Chapter 8

The discovery of the body had first started with an alarm being raised by the husband of the missing woman. Having come back from the grazing site Mumba had secured his herds of cattle and then walked into the yard with anticipation of his favourite meal being cooked. But a few steps into his hut.

“What is this?” he asked nobody. “I do not perceive the aroma of any food being cooked.” Then he saw his children crying, immediately he knew something was not right.

“Come and don‟t cry again,” Mumba said as he tried to appease his children.

“Tikko where is your mother?” he asked the eldest child.

“Mama said she was going towards the other village to see if there will be any fish to buy,” the child replied. The Gods be praised his wife went to arrange for soup condiments and not to gossip. He thought within him.

“Let us all be patient she‟ll soon be back and we shall all eat,” he said in a consoling

manner while patting the youngest child on the head.

Mumba then went into his hut to await the return of his wife from the market. Next time he will warn her to start the evening meal quite early. Eventually Mumba dozed off without the comfort of his evening meal. The knocking on the door made him to get up from his bed with a start. It was his eldest son Tikko.

“What is it?” Mumba said robbing his eyes. “Is your mother not yet back from the market?

“No Mama has not returned from the market,” Tikko said.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“No Papa,” Tikko replied.

“Where has this woman gone to?” Mumba wondered aloud. Turning to his son, “Tikko go back and search the kitchen for any left over of a previous meal”. Tikko left his father and made his way to the kitchen in search of food for himself and his siblings.

Mumba sat down for a while supporting his head with both hands while his thoughts

wondered on the where about of his wife. Something is terribly wrong somewhere, he told himself. It‟s unlike my wife to do, this he observed could the killer had come back again? Or had his wife come to some form of harm and was lying helpless On some lonely path without any form of hope or assistance? The questions continued to pour in. But sadly there was no answer to any of these questions. Rather than be contented with just sitting down to wait for his wife to stroll into their yard, Mumba got up dusted his buttocks, I‟d better go and find my wife. He entered the first compound, but the response was negative from one compound he went to the other the answer was still the same - no they had not seen his wife! Mumba was a well known figure in Boma village,” thus the news about the sudden disappearance of his wife was baffling. Initially the people of Boma village were stunned beyond belief then on recovering from the shocking news panic now descended on the entire village. Most of the men had, had supper served by their wives but at the same time they checked to make

sure their children were safe. Other men whose wives after their evening food had cleared the dishes before obtaining permission to pay their friends an evening visit were quickly searched for, rounded-up and taken home by their husbands.

Boma village was under siege again as the men armed with machetes and crude spears began coming out to join Mumba in conducting a search for his missing wife. When they had reached a sizeable number they began to argue on what steps to take

“Let‟s divide our ourselves into groups and search all the routes leading into the village,” one of the men suggested.

“Three weeks ago we sacrificed to Rorche to protect us from the evil spirit that has descended on Boma village, Abokito pointed out. “Men of Boma village let us go to our chief and tell him what has happened – but I warn you, men of Boma village open your eyes and protect your families. If our Gods cannot save us, maybe we should look elsewhere.”

“Yes, you‟re right,” the men murmured in agreement. “But right now let‟s go to the chief,” Mumba suggested.

Tikayo had finished his evening meal almost before dark and was now relaxing while his mind played back on the meal. It had been a simple meal consisting of a big bowl of fufu and groundnut soup. Unlike the last three weeks which had been a nightmare. Today‟s meal was memorable because it was spiced with his usual liver; he had ensured that he finished everything in his plate. His children could not hide the disappointment on their faces while clearing the dishes. The past days had been different, their father always left a lot of meat in his plate presumably for them but suddenly he had changed without warning. Tikayo was already napping on his favorite chair when one of his sons tapped him gently on the leg.

“What is it?” he asked angrily.

“The men want to see you,” his son replied.

“Me? See me for what?” he asked for the umpteenth time.

“Dada, I do not know,” his son replied.

“Okay I shall go to them”. While his son departed, Tikayo went out to meet the men of Boma village. That something was wrong was evident to him. Definitely the husband of the missing woman must be the centre of this meeting. But why think this way, he pondered. The men may have come to see him over something else.

“Men of Boma village I greet you,” Tikayo said.

“We greet you too.”

Without delay Mumba stepped forward to present his case. It dawned on Tikayo that the missing woman was the reason for this gathering.

