RAPED

Signing out from work on a Monday 6 pm to be specific as I headed for a meet up with a friend at a popular local joint within the central business district to catch up. It was my usual hangout spot as I was familiar with the staff from the bouncers manning the entrance, the counter cashier who gave me regular discounts on drinks to my favorite waitress.

As I waited for him to arrive, he texted me 45 minutes after I had already ordered drinks as I waited for him that he will not make it for our meeting citing a family emergency, his mother had been admitted thus he had to abandon our scheduled meeting to be with his mother,a humanly act that anyone who acknowledges the role of family in society will understand without any feeling of feeling wasted or suspecting ill intentions.

Sipping up my drink as I waited for the traffic jam to reduce, two well dressed ladies joined me at my table. The club had a handful of revellers that day considering Tuesday was a working day. We exchanged pleasantries after which the manly instinct inside me offered to buy them drinks though I was on a financial off peak, contrary to my expectations, African women tradition or modern day urban slay queen practice they turned down my offer and instead bought me my favorite drink which I didn’t have the pleasure of consuming for a very long time.

Though I was resisting the offer with my mouth, deep inside me I was just waiting for them to open the lid kick starting our party. From our pleasantries they showed me their staff identity cards they worked for reputable institutions within the city and were on leave of absence that’s why they were there to clear their heads from the busy work schedule they had for the past few weeks. So expensive they appeared,expensive they were their conversations revolved high-end things be it shopping,hotels,vacations amongst other things I can’t remember well.

They had all the cards on the table hence I had no otherwise but to do the same starting by telling them my real name not the usual name I give to passersby I bump in these clubs regularly. I usually go by the names Tom of Fast Clean logistics but today I had to give out my real names and show my staff identity card. Cornered as I was I was left with no option furthermore,they were decent and employed ladies who had no ill intentions like the usual club hangers who are always praying to The Almighty that He may send you something that will force you to visit the gents for either a short call or a long call or any call as long as you leave them alone with your already open drink so that they slip ‘rice’ or anything that will knock you out for hours inside your drink rob you everything. Nevertheless, I had money in soft copy form in my ATM and mobile money the only cash I had was my weekly fare which was nothing compared to the drinks they had ordered on the table.

As we drank the night out I begged to leave at around 9 pm since tomorrow I was to report for work as usual plus I had to go prepare my supper considering I never ate anything meaningful for lunch. I tried using all excuses but they seem to be way ahead of me even when I told them I was rushing home to prepare supper and freshen up for tomorrow they ordered roasted meat and Ugali. After eating up I told them the public service vehicles operating our estate route cease operations at 11 pm they offered to Uber me home since they had a car so there I was out of excuses but we agreed I would leave at exactly 11pm. We talked about many things from likes,dislikes,peculiar habits to our work bosses everyone loves to hate.

One of them I won’t mention the name wasn’t drinking as the rest of us so I guessed she was the designated driver. True to their words at exactly 11 pm we left the club.,though I was wasted I told them to drive me home my senses were still there and I didn’t sleep all the way to their Lavington apartment. I sat at the back alongside the more friendly lady who seemed to have drunk more than her system could handle manifested by her uncontrolled vulgar talk. When I inquired why they didn’t take me to my place they said their car had less fuel plus they weren’t 100% sure about the layout of the route in and out of my estate thus couldn’t risk night driving in a strange place thus they were to call they taxi guy who will take me home.

I removed my shoes as I placed my self on the couch in their living room I overheard the other one who was more friendly talking to their taxi guy over the phone to come pick me up. That was the last thing I heard only to be waken up with my mobile phone alarm at 5 am to find myself naked sandwiched between two naked ladies in an unfamiliar territory.

My last recollection placed me on a couch in their sitting room waiting to be picked up with their ‘taxi guy’ to be taken home, how did I get to their bedroom in that state? what should I do next? If I shout for help the neighbors will definitely know am the aggressor they are the victims. I came out of the bed wore my clothes went back to the couch to call Ken my Human Resource department point man informing him to prepare me an early annual 30 day leave of absence that commences from that day since I won’t be able to make it to work due to ‘family emergencies’ that have just arisen. I also dropped my boss a text on the same as I lay on the couch waiting for daylight to escape captivity.

I was in shock as I called my pharmacist friend requesting for assistance in acquiring Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) drugs for a ‘female friend’ who had been raped and didn’t want to use the formal procedure involving the police and their P3 form after examination. Time seemed to be moving at a tortoise speed, eventually I left the apartment at 6 am straight to my pharmacist friend establishment to pick the PEP then off I went home with a disturbed mind waiting for the 3 month period to end before I can undertake another HIV/AIDS test to ascertain my status.

