HOW I JOINED KCA UNIVERSITY AND THE STRUGGLES I WENT THROUGH.

Life in Kca University.

September 2008 saw me join  KCA University for a Bachelor of Commerce degree. For me, the dream that I had always had, that of joining an institution of higher learning had finally started seeing the light of the day. In here, shock awaited me. On the first day, we were given a piece of paper where we were expected to write our names, and e mail addresses. I and another colleague of mine had never heard of an E mail address hence left the space blank. This was just an indication on how much we were lagging behind as other students had already embraced technology and used it even in the place of work. The closest I had come to any office machine was to a type writer which was used by orderlies/Secretaries hence I could also not operate it.

After this, it was time to introduce ourselves in class. The other students proudly identified with their work places where most were from the private sector and could proudly say so. When it came to my turn, I could not tell the class that I was a police man. Thanks to inferiority complex and considering that police officers were known for not so good things, I decided to say this….My Names are Kabere Martin, I work for the Ministry of Internal security, Office of the president!”. There was no place that I said that I was a police constable and more so a GSU officer. The refusal to disclose where I was actually working and more specifically to state that I was a officer of the law was informed by the fact that  the public was not known to be so kind to officers and the officers ourselves had and still do to date  continued to taint our image hence making the job of a police officer less desirable to many. However, with time, the very closest of my friends totaling to five had the ‘secret’ revealed to them.

Life over here was full of surprises as per my own way of viewing it. First was the freedom to either attend or not attend classes as long as one attained the mandatory 70% attendance as per university rules and regulations. The other was that Continuous assessment Tests and Assignments either sit in or take away were to be factored in when computing the final end of semester grade as 30% and the sit in end of semester exam comprised 70%. This was un usual according to me since I was used to the exams that we sat for during our end of term in primary and secondary school which was 100%. The other major highlight was that of handling group assignments which was a great way to work together despite having come from diverse backgrounds. This was no walk in the park as there were serious group members and other joy riders but managing this was a great way to learn on how to work in groups both in school and at the work place. Mwakenya’s, which are hand written class notes, on small pieces of papers which were used as a way to cheat during exams were also widely used but once one was caught had to face consequences as detailed by the university exam rules and regulations and this was being sent away from the University forever.

A semester, which is an equivalent of four months, soon came to the end and we sat for the end of semester exams. This being my first semester, I had taken five units, two short of the maximum that one could possibly take. This was informed by the fact that I was attending evening classes and Saturday classes too but had no official permission from my employer to attend the Lectures hence had to sneak to classes. With my job being that which we are always on call, I could be called for an immediate assignment when the class was half way hence could leave immediately I saw my supervisor/Corporal calling. The worst of this experience was one day when I had just sat down in the lecture hall for five minutes, attending a business statistics class and was called for an urgent assignment and had to leave. Everyone in class looked at me in dismay but they could do nothing much. Either way, the semester ended amidst serious disruptions where to make the matters worse; I failed in one unit, Principles of management and had to sit for a supplementary exam. This was so sad for me and I felt like giving up and investing what I had set for fees to other investments. What made me think this way was the fact that I felt that I had done the paper well and hence deserved a better mark having done well in the CATs and Assignments but when I tried to discuss this with the lecturer, all he said was that he had set a very technical paper hence I may have done badly. This was not welcome to me but thanks to a good friend and a fellow police officer, I was convinced that all was not lost and decided to continue to second semester.