“Mumba I feel for you,” Tikayo said. “Right now, it is late but we will go out right now in search of Mumba‟s wife. No other activities are allowed tonight – but we‟ll meet at the village square to discuss further, when we return”.

“The chief has spoken,” the men said as they departed to commence the search.

At the first crow of the cockerel, Mumba and the men of Boma village with the exception of their chief hit the trail in search of Mumba‟s wife.

“It is obvious that a dreadful thing has happened to my wife, “Mumba said to one of the men near him.

“I‟ve told my wife never to go out alone again and to send the children in pairs to run errands,” Abokito said.

“That‟s a good measure,” Mumba said. “If we‟d acted like this probably we would have known what was behind it and thus…” he never finished the statement as a shout was heard from the men searching in the opposite direction. Just then a man was seen running towards Mumba.

“Mumba come quickly and see this.” With the agility of an antelope Mumba took off at top speed followed by the other men who had been searching with him. On arriving at the scene Mumba was confronted by a horrible sight he would live with for the rest of his life. On the ground lay the bloated and mutilated

body of what had been his wife and the mother of his children.

“The God of my forefathers where were you when this happened?” Mumba screamed biting his teeth in exasperation. A group of men tried to lead him away from the scene. But Mumba refused to leave, “this is my wife and not some cow mistakenly shot by a hunter or killed by a wild animal,” he said fighting them off. The men of Boma village stood in clusters completely perplexed and discussing the calamity that had be fallen their village.

“But what kind of beast is it that will kill a human being and won‟t eat any other part except the liver?” Abokito asked loudly just as Tikayo and the chief priest arrived to look at the body.

“Mumba‟s wife is dead, mutilated in this horrible manner and my son Utako mysteriously vanished into thin air, but I know I will catch the killer one day.”

All the men including Tikayo heard Abokito‟s resolve.

“My friend Abokito if you have any suggestion on how we can stop this can you please tell us all?” Tikayo requested.

Abokito laughed. “My chief how I wish I knew a way out. But I believe Rorche the God of Boma village will show me how.”

A group of men were selected and together they wrapped the body of Mumba‟s wife to prepare it for burial.

“The body will not be taken into the village,” the chief priest said. The men nodded their heads in agreement it was a custom of Boma village. Before the sun- changed direction, Mumba‟s wife was buried with a message that she should expose her killer and not allow them a moment‟s rest. Tikayo heard all the threats and prayers but he ignored them all. As far as he was concerned it was the ranting of defeated men. That was their business, he wanted a liver and he just had to get it anyhow. But right now he had business to take care of.

“Men of Boma village we will need to sacrifice again but let us meet at the Village

Square and I shall relate my reasons for this sacrifice.”

“The chief priest calling for another sacrifice,” one of the men said.

“Let them do all the sacrifices and it is time Rorche told us who the killer is or else we find other means,” Mumba said. Like zombies, the men of Boma village led by their chief Tikayo and the chief priest made their way back to the village of course the news had reached the women and the children, there was fear and uncertainty in the air. Mumba‟s wife had fallen victim to the madness or plague that had seized the whole of Boma village just like many other people that died or disappeared without their bodies being recovered. Who would be the next victim? That seemed to be the question in the minds of the people of Boma village.

It was a moonlit night as the men of Boma village stomachs filled with their evening meal sluggishly made their way to the village square for a meeting with the village chief and the chief priest. Arriving the square most men tried to secure a comfortable place to sit,

while other men tried to remove food or meat particles from their teeth. Tikayo flanked by the chief priest and his assistant walked quietly into the square and immediately the men took vantage positions so as to hear what their chief had to say. Tikayo moved into the circle created by the men.

“Men of Boma village I greet you,” Tikayo said by way of an opening remark.

“We salute you too,” the men chorused in reply.

“We‟re all aware of the calamities that has befallen Boma village, he began, “our village has known peace for a long time until this sad moments came upon us…”

“The Gods of our land will get us out of this trouble,” the chief priest interrupted.

“Thank you,” Tikayo replied and continued despite the interruption of course he could do nothing about it after all it was the chief priest of Rorche that made the remark and not one of his wives.

“We have offered sacrifices to our God….” he said. “Yet things are not changing so one night I asked our God to tell

me why this evil persisted. Then I went to sleep and I had this dream. What a dream it was,” he said pausing while the men around him listened with bated breath, as if breathing normally will drown Tikayo‟s voice.