I followed up on the two ladies at their place of work though I never confronted them on the matter I only went there to confirm if indeed they work at the firm to my surprise they were senior staffers not ordinary middle level employees. Opening up hasn’t been easy I have never sought the advice of a counselor or even shared the experience with friends since we live in a society where sexual assault, rape in particular is a women issue not a community problem where women are the victims and men are the perpetrators. People aren’t bringing up the issue about male rape victims since men who have been raped can’t parade themselves in courts and police stations as they too embarrassed to come out and speak about their ordeals which is disheartening.Male rape victims are just as legitimate as female rape victims. 

Many times have tried talking about the ordeal in second person form to friends, as a friend’s experience not my personal experience but everyone I share with casually laughs it off claiming ‘My Friend’ enjoyed the moment.

POST CAMPUS EVOLUTION

"Canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification’ is the greatest corporate lie since canvassing leads to automatic qualification, you can’t get any job in this country without connections luck ended during Moi’s regime."

It has been two years since I cleared campus, 18 months since I graduated and six months since I moved to the city, yes the big city. After staying in the village for 18 months, spending the last nine as a Board of Governors (BOG) untrained teacher, only to be paid meager wages for only four months after adopting scorch earth policy making the staff-room uninhabitable, waging World War III with the principal, bursar and director of studies as I threatened to drop nuclear bombs wiping out the entire staff-room. This was after I had taught all the subjects including those I wasn’t good at during my heydays such as Chemistry which I ‘left’ at the mole concept since I used to answer the uses of salt, aluminum, copper questions leaving the rest to God. Life hasn’t been a bed of roses

Spiritual; during trying times human instinct dictates that you become devoted to your creator. This is the time you start reading the bible daily, post biblical verses and prayer of the day across all your social media platforms from Facebook to Whatsapp as you give yourself hope that tomorrow will be a better day. You take up leadership roles in your church, become a serious bible study participant and accept Christ as your savior realizing he is the Alpha and Omega with the hope that he will remember you by opening ‘employment’ doors, forgetting you never set foot inside a church like structure during your 4 year college stay.

Relatives at high places disappear; we all have relatives at high places be it in government or private sector who promise to sort you out once you are clear with campus. They grace your graduation with sacks full of promises assuring you that once your certificate comes out, give them a call they will pull some strings, abracadabra, just like that you will have a job. Unfortunately this doesn’t happen they disappear leaving you stranded in the wilderness, they will stop picking your calls and whenever you pay a visit to their offices only to get clear instructions from the secretary that he or she will be out of the country for an unspecified period. Mine disappeared when I was sent for industrial attachment forcing me to attach myself at the chief’s office, doing everything in general nothing in particular.

Reality sets in; faster than the sun set you realize you have to start doing something meaningful with your life, meaningful in this case means income generating. This is when desperation sets in making you to demand any job as long as you can get something small. You realize that no employer in his sound mind is willing to give you the  Ksh 50,000 starting salary you once thought off as the least you could take. Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) starts sending you those text messages reminding you how your loan is due thus you should start servicing it monthly, they top it up with “Si Ulisoma Sasa Lipa” radio and television adverts threatening a monthly 5,000 fine if you default. You take up any job hoping that you will one day get the job you went to college for as you hope to make ends meet.

The hustle begins; resorting to the mad man job application approach which involves dropping your job applications in all companies you perceive have vacancies only for them to end up in the shredding machine. You apply for certificate of good conduct, Ethics And Anti-Corruption (EACC) clearance and HELB clearance, National Social Security Fund (NSSF) and National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) which are statutory certifications for ‘serious’ employers who put the ‘Canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification’ caption yet its common knowledge this is the greatest corporate lie since canvassing leads to automatic qualification, you can’t get any job in this country without connections, luck ended during President Moi’s regime.

Your circle shrinks; you only remain with your close circle of friends, usually they are less than ten. The rest slowly abandon you as they get things that keep them busy furthermore, they have nothing to gain by maintaining friendship ties. Your Whatsapp messages drop from 5,000 in a day to less than ten as Whatsapp groups become inactive as massive exodus of those who have found important things leave. You go for weeks without even a single phone call as your clique shrinks faster than you expected. People attach value to friendship, with selfish questions such as ‘what do I have to gain’.

Pocket Money dries up; have you ever been broke till you start questioning why God didn’t create a Chinese man in the place of Adam so that he could eat the snake before it lied to Eve? If the Chinese man was to be the first human being to enjoy the Garden of Eden, he could have eaten the snake that lied to Eve who in turn lied to Adam into eating the forbidden fruit that lead to your current situation; right now you would be living a better hustle free life. If you have never thought along this line you don’t know what brokenness feels like? The only money you will be receiving from parents is either church offertory or barber shop levies “pesa ya kinyozi” whereas  the only shopping you will be going for is kitchen or household shopping usually once in a month with a shopping list that won’t even allow you to pocket more than Ksh 200 as balance considering the price fluctuations.

Sobriety takes over; memories of how you used to be extravagant back in campus creep in. Your extravagance starts to haunt you realizing how you spent a huge fraction of cash on alcohol, trendy clothes and flashy lifestyle you realize how you could have invested the money in some serious business. Am I the only one who has business ideas when am broke but the moment I have money they disappear only to return when am broke again?