 

The Second semester was now on and I decided to take the maximum number of units which was seven. The semester too was a struggle owing to the fact that balancing work and classes was not easy but after the end of semester exams, I had passed the whole seven units which was a turning point in my Campus life. Come the third semester I was able to proudly identify myself as a police officer as myself worth had significantly improved and I also realized that those who I thought were ‘superior’ owing to their backgrounds and work places were going through similar experiences like I was going through. Some had even three supplementary exams to sit for despite I having taken them as extra ordinary. With all these struggles, those of disruptions, Supplementary exams, problems of raising fees amongst others, I was able to successfully sit for 56 Units and by April 2011, it was time to say Goodbye to KCA University and wait for graduation that was to take place in December the same year. Later in the year, I graduated with a second class honors upper division which I always prayed for and worked for. I must admit that it was not a walk in the park but all I can say is that the favor of the Lord was always with me throughout the course.  Mum and her friends, my extended family, my friends too and other guests came to witness this colorful day and their presence was simply electrifying. Partying together, Singing, dancing and reading the scripture plus words of encouragement and thanks giving was what this day was characterized by as seen in the photo below:

 

After KCA University I joined Institute Of Human Resource Management for a Higher Diploma In Human Resources Management.

By the time I was done with my undergraduate course, it was time to pursue post graduate studies hence I applied for a higher diploma in Human Resources Management at the Institute of  Human resources Management that was to start in June the same year. As I was waiting for this, I enrolled for a driving course for the month of May hence by July I was done and ready to start the new course. IHRM was to be my new home of studies for the next one year. This was one of the most organized institutions of higher learning that I have ever attended. The classes were manageable, well organized, small in number, effective in communicating to students on matters affecting them and any other matter that required our attention, had student friendly lecturers, pocesses a well equipped Library just to name a few. Life here was amazing as the students were always actively participating during lessons, engaged the lecturers on issues related to Human resources management hence learning was not only taking place but one was also growing in other areas.

This course was to take one year and was divided into two semesters of six months each and after the end we were to sit for exams that were examined by the Kenya National Examination Council. The year ended so fast and soon, it was time for exams. This was one of the most exciting yet daring times of life in adult learning. This was because of another course that I had started at the University of Nairobi in June 2012 where I had enrolled for an MBA hence after I was done with the KNEC examinations; I was to break for one week and then sit for another Six exams for the MBA course. However, I passed all the Units in both courses thanks to prayers and walking that extra mile just to ensure that I would not get frustrated like in the first semester of my Undergraduate studies. Later in the year, it was time to graduate for the Higher Diploma. At PCEA St Andrews hall, we were allowed to invite a few guests hence my ever loving mum, her twin sister who is my aunt, Mike a cousin of mine and John a high school buddy were all I had invited. The day was a colorful one and having emerged the best student in Fundamentals of Human resources management in KNEC 2012 Series was a moment to reckon as my name was called out and had to walk to the front so as to receive a Non cash prize of Ksh 10,000 which was sponsored by Jubilee Insurance. 



To God be all glory and Honor!

GOODBYE KITALE, WELCOME MARRIAGE LIFE, BUSINESS AND THE UPS AND DOWNS OF THE TWO.

At Last! Time to leave Miti Mbili, say  goodbye to life in Kitale and Welcome life in Nairobi ....

Breaking from a camp and the journey to the other is not a joke.On this day, we woke up so early in preparation for a journey that was to start the following day. We were required to break the camp, pack all that was ours, load them onto the trucks ready to leave after handing over the camp to another Company. This took place successfully and the following day, at around three in the morning, we left for Nairobi where we were to stay for the next one year. While traveling, there is what we call convoy discipline during such a journey. No waving to passer by, no throwing trush from moving vehicles and no exceeding time given to relax in case of a stop over. The journey was a safe one and we arrived in Nairobi with no major incidences. The best thing here was that there were houses to live in and not tents. We settled and each one was allocated a single room and in case the rooms were not enough, we shared which was oky compared to when we were living in bush tents. The only problem here was that those who shared rooms with married colleagues had to be displaced when the partners visited.

