[Published in the Malawi News of 31 December 2011]
Andisen stood on the harbor on New Year’s Eve and watched the full moon dance on the lake, a light breeze coming off the water. He was at the dock for the first time in years. Novelty saturated many things but he was seeing it all again; a boat carrying four cabinet ministers had violently exploded. But as years progressed it had become apparent that the blast was no accident. Brutal assassination had occurred. Dissent was being eliminated that day by the regime of chief Asilo, the leader he was body-guarding at the harbor. The four ministers, Mauro, Amikhe, Awong’o and Vibula, who had refused to endorse a plan to let the chief’s son unconstitutionally take over after him were being assassinated.
The bloodshed had sickened him and his revisit to the place caused a violent resurgence of it all. Andisen’s head throbbed nastily, but he forced himself to concentrate. After all that was the hub of his job; to remain focused even in strenuous situations. Even earlier on when Asilo had told him that the two should right away travel to the dock to meet a client, a thing awfully against security etiquette and extremely dangerous for a top leadership, he had maintained his poise. He had submissively taken the wheel of the private BMW, relieved though. Being a large sedan, it was the type suitable for that driver-bodyguard task. Possessing a low center of gravity and a powerful engine, the car he could also easily execute short-radius turns to change direction and high-speed cornering, Andisen was home. It also had ballistic glass, armor reinforcement, a foam-filled gas tank, an additional battery, dual foot-pedal control in case of incapacitation, inside fire extinguishers, a reinforced front and rear bumper, to shove offensive vehicles, and additional mirrors, for an improved field of vision. And when they had arrived he had asked for some minutes in which he had composedly checked for possible shooters, bombs and electronic ‘bugs’ on the harbor-house Asilo was to use, and a swift background-check of the client who transpired to be a concubine.
Finally, after some two hours the door opened. Andisen snapped to rigid attention, his SIG Sauer P229 pistol digging into his side. Asilo sauntered out and liberated a smile as he pushed past him to the edge of the port, the woman following him. The two sat down and dangled their toes in the water. Andisen feeling uneasy was not amused with that. Even Asilo knew how extremely compromised the security detail was by sitting in the open in a night with him alone providing the security. Moreover, the chief had so many enemies he had acquired over the years because of his persecutions of dissents as the four ministers, which was contrary when he had just begun.
Asilo was a darling to many in his first years, the time Nthache village was transformed into a haven. It was a time when good governance was pivotal. The time jobs were also found, food security increased, the education and health systems improved. The time people dubbed his leadership as foresighted, dynamic and visionary.
Nevertheless, the same praises knocked sense out of him. He started to play god. He believed he had to think for all the people. Any freedom of thought or speech was brutally repressed. Nobody had a say in the matters of government. He could no longer brood the slightest opposition. His regime became of physical compulsion, prisons, censorship, intimidation, systematic purges and eliminations. Many productive people were wasted or fled into exile. It was a despotic regime full of blind praise singers and bootlickers who told him what he wanted to hear, a regime that used intensive propaganda to maintain people’s support. In the end developmental milestones that were achieved over the years plummeted. Food and drugs became scarce. Unemployment was rampant as companies’ closed shop in masses, corruption became widespread, and stinging poverty resulted, and also a horde of enemies.
That was why an hour later Andisen was relieved when the three left the dock. They reached a multi-store where he was ordered to stop. The woman wanted some food. Asilo wanted to escort her but Andisen was against it. The place was too crowded for him to effectively protect the chief. But Asilo insisted. Andisen grumblingly escorted him up to the door where he stopped and kept an eye on the car.
30 minutes later they were making their way back to the car. Andisen’s alert eyes spotted the M24 sniper rifle pointed at Asilo. It pained Andisen that he could get killed on New Year’s Eve over a thing that was fully avoidable. In a split-second he decided that Asilo should shoulder the burden alone. He made to move away from the line of fire but he slipped and his body tumbled between him and the chief. The bullet hit his shoulder. The would-be assassins bolted and Andisen was rushed to the hospital.
Five months later Andisen was out of the hospital, and chief Asilo unwillingly recommended for his promotion for his bravery. He knew by gaining a higher rank Andisen would no longer be within the ranks to be his bodyguard. But his courage needed recognition. Nevertheless, Andisen refused the promotion to the delight of Asilo and surprise of everybody. He refused to accept a promotion for bravery when he played none.