Social media absence; this is one place you go incognito since you don’t have the decent trendy cloths, pose and looks which used to make you photogenic. You become photophobic avoiding any visibility across all social media platforms including removing your Whatsapp profile photo. Taking a backseat monitoring status updates as you hope to stage a major comeback in the near future. Your female are always slaying getting all the attention social media gives save for those who are on maternal leave.

Beb takes cover; the moment the pocket money tap begin to show signs of drying up your girlfriend will start coming up with nonsensical issues of how you are insensitive nowadays, you don’t give her emotional support, you no longer take her swimming, for coffee dates blah blah blah in her attempt to leave. She will go ahead to tell you how you should move out of your parents’ home so as to start  your own life, this is after landing some guy with a pimped bedsitter with a roommate somewhere in Eastlands who can’t take her for the same coffee dates and swimming thus dumping her. She runs back to you only to find you have a problematic job that can’t allow you to balance two problems at the same time. They normally take cover before graduation, if you are lucky enough she will take cover after your graduation either way she will take cover those campus relationships never last past the university main gate anyway.

Daydreaming; talking to yourself as funny ideas cross your mind on how you can make serious money fast enough to satisfy your needs which are always ballooning. Ideas of how can land a life changing government tender, hack your bank’s system to transfer funds to your account and how you can correctly predict those sports betting jackpots. This clouds your judgments making it impossible for you to think of any constructive income generating activity.

Societal pressure; the expectations of a graduate are far much higher since the society assumes education is the key to success, little do they know the padlocks are always changed immediately you graduate. Sentiments like “huyu tangu amalize shule hajapata kazi kwani alisomea wapi” casting aspersions not only on the credibility of your degree but also your personal abilities .

TURNING TALENT TO HUSTLE

I go by the name Antony Alvin Omondi though most of my friends call me Chamu am a 21 year old second year Economics student at Kenyatta University. Currently I practice digital artistry under my media company XVO crew which is at times referred to as Chamu_Toonz which is my nickname.It focuses on creative design,animation,digital artistry,photography and video editing.

I was influenced to venture into this field by my older brother who owns a creative studio in Kasarani, Nairobi known as Pixova Studio 8 months ago. He taught me how to use Photoshop which is the most popular creative design software in the adobe creative suite. After polishing my skills in Photoshop I embarked on You-tube tutorials where i learnt how to do digital artistry ‘Cartooning’ which is the company’s trademark and mainstay venture.  Though we are in the same field we specialize of different aspects.

When I tell people I have never stepped inside a graphics design or fine art class they say am lying to them since my skills are refined to be self taught. Those who know I have never stepped in class say am talented though I know it takes the 3P’s patience,prayer and persistence to nurture ones talent, talent without hard work is nothing as talent needs to be constantly put into practice for perfection to be attained.

 I have never thought of pursuing creative design as a full time career due to the limited opportunities in the country as most organizations prefer to outsource most of the creative design services from well established multinationals at the expense of local talent thus contributing to the slumber experienced in matters art and creative designs. For a long time people haven’t paid keen attention on the industry as most players rely on handouts and good will since it isn’t viewed as a career. No parent in our generation in his or her right mind could allow one to venture in the creative industry due to uncertainties experienced.

 The question of balancing my studies and art has never come up anywhere, the two operate on different timelines as I engage in digital artistry when am free. I have never and will never forfeit academic activities for my hustle unless big money is involved,yes big money worth the sacrifice.

Economics is what I am pursuing in school and hopefully I will be pursuing it in future as a career whereas digital artistry and creative design are what I am pursuing at the moment to supplement my pocket money. In the current work environment you have to be dynamic to survive, you have to not only think outside the box but also live outside the box. As different as the two trades are they are being undertaken by one person a classic example of not putting all your eggs in one basket.

Social media has played a major role in driving the demand for such artistic impressions with everyone striving to be unique. Platforms such as Facebook,Whatsapp and Instagram are the driving forces in this industry, the more they gain popularity amongst the My greatest support has come from my friends who always advertise my work through their social media handles. Through this form of advertisement have been able to get new clients through referrals from friends and friends of friends.The proceeds I get from this hustle is invested in my photography venture which is capital intensive. You can contact me via whatsapp on 07258871490 or Chamu-Toonz on Instagram if you are interested in getting tooned.youthful population the better.

I charge Ksh 1000 for 4 photographs of digital artistry though I give discounts when one requests for more than 10 photographs. My greatest challenge is the number of potential clients has remained low though it is slowly picking up.People who assume this job is a walk in the park expect me to toon them for free not knowing it is a job like any other requiring one to invest both time and intellectual abilities.I have managed to come up with illustrations of celebrities such as songstress Avril, Hip Hop maestro Octopizzo and socialite Vera Sidika.