Generally, life was good here but with places like an infamous iron sheet made joint called Mabatini, I joined my colleague Njiru almost every day for a cheap brand of Liquor called Napoleaon a.k.a Naps after exhausting a better part od my salary. With this ease of availability, my drinking behaviour was now running out of hand. As much as the tough rules where one is supposed to take permission in case he wanted to get out of camp applied here, it was easy to sneak to town drink, party, visit strip clubs and spend most of the time in the down town part of Nairobi popularly known as river road. Here, it would not take two or three days of drinking before I exhausted my salary which meant surviving for the rest part of the month was by taking the ‘Naps’ brand. The only option that was left was to now drink the spirits and this time round, Napolleon Brand worked well for me. This we would do with the same colleague called Njiru at a place called Mabatini or at times in Mathare area One, two and three. Any free moment was time to drink and I must admit that I saved not even a single penny from my salary. This was beginning to make me feel worried but I felt helpless hence I admitted that I was destined for such life. My dreams to join school could not feature anywhere in my plans at that moment. All that was left was to enjoy life in Nairobi.

The lifestyle was made even worse during the annual inter company sports competition where representatives from other companies congregated in Nairobi for various sports which included football, that i played, athletics, darts, first aid and volleyball. This meant that most of my course mates were here hence after the games, night time gave us an opportunity to try to outdo one another on the bottle. This continued till the games were over and time for all sports men to return to their mother station came hence the peers left. The drinking trend continued and not even after I married, i could not stop this. I Could leave my house and join my friends for a drink till late night without caring much. This must have been the beginning of what would later cost me my marriage hence lose the girl I had dated for two years. Either way I learned the hard way…..!I would later join the Kenya Police Hockey team where i have been till now. Will later tell of how i joined and how i have benefited from this Team....

This is how I had met her.

One evening as I was sitted outside a friend's shop in the village, a young girl passed by and was in a uniform similar to that of my sister who was by then a student in Kerugoya girls high school.I woke up and followed her just to establish where she was heading to. After five hundred metres, I passed close to her and the most amazing thing, she asked me where Mr Kabere’s home was from where we were standing. Mr Kabere is my day hence I had an an opportunity to engage her more. This was also an opportunity to escort her to our home and here, I had scored the first point. She happened to be a visitor to my sister who had been sent away for school fees. I offered to take her up to mum’s door step where she met my sister. This young girl was beautiful and despite the fact that I was already working, I developed some interest in her which I would express come the following day. I wrote a small note and gave it to her which had a message that I was interested in a friendship. That was so soon but yes! It happened! By the time she was leaving home, I had managed to convince her that I would keep in touch even if I was far from my home town. Upon leaving our home,  I escorted her and my sister back to school and with much excitement we took photos, and after my annual leave was over , I had to take with my self the photos to Kitale. When I showed my friends the girl I was in a relationship with, many got shocked and could not understand how I was seeing a school girl or was in a relationship with her whereas I was working but I was convinced that despite their  mockery, this was the girl of my choice and had to wait till she completed form four and marry her.

Over the weekends, we used  to communicate over the phone where she could  beep me and I called her back. She could notify me of the day school was crossing where I took an off duty, traveled to the country side and could  go up to the school gate, get her, and escort her up to the stage where she boarded a matatu to her home. On the day that she was supposed to get back to school, I could also ensure that I was there for her and could escort her back to school. This issue led to many questions than answers as I could even take her to a  saloon, wait for her as her hair was made and then escort her back to school. This relationship would later be known of by her mother who was not also very comfortable with this development and as she later revealed to me, she was constantly warned against it. She gave it a deaf ear and continued visiting me without telling me of what the mother was telling her. The friendship continued and after form four exams, we were now free birds and no one could dare accuse me of dating a school girl. By then, I had already moved from Kitale to Nairobi hence she could easily visit me over the weekends and leave by Sunday evening to the country side. Later on, I visited the village, invited her to visit me and I introduced her to my Mum and told her that I was intending to marry her. Everything led to the other and in the year 2007, we started living together as a couple. By this time, I had already rented a shop in Huruma, had a kerosene pump, cereals shop and a small grocery where I had employed one guy and she was supposed to run the others with the help of my sister.

