Tina Pingo feared that the disease which would kill her marriage had been setting in slowly and for sure for the last year. The disease had kicked off as a cold that is a commonplace thing in many marriages. Those given to watering down the disease describe it at a fling. A fling is when a husband meets a woman outside the matrimonial bed and, because of one thing or the other, either because of paying tribute to the gravity of flirtation that characterize many married men, he goes to bed with the woman after which each goes his or her own way for good. That is like the first gunshot which may simply leave a terrible injury in the victim. However, when the husband repeats the fling with the same woman, the game ceases from being a fling. It becomes a meditated adultery and, like the second gunshot, it can become fatal.
When Tina discovered the fling, Pengo apologized heartily and put yeast into the apology by swearing, “Mama Lea, it was a terrible slip and I will never, never repeat it.”
Tina didn’t believe it. Practical philosophy had told her that, after someone has tasting something he develops a desire to confirm the taste. Tina knew the disease after her marriage was cancerous when one day she ran into Jaska. Jaska was one hell of a devil woman in beauty. She spoke English with perfect accent when Tina’s Kalenjiin pronunciation didn’t distinguish between “box” from “pox.” As if physical beauty was not good enough, Jaska had a degree in Economics, just the right match to Paul Pengo who also had a degree topped by a Diploma in Human Resources. Tina alias Mama Lea had never seen the insight of any college.
One day Jaska and Mama Lea crossed paths. Mama Lea snarled at her in Kiswahili, “What the hell do you think you are doing with my husband?” Jaska replied in high-class English, “I’m in business with him doing exactly what you are afraid of.” From that day onwards Mama Lea knew it would be a matter of time before Jaska snatched Baba Lea. Baba Lea had tasted Jaska fully and he who has tasted something develops appetite for it.
Challenged by the mighty Jaska, Mama Lea resorted to the only thing that the weak resorts to when confronted by the strong. “Dear God, I beseech you; spare Paul Pengo for me.” What followed her were Jaska’s thorough beatings . In defence of his adultery Baba Lea came out in his true colours challenging Mama Lea, “What do you think you have that which Jaska doesn’t have?”
“Create room for polygamous marriage,” some friends started advising Tina. But one matter-of-fact adviser tactlessly told her face, “Mama Lea, kill that Jaska before she kills you. It’s survival for the fittest.”
Hiding behind her powerful family brigade, Mama Lea decided to confront her husband face-to-face with every imaginable threat. By then everybody knew that Paul Pengo had fallen in love with Jaska fully. Rumours had started spreading from Jaska’s side that Peter Pengo had a plan to divorce his low-class educated wife. By then he had metamorphosed into a nasty husband. He devalued Tina by calling her names. He had become a wife-beater, beating Tina on his way to Jaska. Jaska enjoyed the game and poured libation to her gods for the kill.
The beating provoked Jumla, Tina’s brother who, nonetheless, had never been in good terms with his sister. But then, blood is thicker than water. He was a jail bird and a core agent of drug trafficking. Jumla killed road blockers.
One day Tina’s confrontation with Jaska was so fierce that she lost her words and told Jaska, “Either of us is going to bury the other. Let’s see who will be who.”
Jaska didn’t take that lying down. Crying love tears, when she reported the matter to Paul Pengo, he comforted her, “Leave that to me.” What started giving him nightmares was Tina’s murderous brother. He started dreaming of the horror of burying Jaska. He was prompted to take the matter from where Tina had left, “Either of us is going to bury the other; let’s see who will be who.” If he had to see one of them dead, he preferred Tina; for, there comes a time when you must take the hardest decision in your life.
In order to save Jaska, Paul Pengo hatched a plan to have Tina killed. He was going to employ killers who, posing as robbers, would break into the house and murder Tina and steal some specified things which would convince authorities of the motive as robbery behind the murder.
By sheer coincidence, Jumla, the gang leader of the hit men employed to kill Mama Lea, was an associate of Tina’s brother in the underworld of drugs trafficking. The hardcore in Jumla could kill his mother for business. He leaked the information to Tina’s brother not so much because he was a friend of the brother but because he was a businessman. Tina’s brother knew one thing. Even if he stopped Jumla from the assignment, Tina’s husband would give the contract to someone else. He told Jumla, “We are in business.” They negotiated the deal and Jumla bought the project.
On the material day, when everything had been put in place for the murder, Paul Pingo met Jumla in a private place. He gave him the down payment for the contract with the balance to be paid upon business accomplishment. He told Jumla, “Take charge; I’m off to Tanzania for four days. The business should be undertaken on the second day.” The two murderers parted in high spirits and on the next day Paul Pingo took a flight to the Dar-es-Salaam escorted to the airport by the would-be-victim of the murder.
In the evening of the same day that Paul Pingo had flown to Tanzania, Jumla’s gang kidnapped Jaska and kept her in place until the next day when Tina’s brother collected Tina under the pretext of travelling with her to pay their parents a visit in the countryside. So, came the evening of the fateful day. The gang drugged Jaska and delivered her to Mama Lea’s home where they murdered her. Business accomplished.
When the breaking news of the murder reached Paul Pingo he returned from Dar-es-Salaam to face the worst horror of his life. His beautiful Jask had been murdered in cold blood. He was met with a theory that Jaska had hired a gang to kill Tina but a terrible quarrel ensued among the gang when they discovered that Tina had been taken away and that Jaska had framed them to be killed by the police. They knifed her to death. Paul Pengo didn’t believe the story. He put two-plus-two and smelt the hand of Tina’s brother behind the murder. Mama Lea awaited him somewhere…
