Karahani Alfredo sat in the High Court in Nairobi and looked at the judge. He was studying his face because his fate lay in the judge's hands. Judge Advocate Peter Kittson was a short burly Englishman who was in his late fifties. He wore a pair of rimless spectacles, a white wig, and his face seemed expressionless.
The people in court were silent as they stared at the judge. Alfredo had come to listen to the judgment of his divorce suit. His eyes travelled over the people in court and focused on those sitting on the front seats.
Then he saw her.
She was seated between two elderly men: he recognised one as her uncle and the other with a dark complexion was her father, old Kasamani. Her back was facing him, but he could see she was wearing a black velvet coat over her white skirt. He stared at her long black hair clipped at the back by a red ribbon; the hair that had attracted him five years back, but now seemed quite meaningless.
Then he looked at her dark, long, and beautiful legs as he began wondering why he had ever desired her years back, yet she later caused him great misery. He saw she was wearing her favourite black stilettos. His eyes were still staring at her when Angela turned and saw him.
She regarded him coldly, and his eyes met hers: their eyes filled with hate and contempt for each other.
Man and wife looked away. They did that to avoid looking at each other. The court was filled with relatives and friends who sympathised with their marriage, which for the past three years had gone on the rocks. They were eager to hear the outcome of the case, which had dragged on for months.
Then Alfredo saw the little boys. Special permission had been obtained from the court to allow the presence of the children at the hour of judgment.
The twins, dressed in red shorts with dark spots and white shirts, stood in front near their mother. Jacob and Esau were now almost three years old.
Jacob was the younger of the twins and most active. He could be seen holding tightly onto his mother's lap while Esau stared in his father's direction, his face lighting up with recognition.
Silence settled over the room as everyone waited anxiously for the judge, who had entered a few minutes back, to deliver his judgment. Kittson regarded the people coldly and then began to address the court.
"The family is quite an important institution in society and plays a great role. Parents, however, perform important tasks and are the backbone of the family. It is nature's law that man and wife must live peacefully in order to ensure the survival of their family," Kittson paused for breath as he studied the people who sat listening.
The judge cleared his throat and went on, "However, when there is no peace in the family, the foundations of a harmonious society is threatened. The court then has the duty to protect the children who may feel quite insecure in such circumstances. In this particular case, the court has taken into account that there has been no peace and stability ever since the children were born; the children are thus threatened by differences between their parents."
There was a brief pause before the judge continued, "There's enough evidence to grant a divorce so as to protect the young ones. Adultery is, however, a serious matter in a marriage. Considering the fact that the couples have lived separately for the past two years since that unfortunate incident, this court has no alternative except to issue a divorce."
Alfredo's lips curved into a smile. He was going to make it, he thought happily, and the damn fucking Jezebel would be off his back. But he knew that Angela, his wife, would equally be happy about the divorce the judge was soon pronouncing.
Angela, now aged twenty-five years, hoped the divorce would free her from any tie to Alfredo, and she would have the opportunity to rebuild her life all over again.
She was now prepared to live without him. Born at Musanda in Mumias, her parents came from a poor background, but her father, Old Kasamani, was a man who believed a person's background did not determine his destiny and worked very hard.
Her father had ensured she received a good secondary education. She had, however, been unable to advance further due to lack of funds.
But ever since Alfredo started mistreating her and suggested they live separately, she loathed him. And there was no way she would ever go back to him.
She was fed up.
"Having said all that," Kittson resumed his verdict, "the court has decided to allow Mr. Karahani unlimited access to his two children, Jacob and Esau, but Angela Kasamani will retain full custody of the children. This court now formally issues a divorce to Alfredo Karahani and Angela Kasamani. The alimony payable monthly shall be five thousand shillings having due regard to Karahani's limited finances. With this, the case has ended."
Kittson rose from his chair, the people in the courtroom following suit. He walked away and disappeared into the judges' chambers. There were murmurs along the corridor as people began to move away.
Apparently, some people were not happy with the verdict. They had wanted or expected the judge to rule against the divorce so that the family remained intact.
"You never know with the law," Some people could be heard talking in low tones.
"The law is an ass," one man could be heard saying along the corridors, "It kicks you where you least expect."
Alfredo, having signed the necessary papers in the chambers, came out and walked past the crowd before disappearing into the streets.
Angela, who had also signed the papers, saw him leave and later began to walk along the road with her little sons and uncle. Her father, who was wearing a grey suit and a white shirt with a blue tie, walked side by side with her.
