Gunned Down
January 10, 2008
catesbool
The news posted by Ximena was startling. Anthony Njui, ISS-PPM 2004-2005 is dead, gunned down in relation to post-election violence in Kenya. The name did not immediately register. I clicked on the link and I was transported to the ISS website and there his picture is. JUI.
I gave a loud gasp of surprise forgetting I was at the office. I momentarily broke down in tears. Jui is dead. Jui is dead.
It seemed not so long ago when I was just sharing lunches and laughters with this man. He was a joker with a fondness for kidding Filipina scholars in ISS. At first, I was uncomfortable with his straightforward jokes. Then I realized he is one of those harmless guys who loved life and his family.
He always dressed the same whenever he would drop by in my wing in Bazarlaan. He and my neighbor, Moses Mburu, also from Kenya, used to take turns cooking for each other lunch. I used to wake up in the mornings to find him in the kitchen already busy preparing lunch for Moses. Sometimes, he would buzz me to ask if I had managed to see Moses on that day because he has not had lunch yet.
How can I forget the good laugh he gave when he asked me to share some of the Ugali he cooked and told me the meat is goat? I gave him a shudder at that time and recounted to him how I ended up hating goat meat.
He used to kid me, “Cates, when you go to Kenya, call me. I will take you on a safari and have you fetched with a limo.” I did not believe him but took his joke with a smile.
On a particular November day way back in 2005, he cooked lunch for Moses for the last time and knocked on my door to invite me. He did not say anything, just asked me to have lunch with them. I ate the Ugali and the vegetable he had cooked, fully appreciating them.
Then he gave me pat on the shoulder and made some jokes again about me coming to Kenya to visit him. That was the last time I would see Jui, with him always in white shirt, black trousers and a pair of slippers. That was also the last time I would hear him laugh in the kitchen of Bazarlaan 25-7.
The next day, he left. I went inside the kitchen half expecting him to be chatting with Moses. When I knocked on Moses door, however, I was told that he already left for Kenya because he really misses his wife and his kids. I told Moses to tell Jui how hurt I am that he did not even bother to say goodbye. Moses told me Jui did say goodbye, when we had lunch the day before. I told Moses it was not the same.
Now, the laughing guy is no more. Gunned down on his way home, the news report said. He was part of an NGO which worked for Human Rights and Peace in Kenya.
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Subscribe to comments via RSS Feed
