Upya Fresh

Where I come from, we have an influx of foreigners. Already, we have an area by the name Congo, named so because it had an influx of Bakongo refugees, fleeing the war in their country… Congo, Zaire and back to DRC… The Democratic Republic of Congo. Very soon, we might have areas such as Sudan (South), Burundi, Rwanda, etc., etc. Fun fact, Dynamiq, He of ‘Remember them Days in Nairobi’ used to be our neighbour in Coast. Anyway, these Burundian have taken over the groundnut and the coffee (and KDF – the gluten stomach holder) hawking business. On their part, their Rwandan neighbours have taken over the phone accessories’ hawking business, almost as if by some tacit agreement – bilateral trade agreement or something. The Burundians, night and day, they trade, huge flasks of ready coffee, the mwananchi version, and buckets of said body-building, economic-miracle-worker, KDF in tow. Ever been served by a Ugandan lady? Down on their knees, submissive service that will have you selling your

  A cry rents the air… anguished, pitiful, piercing… A woman whose breasts have been cut… a breastfeeding mother. The infant already dead, grabbed by the ankle and smashed against the concrete wall. Before they chopped off her breasts, they ravaged her in turns, deaf to her cries of pain, cries unheard to the world. Outside, dead bodies… some charred, some with a head or limb missing, are randomly scattered. In an hour’s time, a feast for the slum dogs. Baba tembea, tembea nami Usiku wa kiza, tembea nami Jua lichomozapo, lituapo Kusini, kaskazini, magharibi, mashariki Katika misimu yote Baba Elohi nakusihi, tembea nami. (Father walk with me In the dark of night, walk with me As the sun shines and sets In the South and North, West to East In all seasons Father Elohim I beseech, walk with me) In Geneva, far, far, far away, diplomats gather, a press conference, one not given much attention or airtime on TV. After all, it’s Africans. That’s their nature, always fighting, else, Eb

  When we fall on hard times, often times, we ask, ‘Why me?’ When death calls or illness visits, sometimes we are moved to curse God. When we lose our prestigious jobs, worries crease our brows, as our lives are upended. But when we believe in His bounty, when we believe that we are just upon another season, that the sun rises tomorrow, then, we praise him: Nitakusifu, nitakuinua Nitakuchezea, nitakuimbia Nitakutangaza, nitakutabiri Ewe Jemedari, mmiliki wa yote. (I will praise and exalt You I will sing and dance in Your honour I will proclaim and profess You Oh Great General, Sovereign over all.) 2020. Covid-19. The year the world stood still.   I had quit my job in mid-2018, intending to do business. And business I did, a start-up of sorts. Well, as statistics go, that a majority of business fails in their formative years, mine was no exception. Meaning I resorted to odd jobs here and there to survive. Well, come February 2020, I managed to finagle into a management job…

  Perhaps, you have been sacked. This after working faithfully for your boss for the last 11 years. Maybe, you are yet to get a job after graduating from college three years ago. Or you have a sick child and no one to turn to… Such was the story of Horatio B. Spafford, giving us the classic gospel tune ‘When Peace Like a River’… better known as ‘It is well with my soul.’ But have you ever wondered why God would have you so afflicted? Perhaps, He wants you to acquire humility before blessing you to be an important person in society. Like that time your landlord locked you out of the house because of rent arrears, He wants you to be an empathetic landlord when it is your turn to be so. And so, in times of sorrows, and times of bounty, you sing of Him: Ukawa baba yangu, ukawa mama yangu Ukanirithisha, jamii la mapendo Ukanibariki, ukaniinua Sasa ni mtu, mbele ya wenza. (You were my father, you were my mother From you I inherited a family of love You blessed and uplifted me Now

When I needed saving, He was there. My Great Enabler: Ukanirehemu, ukanihifadhi Ukanikomboa, sasa ni huru Ukanibariki, ukanitakasa Mimi chombo chako, nieneze injili. (You salvaged and preserved me You unshackled me, now I am free You blessed and sanctified I am become your vessel, the Gospel to proclaim.) How Amazing is our Lord’s Grace. Just like the prodigal son, the Lord leads us home, preparing a feast for us, once wayward sons. He runs to us when we embark home, shamefacedly, after wasting our portion of His divine wealth… a heavenly voice not put to use singing of His Glory, a sharp mind that could have been utilised to find the cure for cancer…. Yet, He loves us all the same. So, in my travails, I get down on my knees. Ask myself why I continue to eat with the swine – the lowest of the lowest, for that’s what my troubles really are. Yet, I could feast on the best of meat and drink in my Father’s house, for there is plenty there. Then, I sorrow no more, pick myself