The tall and heavily built old man cleared his throat and said, "Angela, my daughter, I did not like the verdict. I know you are happy since you want to be free. Buy as I told you previously before the verdict, it is not proper for you to hold onto the custody of the children. The alimony you are getting is too small to survive on your own. How will you bring up those children seeing that you are not working?"
"I'll try getting and doing some odd jobs, dad." She replied, hoping he would be convinced.
She looked at his hair, which was turning grey and the frown on his face, and realised he was hurt.
The old man pressed on, "How sure are you that your new companion likes them? Be very careful, Angela. The man could be pretending now but later turns out to be a snake."
Then she remembered. Her mind went two weeks back when she was with Musani, whom she was now living with. It was after their evening meal when her little boys were asleep that Musani began talking.
"Angela, don't you think it is better if you gave back these kids to their father? He could use them as an excuse to start pursuing you," he said.
"No, darling," she replied calmly. "I don't want to surrender them. They're mine. It's the mother who knows and understands the pains of child birth. Since when has a man ever given birth to children?"
Musani saw it coming; the challenge. But he ignored it as he said, "You know, I don't have enough money to feed a family of four. It would have been okay if you came without the kids."
"I can always work to supplement what you earn. I want to live with my children."
"Listen, Angela. My people back home won't like it when they learn I married a woman with two children. One: Yes! But not two! There is a taboo among my people against marrying a woman with twins. It is considered a bad omen. So you see, I can't have both in my house."
Angela saw the writing on the wall and had become alarmed. It had come like a flash of lightning followed by the roar of thunder.
She listened as he went on, "The judge had better give the verdict that the boys' father takes them away because if he doesn't, then I will not have them in my house."
Musani had paused before going on, "Why is the man avoiding responsibility, yet he is in a better position than me? I would rather accept one of them but not both. I will be a laughing stock among my people in the village, and even here if they find me living with a woman who has given birth to twins."
Now, as her tall and slim figure walked together with her relatives along the road on their way to the bus stop and her mind cracked from the past, Angela saw the danger. Musani would possibly demand that she quit his house and she was not prepared for such.
It was then she saw the point her father and uncle were telling her, and she decided to heed their advice.
Slowly but with great determination, she said, "I think you are right, dad. But I don't want to see Alfredo at this time. I can let him have Esau while I remain with Jacob. That way, the man I live with won't think he's being exploited."
"Good," replied the old man as his eyes lit up. "I will make sure I take the little boy personally to him. If not, I will have your mother take Esau to Alfredo."
That was how the decision to separate the twins was reached. It was made out of the selfish and personal interests of the society they lived in.
They had come out of their mother's womb tightly holding onto each other in a loving embrace but were now going separate ways into an unknown world and bleak future.
* * *
Alfredo was now a happy man. Things were going according to plan. He had successfully gotten rid of Angela and even now had one of his little sons, Esau with him.
He was happy when old Kasamani brought little Esau on an early Sunday morning, claiming the child needed his support. The old man, he thought, appreciated the role a father played in marriage.
After all, he was a man like him. And Old Kasamani was unlike Angela, who imagined a man had no right to a child's custody. She had wanted to keep the twins to herself.
Alfredo had no regrets about the divorce and had known it would have come sooner or later. As he thought about her, his mind raced into the past to the day he caught his wife in bed with another man.
That had provoked a great crisis in their marriage, and it nose-dived. But he knew he was also to blame for the failure of their marriage.
He was aware he had provoked her into unfaithfulness since he had affairs with other women. Alfredo had eyes that most women found irresistible; cool and penetrating eyes.
He came from a poor background; his father had worked as a peasant farmer while his mother sold farm products at the village market at Imanga, also known as Khusamanzi, at Mumias.
Despite the poor background, his parents had struggled to raise his school fees and had made sure he went to local primary schools before going to Nairobi for his secondary education, where he passed very well and was later lucky enough to get a job with an oil company.
He had observed the spirit of hard work in his parents and decided he would work harder to break off from the vicious cycle of poverty.
Now, in his early thirties, Karahani was tall and dark, with trimmed sideburns running down his cheeks. He was, by all standards, quite a fair, complexioned, handsome, and smartly dressed man who always left a lasting impression on whoever met him.
It was such features that made him win many female admirers. One such woman was Lucinda.
As his mind thought of Lucinda, he remembered the day he met the woman he was to fall seriously in love with. At the age of twenty-two, she was already a trained secretary and qualified as a stenographer.
Alfredo was then a clerk working for an oil company that sponsored him for professional training in management and accounts. On her part, Lucinda first worked as a receptionist after her "Advanced" level exams in another oil company when one day he called to inquire about sales and this natural thing called love clicked between them.
