“All in Your Honour” by Nyamu Kariuki

Yote Kwa Heshima Yako

Wakati utapotokomea,
Hakika utagonga vichwa vya habari
Mara bendera nchini zitapandishwa nusu mlingoti
kwa siku kadha, kama unavyosisitiza.
Ombolezo la mauti yako la kitaifa litatamkwa
yote kwa heshima yako
tukisubiri kushamiri kwa mazishi haya ya kitaifa.
Ama kwa hakika hayo ndiyo mapenzi yako ya mwisho
utakapoondokea Bunge!

Ni bayana mheshimiwa,
Utapendezwa na matukio haya
Eti kutatengwa kumbukizi lako la maisha kwa saa tatu
ukumbini wa Amphitheatre katika Chuo kikuu cha Kenyatta
yote kwa heshima ya wema utakaoacha.
Mwili wako utaingizwa Bunge kuu kwa kikao maalum
Halafu, siku nzima ya kukutazama bure katika bustani ya Uhuru.
Na siku nyingine ya kuwasilisha rambirambi kwa wafiwa uwanjani wa Nyayo
na yeyote atakayetamani kukunyunyizia sifa!

Na siku ya karamu ya kukuaga,
Bendera yetu ya kitaifa itafunikia
jeneza litakalonunuliwa ughaibuni na serikali.
Bendi ya Jeshi itaongoza msafara kwa tumbuizo,
Msemaji wa serikali atasoma yulojia itoshanayo na riwaya
Naye Kadinali ataongoza ibada ya wafu kwa karibu mchana kutwa,
Na Mtukufu Rais
ninayeamini atateuliwa kuwa muombolezaji mkuu na jamaa wako
sharti asomee taifa letu hotuba ya majonzi
kwa kufarikisha mheshimiwa mpendwa kwa ghafla!

Wazalendo wenzangu,
Haya yote ndiyo wabunge wetu wanatamani katika mauti
Ni kama watasikia wakipambwa sifa
Ni kama watatazama upeperushaji wa moja kwa moja wa maziko yao katika runinga
Ni kama watang’amua ukweli wa hisia za waombolezaji watakaohudhuria
Ni kama watapendezwa na msongamano mrefu wa magari
Na maelfu ya wachochole watakaokuja kujionea risasi zikifyatuliwa angani
Na kwa sababu ni Afrika pekee wafu huwa na chaguo…
usitie shaka, kwani tutatimiza shinikizo lolote utakalopendekeza!

All in Your Honour
When you cease to be,
You will surely hit the day’s headlines
Flags shall henceforth fly at half mast
for a couple of days, as you so demand.
Several days of national mourning shall be declared
all in your honour…
awaiting a colourful State burial
for that’s precisely your last wish
upon leaving the August house!

Indeed Honourable,
You’re going to love this
that a three-hour memorial lecture of your Life story
shall be held at Kenyatta University’s amphitheatre
in reverence of the legacy you’ll have left.
Your remains shall then be driven to Bunge for a special sitting
Then, a day of free public viewing of your body shall be observed at Uhuru park
and one more day of conveying condolences to the bereft at Nyayo stadium
by whoever that wishes to shower you with praises!

And on the send-off feast
Our national flag shall cover
the State- imported casket!
The military police band shall lead the procession with entertainment
The government spokesperson shall read the novel-length eulogy!
The most right Cardinal shall say the day-long requiem mass!
and His Excellency the President
who I believe will be appointed the chief mourner by your clan
shall surely give a regretful speech to the nation
for the untimely demise of a Right Honourable!

Beloved compatriots,
that’s all our law makers ask for in death
As if they’ll hear any of the said praises
As if they’ll see the Live Television broadcast of their send-off
As if they’ll read the genuineness of emotions of mourners
As if they’ll appreciate the long convoy in their stillness
And thousands of paupers coming to see the police shoot in the sky
And since it’s only in Africa where the dead have choices…
Fret not, for we shall definitely honour all your demands!

Kariuki wa Nyamu is a highly artistic Kenyan poet, playwright, editor and high school teacher. He holds a BA Education (English and Literature) from Makerere University, Uganda. He has been crafting splendid poetic pieces since his high school days. He has won creative writing competitions at school, university and national level. His poetry appears in A Thousand Voices Rising (2014), Boda Boda Anthem and Other Poems (2015), Best New African Poets 2015 Anthology, Multi-verse: Kenyan Poetry in English Since 2003 (2016), among others. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Literature at Kenyatta University, Kenya. Poetry is certainly his territory.