governments impose such barriers, they don't protect their citizens—they impoverish them. The real victims are ordinary people forced to pay more for products that could have been affordable. Yet Inman celebrates these measures as if economic warfare benefits anyone but protectionist politicians.   His...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is There Hope for Kenya? Part 2: The Ruto Presidency and the Illusion of Change

 In Part 1, we examined how the election of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto in 2013 entrenched impunity and normalized corruption in Kenya. Now, we turn to Ruto’s presidency—a regime that promised transformation but has instead deepened the country’s crises through hypocrisy, repression, and the same old tribal politics. Ruto’s Questionable Past: From Mau Evictions to Poisonous Maize Long before becoming president, Ruto’s political career was marred by controversies. One of the most telling was his opposition to the evictions from the Mau Forest—a critical water tower that feeds multiple rivers across Kenya. As then-Prime Minister Raila Odinga led efforts to reclaim the forest from illegal settlers, Ruto and his allies, including Isaac Ruto, shamelessly opposed the move. Isaac Ruto’s infamous statement—"I have never seen rain fall from trees. We all know rains fall from the skies"—was not just ignorant but a deliberate exploitation of public gullibility. Yet, instead of being...
Post a Comment
Read more