We started well and all I could do was to go to Gikomba and Marikiti Markets where I could buy the Groceries, then head to Nyamakima for the cereals and lastly to Eastleigh for the shops stock. This I did on a hide and seek basis (that is hiding from the place of work) as I went to  Gikomba early in the morning before going to  work, went to Nyamakima over Lunch hour and when am free to Eastleigh. All this I did so as to ensure that my young family had a strong financial foundation.This whole venture was  financed through a bank Loan that was advanced to me by Co-op Bank. Despite doing all this, the venture was not doing well owing to factors that I could not establish by then as I was doing my part but am sure the other parties were letting me down. This was a cause for constant squabbles in my family where I always threatened to close doors but my wife used to convince me that things would be well one day hence struggled to keep doors open. Later, my sister and the other employee were left running the business as my wife was expecting and on September 2007, we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl who we named Njeri. Things went from bad to worse as the ventures were no longer profitable and during the post election violence, we crossed doors. To me, this was a blessing in disguise as I was always looking for a reason to close shop hence this violence offered a good reason for me to order closure despite being miles away. By this time, I was stationed in Kisumu during the elections and since Mathare was like a war zone with the violence escalating to Huruma, I was able to convince them to close shop and salvage what was left instead of waiting for looters to do what had suddenly become their way of life. All the remaining stock was carried to our house where some was sold, the other feasted on and the rest kept in a store. Justus, the kerosene pumpattedant Kept safely all he had sold and gave it to me after the violence with no single cent missing. I can only thank God for him.

I worked in Kisumu through the 2007/2008 post election violence time and after the signing of the peace agreement between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga, the situation calmed and I was able to leave Kisumu and come back to Nairobi to the reality that I had left the place having a business under my name but came back to a closed one which was okey with me. This was no big problem to me as i always believed that failure was part of learning and never gave me much headache despite the fact that I had lost a substantial amount of money which was from a loan that I had procured Co-op Bank. All that was left was to send away Justus, the employee who was running the Kerosene pump as he was not willing to re locate to the village, carry the pump and tanks to the countryside and try to re establish the business that up to date runs with the help of my ever amazing attendant named Wachira a.k.a Ras who has been running it from 2008 to date.  These  two gentlemen are the most amazing men that I have ever met in my life. Men that can be entrusted to a business and run it like one of their own.

Here in Nairobi, a friend of mine called Mama Ken sold me another small business that was selling house hold items, baby clothing, men and women clothing amongst others items. It was not a bad one as we were operating it on a Kibanda and in the evening, we could close it down, carry the stock and keep it at a place provided by the same lady for safety. As my wife by then was running this venture, things started going south between me and her and after we could not agree on the differences, we parted ways in 2009 and I decided to leave the business to her. She later closed it down to concentrate on other businesses that she later established.......

FRUSTRATIONS THAT CAME WITH A FAILED APPLICATION FOR STUDY WHILE AT WORK IN THE GENERAL SERVICE UNIT AND MY RESPONSE MECHANISM

[Has been a while since i updated this blog. My Kind apologies for those who have been calling for an update especially to my loving 'daughter' pauline resh'. Here i go....!]

One day, the Officer commanding GSU Miti Mbili Camp called for a meeting with us in his Uni hut office. He talked to us and explained what his expectations from us were and after this called upon us to share with him any issue that we felt that deserved his attention.  I raised my issue which was that I had an admission letter to Kenya Institute of Studies in criminal Justice where I had been admitted for a course in forensic science and Criminology. He advised me to visit the Orderly, who in this case is an equivalent of a secretary who was to show me on how to draft an official letter to address the matter. I drafted a letter, to the Commissioner of Police, through commandant GSU and then through officer commanding Alpha Company who was the officer in charge GSU Miti Mbili Camp. To me, this was a like a break trough as I translated it to mean that I would soon be given permission for studies hence leave Miti Mbili and be transferred to Nairobi so as to start my studies. This was not the case as slightly after a week, I was called into the office and given a huge file that contained similar applications by other officers that were not only unsuccessful but came up with a warning that one should concentrate on the core functions of a police officer. I remember to date what I saw and the words read like this…‘You are still very green in the police force, concentrate on your core police functions!These letters were responses from the office of the then GSO who was Mr Saiya the current commandant General Service Unit. This broke my heart as it was now clear that I would stay there till the annual change over. I guess my commanding officer feared for ‘his life’ and opted not to forward my letter.

