Let Justice Prevail

Chapter Twelve

Let Justice Prevail  

Moses A. Orang'o  

 

Written by Moses A. Orang'o 

Edited & Revised by Ilona Gracia

 

Chapter Twelve 

Mr. Abdi sat unusually quiet, as he waited for the meeting to start. Although, he was unsure of what to expect, he just remained patiently for the Secretary General to call the meeting to attention. Nonetheless, he was certain that he would be the main target. At his capacity as the chairman, and as much as he was the one responsible for calling meetings, yet this time they decided to keep him in the dark. He knew the party's top leader was worried. Somehow, he could not blame them though, since the election was just around the corner. They were probably going to discuss him, being the presidential candidate that year, Abdi thought to himself.  

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Kongoni Mwea, the Secretary General's voice echoed, bringing upon silence into the room, "May I have your attention please?" He continued after a complete silence. "It took a lot of courage and strong will for me to call for this meeting. As much as you were not informed on the agenda, in the letters addressed to you, I believe we all have a prior notion of what we need to talk about. You may - or may not - be right in your assumptions, but the most important thing that we can expect is that whatever we shall resolve tonight should be for the benefit of our party the 'Peoples' Democratic Movement'. We are all aware that the formation of this party, besides there being a prime party, was also made possible by several stakeholders. Some of these stakeholders are current and former politicians, others are members of parties that disintegrated to join us, and there are still others that are businessmen and foreign governments as well. Furthermore, and most importantly, I believe in the original members of the original PDM. As I stand here on this day, I believe that I am representing the interests of all the people who came here today. Those that are here have proven, by their presence, that they are committed to the 'Peoples' Democratic Movement'. Before continuing, I want to apologize to our chairman, Mr. Abdi Anwar Bashir of whom we all know should have been the one leading this meeting. So, Sir, I do apologize."  

"Go ahead Mwea, we are all waiting for you to come to the point," Abdi said.  

"Okay, that having been solved, I welcome all of you to the meeting, and thank you for having agreed to come. The main agenda today is about what has happened concerning our chairman. So, before I move along, I now invite anyone in this meeting to state his or her view, and if anyone is in the dark about this matter, he or she should say so before we ..."  

"Yes, we are in the dark," the party's spokesman Mr. Tibaluku interrupted, "I believe we all know what is happening, but is that in fact today's agenda for the party, or should I bring out the real reason right now? Should I say the main agenda for the meeting is to discuss whether Mr. Abdi here is viable as a presidential candidate, or would I be wrong to state that this is what it is all about?"  

"You are not wrong Mr. Tibaluku, and now that it is out in the open, what are the member's views on this?" Mr. Kongoni asked.  

Abdi sat quietly, like a man on trial for a life sentence, and he clearly sensed that the jurors were not in his favor. He knew there was no point to call off the meeting and dismiss everything like he had preferred. Knowingly, he thought to himself, the constitution had no provision for humiliating Chairmen. Sadly, though, all he could do at that point was to silently observe the reactions of each and every member lest he be labeled an oppressor.  

"I am also worried with what is happening, and I believe this meeting had been long overdue," Mr. Patient Munoka declared, a businessman, who was also the key financer of that party, "Therefore," after a brief pause he continued, "I think what we should discuss is the matter of who should carry the flag for us toward the State House."