AFTER THE PASS OUT PARADE, AND THE JOURNEY TO MY NEW WORK STATION…..

After the pass out parade, we were granted 30 days annual leave and left to our respective homes. I travelled safely, arrived home and let my folks know of the posting which went well with all having known Kitale as a maize producing part of this nation. (Little did they know that there was another bandit prone part of Kitale and to be specific the place where I was posted)

I spent most part of the annual leave at home with mum since she had by then  closed down the butchery and the small café that she was running before I left to Embakasi owing to low business activity and was now doing dairy farming and other household chores. One of the hall marks of this leave was sharing with her how life at training school and Magadi was. She was shocked of what I went through as I narrated it bit by bit and In details but was also glad that I had successfully gone through the training. She also used this opportunity to help me to remove some small thorns ‘Commonly known as ngoja ngoja’ from my palms which were as a result of the field training and had been immersed in my body for some months.

Friends still visited, came with gifts and were ready to help me start my new life. I was given money to buy household items and I must appreciate that the sum was handsome and by the time my annual leave was over, I was ready to go and start a new life. It was my hope that as much as police officers were known to live in deplorable conditions, I would have a different experience having seen the GSU being more organized that out counterparts, General duties….(Little did I know that the biggest shock of my life in the GSU was awaiting me ahead…..)

I left home ready to start life in Kitale. I was escorted to the stage, left for Nairobi and then to Embakasi where we were all required to report and board Lorries that were supposed to take us to our newly posted camps. At Embakasi, we chatted with those who we were to travel to Kitale with as we loaded our goodies onto the Lorries ready to travel. We shared so much, asked each other questions and also were eager to know what our new stations looked like.

After packing all that we were to carry to the bush, in huge convoys, both carrying personell and goods, we left the training school and our journey started. Since we had started late, we could not get to kitale by night fall hence we were to have an overnight stop over at Eldoret State Lodge where we were expected to sleep and then very early in the morning embark on the remaining part of the journey. This would turn out to be one place that I would never like to experience what I passed through on that fateful night again.

This was the day that a watchman ‘saved’ my life and career too….!

While in Eldoret state lodge,we felt that there was no need to sleep as we had to spend the night in the Lorries and since most of the collegues that we were with were from this region, they came up with a plot that we were to sneak out of the camp having our  military uniform intact but we were to conceal it with civilian clothes at the bottom and  put on civilian Tshirts on top. One notable case was that we were all in our shiny military boots thus anyone could easily identify that we were sharing a thing or two in common. However, this was not a big deal as we were out for a mission, to enjoy and party all night long.

We left for Paradise hotel where we were noy only partying but were up to out do each others drinking and dancing prowess. We started drinking beer and dancing and owing to our huge numbers and our ‘fat’ wallets, we literally took tool over the club as almost all tables were occupied by us and the twilight girls were also in plenty as they took this opportunity to welcome the new boys in town. We partied for hours and before midnight, I and two of my friends were very drunk having swallowed one two many. The ladies who were in our company having been not drunk like us tricked us into leaving the hotel to their residence where we would ‘rest’ and then wake up very early in the morning and head back to state lodge.

We walked outside the hotel and one of them signaled a Cab/Tuk Tuk that was to take as to Langas where they were claiming to reside. As we were boarding the taxi, a watchman who was standing outside the club noted that we were police officers and were new in town and having known these ladies signaled me to get out for a minute. Luckily and I would say by the mighty hand of God, I responded to his call and he told me that once we left to where we were going, we would be robbed along the way and all we had taken away as this was what the ladies were well known of.

I took  his warning seriously and I guess from the shock of what was waiting us ahead, I got a little bit sober than my colleagues and demanded that they alight from the taxi. With some resistance, I forced them out and told them what plan was in place and luckily they listened to me. Would we have fallen into the trap, that would have seen us stranded out there, left by others as they went to the final destination and the GSU Known not to compromise on discipline issues, am sure we would have been sacked immediately.

We went back to the hotel and danced till some minutes to four where we started trooping back to the state lodge ready for the remaining part of the journey. I took it upon myself to ensure that every officer who was here left the place but shockingly most of them resisted to leave the company of ladies that they were sharing the table with while others were almost out of order. Either way, we were able to convince them to leave and in their drunkenness were at last in the lodges ready for the journey.

The journey started and after some few hours, we were in Kitale town. We had a stopover and trooped to Khetias supermarket where we were to do some shopping. Hoping that I was to go to a house, I shopped huge using that money that most of my friends and visitors had given me so as to start life with plus money from my savings. The supermarket attendants were very helpful in helping me identify some essential house hold items. After choosing what I thought was necessary for a starter, it was time to pay and then all was packed in cartons ready for transport and use.

The time that was allocated for shopping elapsed hence we all congregated at an agreed spot, loaded the shopping onto our trucks ready for the last leg of our journey. We left Kitale town and headed towards the Suam-Endebess road which was an all weather road. To my dis beleif, we had left the town area and were headed to another place that had rained so much, the road was muddy but passable. We soon got to Chepchoina shopping center and hoping that we were home at last, that was not to be. We had to travel approximately a kilometer and a half from the center, leave the main road and now join another road that was heading to the camp. I started sensing some ‘danger’ now that I thought that we were going to a town only to leave all the towns behind, the all weather roads behind and now onto a poorly done road to an isolated camp on a hilly location.

From the main road, it was a five minutes drive but on this material day, I found like it was taking ages before we got to the camp. All in all, we were there and standing on the top of the troop carrier, my worst fears were confirmed! I saw bush tents, uni huts and no permanent structures that resembled houses that I thought would be my new residence. I was really upset by these findings and I must admit that it took ma ages to accept that this was my newly found work station.