{Either way, for the years that I have worked in the police service, I have realized that there are those who will join the training school and after the pass out parade are posted to desirable places where they are able to study from a basic degree to even a PHD with a lot of ease. These are officers whose uncles, neighbors or even fathers are senior officers in the police service hence they encounter no difficulties while pursuing further education. One is shocked that these never report anywhere, some never even put on their uniforms but continue receiving their salaries for work not done. These characters will later be promoted and transferred to places of their choice and one can only have a rough idea of what it is like to work under such people. Most are abrasive, arrogant and exhibit all manner of ignorance in the manner in which they handle officers who may have issues from time to time. It’s all about who you know and who you are connected to}

Either way, after this failed attempt for permission to study, I  had to wait for another chance in future this case after the annual change over. After every one year in one camp, there is usually an annual change over where all the officers in one camp leave the place, others come and occupy it and the cycle continues till all camps are occupied by a whole new Company which comprises of three platoons where one is based at the base camp and the others at the out posts depending on the area and the nature of the duties around that area. The failed application came up as a big blow to my plans and due to peer pressure and frustrations, I started to engage in excessive drinking and ‘the cool me’ suddenly forgot all the values that I previously held. This was in a place called Chepchoina village or in Kitale Towm. A trip to Kitale meant that I would drink, party and engage in all manner of ills that a drunkard is usually at liberty to engage in. Kitale town is usually a very lively town and what I used to do was to take two days off duty commonly known as ‘48 Hours permission’,go to town, drink my self all day and night long and basically try to engage in all that I had not while in my local village and town. Kitale town is a place where almost all forces are usually well represented. From GSU,ASTU,KDF, GDs, APs amongst others which meant that partying was the order of the day and night and immorality ruled . From time to time, fights would arise, drunk men would injure each other only to realize that one was fighting an officer from other formations.  Some lost their lives here, others lost their jobs, their valuables and even one could apply for a loan and drink it out all. Call girls would at times drug patrons and steal from them all they had. After staying here for months, I was a completely different person having changed from bad to worse. 

 

When working here, I had an opportunity to visit the other two outposts where others officers from our company were based. These were Kapsang’ar and Kimothon. These were not better either and were in the far interior hence accessing them meant several hours driving on rough roads. Life here was a tough one too. The officers shared similar experiences like what was happening at the base camp; however, there were two most notable incidences that I may never forget anytime I thing about Miti Mbili GSU camp. One happened on a day that the platoon sergeant called us for an emergency task where he briefed us of a place where some stolen camels were spotted and we were required to recover them and return them to the owners. This meant that we left the camp hoping to return by the end of the day. This was not the case as we travelled miles and miles, past Kapenguria and then to a place called Wamba. From there we were joined by other officers from other formations for a joint operation. This was a mission that we were briefed to be a small one day task but changed to be a few days mission and on that fateful night, we had nothing to eat and the center where we spent the night had nothing to offer us not even a plate of food. The only thing that was available was Miraa and this was what I bought and chewed all night long. Those who could not chew the stuff had nothing much left but too sleep on the bare ground all night long. It was a cold night but having no option, we had to spend it that way. The second day saw us travel for so many kilometers into the interior still in search of the camels. On this day we did not succeed but by night time, we were lucky that there was some food but we had no plates! We had to use cartons for this mission and then sleep and rest in readiness for the third day of the search. On the the third day, no proper rest, no shower, no changing clothes and basically surviving like wild animals, we had to do a proper search to recover the camels and return them to the owners so as to prevent any retaliatory attacks. We were lucky as we found them abandoned and grazing somewhere. The camels were tied using ropes, loaded into police trucks, transported and taken back to the owners. Our job was done and the journey back to the camp started. Here, I learned a lesson and to me, no mission outside the camp was a small one hence I always left ready to return the same day but also ready to spend some time out in the night incase the situation dictated so.