They began dating, and that was to be the beginning of a wonderful romance that ran smoothly until Angela found out. She had found receipts in his coat pockets, which showed he had been to a lodge with a woman she never knew, and her suspicions were aroused.
Angela had also noticed her husband took less interest in her. She decided to get even with him and turned on to a neighbour who was still single because the man intrigued her; and so she requested him to have lunch with her while her husband was at work.
The man had agreed but after lunch, the invitation was extended to the bedroom. Later, Alfredo found them naked on his bed. It had happened because they had been foolish enough to leave the bedroom door open; possibly in a hurry to drown their passion in the oceans of romance.
Alfredo had just stood at the doorway dumbfounded as he watched the man deriving pleasure from his wife. Rage seized him, and the man sensed danger when he looked behind his back, and he saw Alfredo approaching with a murderous look in his eyes.
Alfredo hit the man as he tried to run away, and he was about to start kicking him when he got away running fast like a horse towards the road.
Although the man had gotten away, a long spell of unhappiness followed between the two, and Alfredo filed a divorce suit, citing adultery as grounds for it. Later, as the children began to crawl, they had agreed to live separately.
Now, as he brooded over the past, he was glad to be rid of her. He was also happy to have little Esau with him. But come to think of it, who would care for his son while he was away at work? And who could conveniently replace Angela?
He thought seriously, but he had already made the decision that his little son would lead a comfortable life away from his mother.
Then, his mind focused on Lucinda. Although she was a foreigner, having been born and educated at Jinja in neighbouring Uganda, he loved her.
Suppose he married her? That would be a sure bet, thought Alfredo, of ensuring Esau was happy and led a comfortable life.
Esau needed motherly love, he went on reasoning, and Lucinda would provide that. Had he not often noticed her affection for little children? She was quite a good listener who was also quite obedient.
You will get a better mum, Esau. Alfredo chuckled as he watched the little boy who was sleeping in the baby crib.
Alfredo invited Lucinda two days later to his one-bedroom house at Jericho estate. He broke the news, "Honey, I know you will be quite surprised that I have invited you to my house for the first time. However, I would like you to know my divorce suit is through."
"That's great! But what about the kids?" She seemed anxious to know.
Alfredo studied her; a smile playing around his lips. He looked at her small round face as his eyes met her dark, loving eyes.
Lucinda was short but averagely built. On this day, her short fat legs were firmly anchored on her sling backs. Her concern for little children always amazed him and had won his affection.
He told her, "Angela's dad saw the sense and brought Esau to me; she refused to let go of Jacob."
"Now, where's Esau?" she asked as her eyes moved around the little lounge before settling on the boots he wore.
"He's asleep in the bedroom."
"I hope that having him with you will make you happy."
"No, Cindy! I can't be happy living here with him alone. It's the reason I called you here so that I may ask you something."
She only listened as he was talking. Then she asked, "What is it?"
"It's something very important. Will you marry me?" Alfredo said as he moved closer and touched her short black hair, smiling as his eyes studied the expression on her brown face.
"Are you joking, Al?" She was smiling broadly. Her eyebrows were also raised when she saw the smile on his lips.
She had always been attracted to the smile and his averagely built body. But she had not expected it to come sooner.
"No, Cindy. I'm quite serious. I really mean it," he said as he squeezed her ass and watched her stiffen.
"I can't believe it, honey! I've been waiting for a long time to hear you say those words," she replied as she gently moved closer, smiling, knowing she liked and was used to his habit of touching her ass whenever he was serious over an issue, "Yes, I'll marry you."
Even as she talked, Lucinda seemed quite rejoiced. She was happy her dreams had turned into reality. She was sure they would be happy together for the rest of their lives.
Truly, she had always loved him and prayed for the day they would be man and wife. But then, she had realised rather late as they were dating that he was a married man.
Yet that had never killed her hopes or dreams. As these thoughts were still crowded over his mind, she heard him speak again, but this time in a low tone.
"Will you always be kind to little Esau? I wouldn't like him being molested."
It was a veiled threat; but suddenly he realised it was unnecessary since he knew her as quite a humble woman who was incapable of ill-treating his son.
He trusted her, although he was aware she believed in stars or astrology as determining someone's fate, but this did not matter much to him. She could change with time, he told himself, as time had brought changes in peoples' lives.
If she did not have great faith in God, this did not matter a lot because many people were not quite religious. After all, the world was full of atheists who never believed in God's kindness, mercy, and even existence.
