God Accidents.

My mother tongue has a saying that loosely translated says, ‘You do not conclude how a day will end in the morning.’ Tuesday brought that saying to life for me. I had a 7 AM board meeting at the Serena Hotel, for which I was punctual. Well, who misses a breakfast meeting at a five star hotel?  You get to indulge in a deadly breakfast spread as you conduct business.

About an hour into the meeting, my colleague gets a call from the sports PS.  We are required in State House in less than an hour with the junior golf team to receive the national flag. The team is headed to morocco for the Africa junior championship. The group we were to go with were mostly kids who were in class and a few adults who were busy in their hassles all over the city. This meeting was to be the following day at 11 AM but was abruptly changed without notice. I immediately realised that the presidency is a very powerful thing. You do not take a rain check on the president but he can take as many rain checks on you as he pleases. Actually, he can rain check you the rest of your life.  I now understand why civil servants serve at the pleasure of the president. After many frantic calls, a team was assembled at Gate D. We couldn’t believe we had managed with zero notice.

I have never been to the house on the hill. Well, only once before, at the stores near Gate D, where we were dropping tenders. It was just a room with a mountain of brown envelopes that was threatening to slide and bury me and the bored lady receiving the tenders. I don’t count that as a State House visit. We got there during mid-morning and went through the necessary security checks.  We were then ushered through manicured lawns and a water fountain or two into a huge ballroom serving as a dining area. Here we found yet another breakfast spread just for us. There was nduma, ngwaci and even managu. Guys here eat healthy. Brain food I suppose, so that they can lead the country well. The universe was speaking my love language that day- food.

The huge trees outside were the perfect backdrop to this building. Even the birds here were chirping in an accent. I also noticed the cops and security men were very polite and friendly. Every cop we met greeted us with a smile and welcomed us very warmly. That felt strange. I was waiting for the pretence to end and the bad cop to chomoka. I was gladly disappointed. Maybe cops here go through an extra customer service course called utumishi zaidi kwa wote. State House is in two colours – white and red. All buildings are bright white in colour and most rooms and corridors have this thick, blood red wall to wall carpet that I found very intimidating. I felt like I was walking on the Red sea. The smell and heavy feeling of power engulfed me as I walked in. If these walls could talk, they would tell of the making of our beloved country.

I imagined the president behind any of those doors and ready to chomoka any time. People were speaking in hushed tones and seemed to be on their toes. I even wondered how I would react if I met him in the loo. Would I invite him to join our ‘Kilimani speaks’ Whatsapp group, since he is a resident of the area? Or ask him if he hears the noise from the many pubs in our area. We could all sense that he was around even without seeing him. Like a spirit hanging over a place.

The sun felt hotter than usual, or perhaps it was my body temperature rising with anticipation. I was rehearsing in my head how I will salimia him. Good morning Mr President, or Sir, or Mzee. Never have I rehearsed a greeting like that. I was also aware of the fact that I stood out from the rest. Everyone was officially dressed in a suit and the kids were in school uniform. Here I was in jeans and sneakers meeting Kenya 1 for the first time. Suddenly, I was knocked back to reality from my daydreaming by security guys shuffling us into position. His Excellency had appeared. He snuck up on us from a side door. He was dressed in a black suit and tie. We all surrounded him with the kids in front of us as that was why we were there. After his usual pleasant chats and laughter with the young golfers, he turned to greet us. I was the last in line I think.

The president has a firm handshake, which I reciprocated. He looked at me and asked, “Ata wewe umefika huku?” I suspect it was my casual dressing that made him ask that. Maybe I looked like I was here to deliver nyanyas and had missed the goods entrance. Or he confused me for one of those long distance runners who make courtesy calls to him before going to fagia all the medals abroad.  I think I come close to fitting that profile. We then took photos as he handed the flag to the junior team. He gave us his blessings and off we went. He’s a busy man and his motorcade was waiting to whisk him away to his next assignment.

My life has been a series of what I call God accidents. Folks, have you gone through some experiences in life and long after that, they still linger in your mind? You know there’s a particular reason why you had to go through an experience, even though you don’t know the reason yet. One of these events for me was becoming the golf captain of Limuru Country Club in 2012. I have asked the good Lord severally why I was captain and no answer has come through yet. This job found me. I didn’t look for it or want it but I grew to love it. I had a blast serving my club. Now, six years later, it is unfolding slowly that maybe that was the training ground to improve my public speaking and learn how to interact with a diverse group of people successfully.

I am now questioning why I had to meet the President yesterday so unexpectedly. It seems this was really meant to happen. The hourglass on my screen is still searching for the reason why. Thankfully, now on the fourth floor, I don’t stress wondering why such an event happened. The reason for jana’s State House visit will reveal itself at the right time. I’m silently hoping it won’t take six years. I find this state of acceptance of events a very liberating way to live, as long as we are doing well in the process. Stuff does take care of itself eventually folks, so let’s chill and go with the flow sometimes.