The 'worst' that happened though was that before we left for the mission, we had cooked a whole Jogoo and chapos and locked them in our 'kabati, known as Amra' . After three days, this meal was already spoilt hence throwing it away was a decision that my tent mate and i had a hard time making. We had to throw it though, wash the utensils and hence learned a lesson that it is not good to be that mean as we should have called one of those close friends who was left in the camp and ask him to break the padlock, remove the meal and eat it. We were hoping to have reported back to the camp after a day but this was not the case hence we consoled our selves that any other day, we would better give it out to others rather that wait for the food to be spoilt and throw it away!

The other day was when we were called to re enforce our brothers at Chepchoina GSU Camp where the officers were under attack from bandits hence needed some back up. Our camp being located some few Kilometers away, we were the only help that was available for them. We arrived there, heavily armed and ready for the rescue mission. This camp was by then under the command of Mr Gichunge hence our officer commanding, Mr Muthui met him for briefing. The atmosphere was tense but we were lucky that the men on the ground managed to fight back the attackers who fled after what I guess was their side having incurred serious casualties if not loss of lives. This was a moment full of tension and luckily, they situation was brought under control hence we later left without having encountered the enemy one on one. This was one of the moments that reality strikes and what one was trained to do and quite often seen in movies is a one on one experience. Either way, we are trained hard hence we fight our enemies easily……!

LIFE IN MY FIRST WORK STATION…..(WELCOME TO MITI MBILI GSU BASE CAMP)

After traveling for two days we arrived at this ‘strange’ place called Miti Mbili that I hated from the word go but with nothing much to do as I had no other option, I joined others and we started taking out our belongings from the lorry and as we were doing this, other officers who we met at the camp were busy erecting a new tent that was big enough to accommodate all of us and after they were done, we got in, un packed our belongings, made our beds and from the look of things, there was no life here. No privacy, no electricity, no clean drinking water, no well done toilets and even the bathroom was a poorly done structure without a permanent door.

We were given time to settle, mingle with other officers, be taken round for orientation and after this was done, we were good to go! Life in a General Service Unit camp is not easy. It is more or less a routine set up. One wakes up in the morning, makes breakfast, shines the boots, puts on the uniform and makes sure that by seven forty five in the morning, he is in a Tamaam parade and is ready for inspection . In this case, inspection entails checking whether ones head is clean shaven, beards too, boots well polished, the fire arm well cleaned and in general that one is in good physical state. This is usually the time to apply for permission to get out of the camp for personal matters, request for an off duty and also time for any communication which is usually done verbally or via a signal that is read to the officers by the section commanders.

A GSU camp is worse than a boarding school if i may be asked. This is because an officer is mature, well trained and past eighteen years of age but leaving the camp without permission usually attracts a booking into the occurrence book as it is an offense namely ‘breaking from the police camp without permission’. This leads to what is commonly known as ‘kushitakiwa/mashtaka’ which is also inserted into ones service file and also attracts a salary deduction whose figure is usually determined by the presiding officer. This is usually not a welcome story as being punished in this case can prevent one from attending a promotion board, from a transfer or even consideration for any new deployment that may arise.

From inspection parade, it is usually time for what is commonly known as ‘Fatique’ which is time to cut grass/slash grass, prepare our tents and make sure that in case the rains fall, there is no way that water can come in and even ferry with it our personal effects. This involves fastening the tents, preparing trenches that can easily contain water flow and in some cases undertake other manual tasks that the platoon sergeant may find necessary.

