By Onyinkwa O
A fortnight ago, three little boys, all the sons of an army Sergeant at the Kahawa Barracks were playing near an abandoned quarry filled with water that is adjacent to the Barracks, when curiosity drew one of them into literally testing the waters with his two feet. He went in whole. When it took a couple of moments without him resurfacing, his elder brother feared the worst and took the plunge into the water in frantic attempt to rescue him.
When he too did not resurface after a couple of moments, the youngest of them ran back to their house to inform their dad who was sleeping. The dad shot out like an arrow to the place and dived into the pool in a desperate attempt to save his two little boys. He too did not resurface. All three drowned, and their bodies were retrieved a couple of hours later.
When the Sergeant’s wife ~ and mother to the boys ~ got the news, she was so distraught, she did not see the meaning of life, or purpose of living when three of the four people she lived for had gone like that ~ trying to save each other’s life. Overwhelmed with grief and the sudden withdrawal of the purpose of living, she tried to end her own life, and that of the only child she had left.
Thankfully, she was not successful, and both were rescued and are recuperating in a hospital in Nairobi. They were therefore not present at the emotional funeral for the departed trio that went down yesterday in Meru. The saddest bit of this tragedy though, is that as soon as she recovers, this lady will be arrested and hauled to court to answer to charges of attempted suicide, and attempted murder. She will thereafter be convicted and handed a long jail term that will see her little and only child grow up without the love of a father, mother and two brothers!
They say the law is an ass. I say the law is an ass hole!