As he thought about her, he knew that although she was lowly sexed and considered him a Casanova, she truly loved him. He only listened as she began to talk.
"How can you talk like that? You know I have always loved your little boys. It would me give great pleasure to take care of little Esau. Of course you know I like him, don't you?"
There was no need to go any further. She had given him all the assurance, and he put his trust in her. He had to proceed with his plans.
He asked her to move in, and she willingly did so. Three months later, they were married.
The wedding took place in a small Anglican church off Jogoo Road. It was a small and quiet wedding attended by only a few friends and relatives on a Saturday morning. An inner party was held at their little house where all the guests were invited.
Later, Alfredo went over the presents which people had sent. One particular envelope that appeared quite colourful caught his attention, and he decided to open it.
Even as he was opening it, he noticed his hands were quite unsteady. A card lay in his hands, and the message was quite short and clear.
It simply said: "We wish you success and happiness in your marriage; Jacob and Angela."
* * *
Angela was glad it was all over. But she had been dismayed at losing Esau to Alfredo. It had been her desire to have the twins growing up together.
Now, as she thought about everything, she knew Jacob was going to miss her twin brother. But circumstances could not allow her to have both twins.
Her own father and family members had been against her decision to have them both. And so were his uncles who thought it would be a way of eventually patching up whatever differences she had with Alfredo.
If only they knew, she thought, she never wanted to go back to go back to him they would have let her keep her sons.
But Musani had also shown he was too attached to his peoples' feelings and taboos to allow her twins in his homestead.
Angela had no regrets about the divorce. It was inevitable. Alfredo had proved too difficult a man to live with. And he had been too unforgiving.
What a man! A man who thought it was his right to have affairs with other women, and yet his wife had no such right to take on a lover. A womaniser who had no regard as to how she felt when he decided to move with other women.
A damn fucking Casanova! Oh, what a wicked world it was to have a husband who had a wandering cock. A man who believed he had an unstoppable cock!
She knew everything was over between them that day she saw their neighbour, a Ugandan man come to hung his clothes on a string outside his house and felt desire burning inside her when she eyed his broad shoulders and muscular arms which formed powerful biceps.
Angela had been sitting outside pondering over her collapsing marriage. A woman, she thought sadly, needed attention and care from her man. It was unfair for a man to ignore his wife and derive pleasure from other women. Such were her thoughts when she saw the Ugandan walk like a tiger across the compound they shared.
He was single and handsome. Tall and powerfully built, he walked with extreme confidence. He wore black shiny lace ups. As she watched him walk, she admired him and felt desire overwhelming her. And the cloth cap he wore made him quite desirable. Alfredo had not touched her for several weeks, and this hurt her.
I'm still young and beautiful, she told herself, and this tall Ugandan will soon be mine. As those words raced through her mind, Angels decided to show him some gesture of friendship.
"Hi!" she greeted. "Why don't you come inside and have tea with me? It's quite boring drinking alone."
"No, your husband could find me inside there and raise hell. Thanks all the same!" Musani said as he looked at her black shining eyes.
The man seemed reluctant, and she had been disappointed. Inwardly, she knew she could persuade him and win if she tried another time.
And she was right. Men can be very weak when it comes to beautiful, immaculately dressed and attractive women. She had worn one of her best clothes and applied her make-ups, tried once more, and succeeded.
He had accepted to join her for lunch at her house. So overjoyed was she that she had thanked and kissed him after lunch; the man almost moonstruck as she whispered into his ears that she loved him.
That was the day Alfredo unexpectedly came home and found them tightly locked in each other's thighs as they passionately made love. It was an unfortunate day for Angela since it was her first attempt at infidelity. Alfredo had beaten her up later that day and even threatened to divorce her.
As days passed after that unfortunate incident, she realised Alfredo was quite unforgiving and knew life would never be the same again.
It was quarrels all the time. The Ugandan, Musani, had quit the neighbourhood following the incident and gone to live in another estate.
Angela had decided to pursue and convince him to allow her to move in and live with him. She had traced him to Umoja estate and told him about her unhappy marriage since the day they were caught red-handed.
Musani listened attentively as she narrated and knew he was partly to blame for her plight. At this, he felt sympathetic and accepted her plea.
But Musani, though having accepted her to live with him, knew he was in for a very difficult time. He had a wife in his native land, and the thought of marrying a foreigner greatly worried him.
Also, the idea of having to bring up children who were not biologically his was actually a nightmare.
"Angela, it's not that I don't want to marry you. I, too, have fallen in love with you. But what about your two sons? Will you leave them with their father? Boys need fatherly love when they are growing up."
