Those of you who have been following the happenings in my family will vividly remember what happened in 2023 regarding maize planting. But if you don’t, let me jog your memory.That year, I had prepared the piece of land I always till. It cost me quite some money because I used a tractor to plough, so as to dig the soil deep.While I was still looking for money to buy seeds, one day, as I was going to school, I found people planting maize on the land. I later discovered that Pius had paid them to plant, claiming the land was his.“When I visited in December, Mzee told me that was my land,” Pius explained when I confronted him.My father was evasive on the matter. You see, when Pius is around, he takes Mzee to Hitler’s every day, and anything could happen as a result of those visits.Upset, I asked Pius to refund the money I had spent tilling the land.“I didn’t ask you to plough there,” he said. “What were you doing on my land? I should actually sue you for trespassing.”The maize grew fast, lush, green and healthy. Everyone admired it. But who is God! A few weeks later, a heavy hailstorm completely destroyed his crop. Other farmers were not as badly affected because their crops were still young.Pius may have forgotten that incident, but I did not forget. I never forget such things.Read: Now Maskwembe claims he paid bride price, and that he owes us nothing!Last year, he tilled the same land, and I watched from a distance as the maize did well and as he made money. This year, once again, Pius planted maize on the same farm.God, it would seem, was on his side. From the maize variety he chose to the timing of planting, everything went perfectly. While other farmers planted too early or too late, he hit the jackpot — planting at exactly the right time. The maize grew beautifully. I supported him every step of the way, getting the workers, buying the seeds, the fertiliser; with Fiolina cooking for the workers. I must however say getting money from Pius was not easy.Around April, Pius sent me money and I organised for the first weeding. The money was not enough but I did it for my brother. But because the land was so fertile, weeds grew back fast, forcing us to do a second weeding. I called Pius, who asked me to go ahead, promising to pay me later. Trusting him, I hired boys, supervised the work, and paid them Sh2,750 from my pocket.That is when a cat-and-mouse game began. Every time I called to ask for the money, he promised to send it the next week. Then he stopped answering my calls altogether. SMS went unanswered. My brother Pius had returned to his old self — the snob who doesn’t think much of others.I decided to forgive him, because blood is thicker than water. But just when I was moving on, I was shocked to see Tito, the owner of Busy Bee Academy, harvesting beans from Pius’s farm! When I called to ask, Pius casually told me to let him harvest since they had agreed.I later learned that Pius owed Tito Sh2,000, and since he had refused to pay back for months, Tito was allowed to harvest the beans. I was furious. I would have easily harvested the beans, sold them for more, and given Tito his money while the rest went to Pius. But Pius doesn’t know the price of beans!In recent weeks, it has been painful to pass by Pius’s farm and see the healthy maize, practically calling out to be harvested. Each time I saw it, my stomach reminded me I was the one who tilled that land in 2023 and got nothing, the one who found workers, supervised them, and paid for weeding without refund.Last week, I decided: Kama ni mbaya, ni mbaya!On Tuesday, I hired some boys. On Wednesday, we went to the farm, started harvesting the maize, and ferried it to my home. To focus, I deliberately left my phone at home because I knew I would be called. At around 11am, my father arrived at the farm.Several missed calls from Pius“What is happening here?” he asked.“We are harvesting maize,” I told him.“But this is Pius’s maize, not yours, Andrea!”I told him we had agreed with Pius, but Pius had already called him to complain that I was not picking his calls.Over the phone, I could hear Pius shouting from the other side, “That is my farm! Dre atalala ndani! Hanijui!”I kept quiet and urged the boys to work faster. My father disconnected and decided to face me directly.“This is not your farm, Andrew,” he said. I reminded him how I tilled the land in 2023, spent money again this year, and had never been refunded.“Pius said he will pay you,” Mzee pleaded.“He has been saying that for years!” I answered. “I will harvest, sell the maize, take my money, and whatever remains I will give to Pius,” I said.Read: Apostle Elkana to the rescue as Caro goes back to her husbandLater that evening, I found several missed calls from Pius and angry messages. I called him back thinking he had calmed down.“Umeshika live wire!” he said. “You have to return my farm the way you found it. Take back the maize!”“That is my land, Dre. This is trespass,” he shouted. I told him to refund all the money I had spent over the years.“I will pay you when I get money,” he repeated his usual line.“You have no right to harvest my maize,” he added.“And you have no right to stay with my money, bro!” I shouted back. “I will prepare the maize, take what belongs to me, and give you the rest. Relax.”“I didn’t ask you to harvest for me!” he bellowed. “Utalala ndani!” and he hung up.We are now airing the maize every day. Pius has not talked to me since, though I hear he has been secretly talking to Fiolina, trying to find out how many sacks of maize we expect.Fiolina or no Fiolina, I plan to give him nothing from the proceeds of the maize. I have suffered enough!mwalimuandrew@gmail.com
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