This is usually time to allocate work duties that may have arisen over nite and when there are no foot patrols, Lost animal recovery missions or any other out of camp assignments, officers break from the fatiques and head to their tents where the process of preparing lunch starts. In here, one rarely cooks alone. We used to get into groups of twos or threes, do some collaboration and then cook together. Early lunch is valued as one may be called for an emergency assignment hence staying full is important. Use of charcoal jikos was the common thing here and kerosene was only used when making breakfast. At times though, one would light the jiko early and after preparing breakfast hand it over to other colleagues who would use it for the same purpose.

At times, officers would not be set free after the morning parade but would be assigned some silly tasks by the officer commanding through the immediate supervisors. The worst that ever happened when we were here was when a senior officer used to allocate juniors duties like cutting and ferrying timber that he would sell to timber Merchants. This would result to a conflict with forest officers and someone would use his connections to silence them. One day, a GSU lorry ferrying timber to Kitale was intercepted by forest officers but thanks to a well connected cartel the officers involved negotiated a deal and the vehicle was released. One of the officers who was a lead scout in this trade would later be sacked after they were caught with a similar cargo on board a GSU lorry elsewhere.

At times, the officers would buy maize or collude with corrupt agricultural development corporation officers where maize would be stolen from their farms, sold to the senior officer where he would then force us to sort the maize, pack it in bags and then load them to a GSU lorry ready for transport and sale.  This is just a tip of the ice berg on how senior police officers used to mis-use the human resource under them and even government resources too.Any attempt to raise a red flag would meet the worst form of punishment and one could either be transferred, intimidated or even sacked over fake allegations hence the only option was to comply.At times though, some  days days were cool and we were free to do our things with minimal interference.

In a relatively normal day and when matters seemed favorable, some officers would sneak into the nearby villages namely Kambi Nyoka, Cherubai amongst others which marked the beginning of a Busaa/Chang’aa drinking spree. This would take place till some minutes to two so as to ensure that one was back in camp in readiness for the afternoon tammam parade which is more or less similar to the morning one apart from the fact that this was usually the time to allocate duties which involved night and day camp guard duties, foot patrols, and ambush duties which involved providing all night guards to the Agricultural development Corporation farms. This was in a place called Ngata firm and Njapata firms.

Due to lack of well locked rooms, some officers would steal blankets, Kerosene Lamps and stoves and other personal effects, sneak them out of camp and sell them to some village merchants and then use this money to buy the illicit brews. One would even come across what was once his during the foot patrols and when we investigated on how the item left the camp and found itself in the village, we would establish that one of our own or several others were responsible for this. In here, officers ceased to be living beings and turned to be  'animals' as one could even sell his own belongings just for a cup of illicit brew. Others would get lost in these dens and lose their jobs !

When it was peak time, work was not easy over here owing to the fact that this was a bandit prone area and at times, they would hit nearby villages, take away cattle and even kill the villagers. This called for an immediate response where our work was mainly to track them, recover the cattle and take them to their owners. It would take some days or even a week to recover them and at times even after fighting the bandits, a number of them would be left engaging us while the others were left driving the cattle away and tracking them would not be possible. This would in future attract retaliatory attacks from the affected ones and the cycle continued.

When Sunday came, it was usually time for church and one had to ask for permission to attend church service outside the camp. This i did most of the times but at times I would be working hence could not go to church. This was not easy for me as it was routine work from Monday to Sunday hence my desire to seek for a better way out grew stronger and stronger.The catholic church here was a mud walled structure where we used to sit on logs and was located some considerably short distance from a Uganda people defense forces camp along the Kenya~Uganda boarder and gun shots were the order of the day but still, we conducted our mass without much worries.

Basically there was no life there if i was asked....!