:And also motherly love," she quipped as she faced him courageously. "They need me most; so I'll come with them. They are my children, and they'll be with me wherever I go."
Reluctantly, he had said, "Alright. Let it be as you wish for the time being. But don't blame me in the future if the boys don't like me. Boys always feel secure with their real father."
A red flag had been shown!
But Angela had chosen to ignore it as she replied, "You talk as if they don't feel secure with their mother. No, I want them near me, my love. They are more secure with me than with their father, and I can't bear the thought of another woman raising my children."
Musani had accepted defeat and knew he had no alternative but to let her come since he had shown her the green light. Now, in his early thirties, he was by no means doing well.
He had been working as an office messenger before moving out of Kariobangi to Jericho estate. It was here he had met Angela.
At his workplace, his superiors described him as a lazy man. The truth, however, was that Musani hated working as an office messenger. The thought of working in that capacity for the rest of his life on a low salary riled him, and he knew he had to find another job if he wanted to survive in the city.
And so when Alfredo returned one evening drunk and suggested they live separately, his suggestion fell on Angela's receptive ears. She had moved in with Musani.
Alfredo filed the divorce suit almost immediately, and she had taken the twins along with her much to the chagrin of Musani, who remained quiet.
But he had accepted her, and everything had gone on well until much later when Musani began lamenting that he would be a laughing stock among his people if they went back home with the twins. 6
Musani came back to his normal self following the divorce suit when Angela decided to have the custody of only Jacob. Angela noticed he seemed quite pleased that she had complied with his wishes.
What he never knew was that Old Kasamani had persuaded his daughter to take Esau to his father. The old pragmatic man had known the single man who earned a low salary would be greatly relieved.
Later, the news of Alfredo's planned wedding had reached her ears. At first, jealous feelings moved inside her body, but she remembered she had left him willingly following the nonstop quarrels.
She decided to let bygones be bygones after she realised that in as much as Alfredo had neglected her, she also played a part in their failed marriage. If only she had forgiven him....
With such ideas running inside her head, Angela suddenly began to feel sorry.
She would one day go to church, she decided, and ask for God's forgiveness. She knew she had to erase any hard feelings she felt about Alfredo since they were now divorced.
It was such a realisation that made her think of sending a wedding gift to her ex-husband. She wanted to congratulate him and show him she nursed no ill feelings against him.
She would not have sent him the card if Jacob was not living with her. But Alfredo needed to be reminded he had a son elsewhere; Jacob, the twin brother of Esau. And so how would she send him a card since she did not wish to attend the wedding?
She decided to go to the church where the wedding was to be held and explained to one of the workers at the church to do her favour of giving the gift to the newly wedded couple at the end of the wedding. She gave the excuse she could not attend the wedding for personal reasons. The man had agreed and carried out her wish.
Her life with her new husband turned out to be good during the first few months. Musani appeared to be fond of her as he usually bought her the things she required. Angela hoped life with him would be smooth and good for the rest of their lives.
How wrong she was! Soon, she noticed he seemed to be straining his purse in order to meet their daily needs.
Then he lost his job and life started becoming difficult. Later, he was to explain that it had happened quite unexpectedly.
Musani had arrived one morning at their office to find a letter of termination of employment staring at him. He had tried to plead; but his superiors and his boss in particular dismissed him as a lazy and incompetent man.
Yet Musani firmly believed that his fellow workers who disliked him had plotted against him since he was a foreigner. They had brought false allegations, he reasoned, in order to have one of their own friends or relatives take up his position.
It was the practice worldwide, he believed, for people in positions of authority to have their own relatives or friends in gainful employment. Nepotism, as it was called, thought Musani bitterly had made him lose his humble job as an office messenger in a foreign land.
He tried looking elsewhere for a job in the city in order to sustain his wife and stepson, but nothing seemed forthcoming. Then it dawned on him that he had no alternative except to go back to his native land and try getting a job there.
And that was when he decided to leave Kenya. Angela and her husband set out for Uganda on a bright Sunday morning, carrying little Jacob with them.
With only a few belongings Musani had bought during his ten-year life in the Kenyan capital, the couple headed westwards to Mubende in Uganda.
As the bus went racing along the road to the west, Musani had no doubt he had seen the last of Kenya. He hoped his mistress would settle down with him in Uganda as she appeared to be quite social; although his main worry was whether she would always love him.
He thought Angela had a soft spot for powerfully built men like him, and this made him feel jealous. But for little Jacob, he thought as he eyed the boy, there was yet more for him to come: that is, if he ever decided to look for his real father.