Diary of a Mjengo girl

Mama Sharif has been ailing a lot in the recent past. Most people think it's just flu and that there is an outbreak. Others think not. She has been ailing since the 'sick' driver was buried. Rumour has it that she was too attached to the man which explains the effect his death had. She is not the type to get attached though. She is no one and everyone's person. She believes in giving it while they still want it.  Mama Sharif cooks outside the gate. Or she cooks at home and comes to sell food outside the campsite gate. Either way, she is a mama chakula , one of the clean ones at the gate. Many mechanics prefer her food to that of Lola, Pendo, Mama Katambi and the new one who everyone thinks she talks too much. More often than not, the mama chakulas at the gate belong to one of the workers. That's how they get themselves living so close to the campsite gate and doing business with the workers. Julia, famously known as Mama Sharif is a typical Swahili woman, I mean sh...

Wawire's stomach has been acting up this week. He was among the people that got free nyama pori from the campsite's mama chakula . She rarely gives out free food but this time she did- she had taken it from a neighbor's kitchen. She said the neighbor owed her money so she took it as punishment. Not many people wanted a share of the free meat after they heard this story for fear of being 'black magicked'. Wawire however, never says no to free things. His fellow mechanics joke about it saying that if he was a woman, he would have 5 kids and plenty of free stuff. The chief mechanic thinks Wawire should go to see a doctor- whether traditional or modern that will be his choice. He just doesn't want him wandering around the workshop any more because of his diarrhoea attacks. The first time he had this attack, he took to his heels so fast people thought there was a danger from the commotion he caused. Five rounds later, he still gets the impromptu attacks. I will not ...

Wamaku came to work with strange spots on his face and part of his neck. He was also in a  very bad mood. Anyone who knows him knows that if someone "steps in his way" on such a day, they will go home. Literally. His form of punishment for a long time has been sending people on unpaid leave. Anyone who has worked in construction for a while knows that is better than being fired. He is a thoughtful man, some say.  Source: Nation media Word on the street is that Wamaku's wife found messages of him and the new earthworks intern, Julia. He came home drunk and got out his phone to inform her that he had arrived. They had been together that evening and as they parted ways, she had told him to text him when he gets home safe- what he was doing.  His wife had heard someone stumble over the kid's toys in the verandah and she had woken up to go see. It was her lovely husband coming back from a drinking spree. He was a little tipsy and he was trying to text someone. She walked t...