By Pascal Mwandambo
I looked at Napoleon with a mixture of pity and disdain and asked Yondo Sister, the bar attendant, to give him another beer on my bill.
The cold drink seemed to alleviate his misery which was made worse by the stinging Mavumbi town heat.
Anyway, were it not for my generous nature I wouldn’t have bought him any drinks in the first place.
You see Napoleon is one hell of a miser; you are never sure whether he is broke or just playing with your mind.
One of his annoying habits is refusing to pay debts even when he is in a position to.
My colleague is one person who will take you round in circles while in town just because he is avoiding certain places where he is owed money.
“Let’s not pass there, there is someone I owe,” he would say and take another turn.
Napoleon has accumulated Okoa Jahazi and Fuliza that sending him money is virtually impossible as overdue digital debts hang over his head.
“Don’t send to that number, use the other one,” he would yell insistently.
To teach such people a lesson, I deliberately send the money to the same number he has condemned and when they complain I advise them to borrow again after settling the debt.
That serves them right and teaches them the moral obligation of paying debts when they are due.
However, this time round, push had come to shove.
All along Napoleon had been evading paying most of his accumulated debts by lying that he had paid fees for his children in school and colleges.
Somehow the lies seemed to work till last week when a shylock by the name Njugu Mawe came calling.
Mawe came to me when I was about to leave for school and asked me to help him.
“Your colleague Napoleon borrowed 10,000 shillings from me about a month ago to settle part of the school fees for his daughter in the university. To date he has not paid and is not picking my calls,” he confided.
I sighed deeply and almost burst out laughing.
I know many things about Napoleon and one of them is that he has never had a family, less so a child at the university.
I hate lying to protect a friend whose unbecoming behaviour is causing financial misery to other people, including shylocks.
“The much I know is that my colleague has many financial obligations to meet, but paying fees isn’t one of them,” I started.
Mawe was startled.
“So you mean he doesn’t have any children in college,” he retorted.
“No! and he does not pay fees for anyone, not even a relative’s child,” I informed him.
Mawe left in a huff and hired goons from a rogue auctioneer in town and made a beeline for Napoleon’s house.
Now he tells me they carted away a TV, a gas cooker and a gas cylinder, items he claims are worth more than the debt the he owed the shylock.
“You shouldn’t have told Mawe the truth. See how much misery you’ve put me in,” lamented Napoleon.
“Those are the wages of sin,” I said lightheartedly.
“Which sin? “he interjected.
I did not reply. Some matters are better laid to rest for sanity to prevail.
