PART II: Proof that Maurice Greene has nothing on a young man faced by bloodthirsty policemen!

REMIND YOURSELF OF PART I:

The notion of being caught between a rock and hard place came to mind and that phrase will forever have particular meaning form me. Before us a lorry with close to 20 armed, uniformed and helmeted men who want to unite me with Jesus. To my right a high wall. To my left and behind me open space. There was nowhere to go. The idea of jumping into the ditch running along the wall was considered and rejected as being impractical. The ditch was paved with stone, was very shallow and was bone dry. A worm would have had trouble hiding in it.

George stopped and a few seconds later I also stopped. With some trepidation we awaited the approach of the lorry. As it came closer I noted that beside the driver was an officer who was wearing a cap rather than a helmet. Further doubt was eliminated when he saw me, nudged the driver and pointed at me. The driver downshifted, spun the wheel to the left and tapped the brake. The lorry came to a standstill.

If I said that my heart was in my mouth I would be lying. It was dangling out of my mouth at about chest height. And when the chaps in the back noticed that they lorry had stopped and there was a feller standing idly by the roadside they did the only thing that a Kenyan Policeman would do - they fired a final shot in the air then turned all 21 of their guns at me.

I came to realize that movies by and large are a long lie. When someone points a pistol at you he does not need to tell you "hands up". My friend you will put your hands up without being told like a good boy or a good girl, as the case may be. When the guns are G3 Bolt Action rifles you are even less likely to dilly dally. It was when my calves were beginning to hurt that I realized that my hands were so high in the air I was on tip toe. If I was slightly taller I could have grabbed a bit of a passing cloud.

From the handgrip side a G3 looks like a pretty ordinary rifle. This is the side where the policemen are usually found. From the other side - well! It looks like looking down a railway tunnel - and in my case 21 smoking railway tunnels. There was no doubt in my mind that these gentlemen were waiting for the slightest excuse to assist me to lie down next to the lamb and the lion.

The man in charge eyed me consideringly then his trained eye took in my tie, navy blue shirt and trousers and the polished shoes then after spitting out of the window addressed me.

"Hey! You! Are you mad?"

I would have answered but those rifles were having a strange effect on my mouth - it felt very dry indeed.

The man in charge shook his head and continued. "If I were you I'd not be skipping around town when these foolish students decide to throw stones."

I agreed with him with enthusiasm. I nodded so hard something in my neck popped.

"Do this - just go on as you were going them cut through KBC and enter town that way."

I was not about to argue, and nodded again. The man in charge nudged his driver and the lorry jerked forwards. I took one step forward and then heard the sharp retort of a gunshot. At this point in time it comes to your mind that some of your boyz are behind you and are liberally laden with luggage. A decision comes to mind -- do you act the hero and go back to help your comrade in arms or do you fly like your inner wear is aflame for safety? It is a titanic struggle between love of self and love of fellow man and by a narrow margin love for fellow man broke through. I turned to help my friend and watched in fascination as he smartly dived into the ditch alongside the road. The lorry was again slowing down and pulling towards the kerb and the tailgate was being lowered. At that point in time the tinny voice if Love of Self is tinny no longer and it roars for you to BEGONE!! Without any further ado my feet had made an excellent U turn and I was making excellent time away from the Police, my boy and the fracas behind me. I stopped for breath quite some distance away almost at Masai Market!

On retrospect it was quite an afternoon!!

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