HURT ON MY BEHALF; How I Missed Death by an Inch(True Story)

I was in town [Nairobi] hoping to find some opening somewhere to earn a living and promises here and there unfulfilled made me lose track of time and by the time I am setting off for Githurai 45 from town center, it was a few minutes past 6:00pm knowing no shortcut and if you have taken a beautiful ride along the magnificent Thika super Highway you will be forgiven to think that it is just a few minutes drive so it is not that far.

God has you covered in ways unimaginable

Then it was just Thika rd in 2007 since the repair and upgrading had not begun yet. I only had myself and no person close to help or even give me the 70bob I needed to take a bus home. It was half past six O’clock when I was crossing Nairobi river on my way towards Kariorkor and all that was passing in my head is the beautiful dreams and ambitions that I held in my heart. 

Mixed feelings of pain that I was going

through and the assurance of the best to come kept on flowing in my spine. I would talk to myself and sing from time to time at times humming and you don’t really want to engage anyone around in a chat since it is very hard to trust someone in Nairobi, especially a stranger.

By the time I was walking into the mathare valley it was already dark and the only light was from the speeding vehicles and a few street lights. Many comrades on the same walk were finally branching off into Mathare slums and soon I would be alone. I admit I wasn’t worried as much; at times consoling myself with loud singing. Crossing the Police road blocks gave me a chilly feeling in my body as I didn’t want to be harassed in any way.

To cut my long story short, I was at Roysambu stage at around ten minutes to 9 o’clock at night. I could hear bus conductors calling passengers to board buses at 20/= to Githurai as they dropped others they had picked from town. That was still too expensive for me so I kept on walking. As I started taking the drop towards the valley away from Roysambu, houses started to varnish and soon no people and no lights were close. That place used to be left alone with maize planted on both sides at times and this is the part where I started having a bad feeling. I was just about to approach the point where vendors sell flower plants by the road just a few meters from clay works when I really started hearing my heartbeat beat loud enough. Even vehicles and Buses were passing by, one after several minutes.

At this point I noticed someone moving towards my vicinity and since it was dark I could only see them when they got close. I froze for a while as I he was moving fast towards my direction so I stopped walking and before he was clear enough for me to see who it was I just heard a voice saying “Rudi! Rudi! Rudi! ” [Go back! Go back! Go back!]. it was strange for me to hear that from someone who is probably trying to hurt me so with no much ado, I took a u-turn and started walking back to Roysambu where I came from.

Amazingly the same person still stayed on my back following me closely with no intentions to harm me and therefore finding this strange I decided to ask him if everything was ok while still doing my best walking as fast as possible away. I never turned to look back even though he never responded but I could hear his panting an assurance that he was behind me still. He said, I don’t know why I even decided to walk in the first place yet I had money for fare, now I have lost all my money and my phone and documents and on top of that I have been hit thoroughly. He then asked me, is it fare you don’t have to cross take a bus to Githurai? I said yes and he said, they left me with this twenty bob, take it and please take a bus. He even made sure I took a bus before he went on his way.

I didn’t know why it happened, I don’t know how he was only left with 20/= which was my exact fare to get home safely, I don’t know how it happened that he got to the thugs before me or how he escaped and I don’t know why he gave me the fare but all I know is that, something bad would have happened to me that night especially now that I didn’t have anything for them to take but God kept me. Someone was hurt so that I be spared, someone had to go through my predicament so that I get home safely. I didn’t get to know his name and even when I turned to say thank you, he was gone…

I learnt a lesson; how God can send angels to protect you and snatch you out of pits, fire and traps you didn’t know of. Hurt on my behalf; that I may have a second chance. Just like Christ died on my behalf, that I may have a new life and be free. God kept me...