It was time to alight from the lorry and for sure, I was in a lot of conflict with my self as I never thought that one day in my life, I would live in such a place. In this case, I had no better option but to agree to the fact that I could not change the situation as per then but with time, I vowed to do something and this would be through a letter that I received while in the training school giving me an opportunity to study at Kenya Institute of criminal Justice.

This gave me hope, at least for a while....!

OFF TO MID COURSE BREAK AND LIFE AFTER MAGADI FIELD TRAINING

After being given permission to  proceed  for mid course break, i woke up the following day, so early, got prepared, picked some few photographs so as to use them to explain to my family, friends and relatives of what I was going through and may be they would get a rough idea of what life at the training school was like as was captured in the photos.

Having visited this part of the country for the first time in my life, commuting from Embakasi could not have been easy. Luckily, the training school management had put in some arrangements with Citti Hoppa bus company to come up to the Training school gate hence we were picked from there and dropped  in the town center. How I got to Tea room, where I picked a matatu to Kerugoya remains unclear but thanks God, I got home.

On alighting from the stage, in my home town, I realized that things had changed. 'My statu's had changed in that those who never cared to say hi when I was a butcher, had a reason to do so. Those who never knew me before joining GSU Training school were made to know me by my friends; those who thought that I was on a full salary could also dare demand for some few coins for soda and tea. Young men of my age could ask for some few coins for ‘removing lock’ which means a bottle or two to beat the early morning hangover.

There were mixed expressions from different people but all in all, I was the first from my immediate village to join the General Service Unit hence had to answer so many questions on the same. There were so many myths about this Unit hence I spent the one week break trying to demystify them which was not easy as I had not known all about GSU in and out. The one week break elapsed so fast having been one that I was trying to catch up with most of my friends and also visit my extended family members who lived elsewhere.

After the expiry of the break, I later boarded a Matatu to Nairobi and was directed to Embakasi stage  by the conductor without wasting a minute lest I got lost or even mugged. I boarded the next moving vehicle that took me up to GSU Training School gate in Embakasi. I alighted and joined my colleagues for the last leg of training. The evening was characterized by each of us narrating a story of what that week outside the training school gate was all about and one similarity was that the break was much needed and was a fruitful one in search of ‘finishing power’.  It was soon time to retire to bed that I really had waited for.

After nightfall, we woke up and got ready to start the days activities. Were invited for a brief meeting by the officer commanding junior training wing Mr Kodi who made it clear that it was time to start fine tuning matching drills in readiness for the big day, the pass out parade.  This would later see us spending much of the remaining time at the drill square so as to ensure that we would not be the first batch of recruits to lower parade standard as  the GSU is well known for a well organized and almost perfect parade and in our case, we never let the standards drop not even an inch lower!

Days passed on faster than usual as we were rarely mis treated as was the norm before and after some time, our counterparts who Joined Police Training College Kiganjo passed out. This was a pointer that our day was close  too! It is worth noting that this last session was not very difficult as we were treated with some degree of dignity and the all time nasty instructors had engaged a low gear and could now sit with us and reason with us too. This was a much needed moment as for once, i enjoyed life inside the training school to some extent.

Some weeks to the big day, i was called at the Junior training wing office and handed over a letter that came from Kenya Institute of Studies in Criminal Justice. I had been called upon to study a higher diploma in forensic science and Criminology. To me, this came early enough and in time as I translated it to mean that I would be posted at the training school or at a station/camp within Nairobi so as to start my studies. This was not to come as on enquiring, I was informed that I would be posted anywhere irrespective of this letter but was advised to officially apply for permission to study once I got there. (This permission would never be granted…..!)

Putting that behind and not losing the whole picture. I swallowed the bitter pill and still never lost faith that one day, I would graduate with a degree irrespective of any existing and forthcoming obstacle. We were later informed that on 10/09/2005, we were to pass out and hence required to communicate this to our family and friends. The Big day became a reality and as early as 0300Hrs in the morning, families, friends and relatives had started trooping in. By six in the morning we were in our ceremonial attire and ready to ‘Ice Our Cake’ after months of baking it!

We did our parade, took the oath, listened to speeches, dis missed from the parade, returned the G3 rifles used during the parade to the amoury and then time to meet those who had come to celebrate the big occasion with us came. I was and will forever remain grateful to the Lord. I was visited by so many. Young and Old, male and female but also guess that nay Sayers also came in to confirm whether I had completed the training or it was just a PR exercise. To their shock, I had done it!

They brought with them cash and non cash prizes, words of advice and encouragement and one lady named Rose Kinyua, who is  my neighbor had made me two delicious cakes that really made the occasion be more colorful. I also thank Mum for being so well organized as she was accompanied by a large number of friends who were never ashamed of expressing pride in a son of one of their own! We sang, danced and had merry.

I was also advised on so many matters and on this day, one uncle of mine, Mr Gachoki told me something that backed my long time desire to undertake further studies. He told me that it was time that I took it upon my self and enrolled for part time studies now that it was possible to do so. The day was superb and must admit that it was one of the most memorable days of my life. Time passed on so fast and  soon, it was 1700Hrs. Visitors were required to leave and we were left behind so as to be informed of our posting. 

The posting list would later be made available and read to us . I was posted to GSU Miti Mbili Camp in Kitale. This was located some few kilometers from the Kenya Uganda Boarder. We were granted our annual leave, left our luggage at Embakasi where we would later be picked and taken to our work stations. To God be the Glory that I gotten to this point after what I would say was 9 Months plus that changed me into the officer that I am today from a ‘raia’ that I was before 28/12/2004!