When Mama Hirohito,the daughter of my Mum-in-law, told me that she and her friends had organised a Fathers Day party for me, I thought it was a joke.

“Why are you surprised? You think we are not capable?” she asked. “You should consider it an honour that out of all aspirants we have chosen only you,” she said. “I will get you the official invitation in a short while.”

It did not take long before an invitation card landed in my hands. ‘We invite you to be our guest as we celebrate this year’s Fathers Day. We will be delighted if you would share with your plans for women in our ward,” read the card.

“They have not indicated the venue of the meeting,” I wondered aloud.“Of course it is here,” came a quick reply.“Have you invited other men too?”“Just a few, though I doubt whether they will come.”

The idea that I was to address the women was exciting. Their influence in the ward could not be underestimated. “About how long should I prepare to speak,?” I inquired. “Since we shall have the whole afternoon to ourselves,just speak for as long as you want,” she said.

 I sat down to prepare my speech. Women were to be atthe forefront of all the development activities in the ward.In fact, the ward development committee will be headedby a woman. I will also ensure most tenders are given towomen.

Meanwhile, my house was a flurry of activities as Mama Hiro made arrangements for the event. I silently prayed that I would not be asked to dig into my pocket.

Well, yesterday they came home. Many of the women were unfamiliar to me, but as expected, they all knew me. No other man was present. I was elated when Mama Hirohito herself introduced me as her best friend and  ‘a special gift to the ward’.

Before long, I was called upon to give my remarks. I did not disappoint – I rose to the occasion. My speech was punctuated by applause after applause. There was ear splitting ululation when I declared that 70 per cent of the tenders in my ward would be awarded to women. At the end, I was given a standing ovation. I had made a good impression, obviously.

A lady who had introduced herself as Mama Bidii rose to speak. Mama Hiro whispered to me, “If you get this one on your side, you are home and dry.” This made me pay rapt attention. I found her an engaging speaker.

“Bwana MCA, we are so proud of you, that is why we chose to celebrate you on Fathers Day,” Mama Bidii said. “There are many fathers in this ward, but why did we pick on you?” She gave me a fixed stare as if expecting an answer. I stared back at her blankly. “We chose you because you are the only aspirant who knows our needs as women,” she said to an applause.

“You are a sure bet. With you, we can’t go wrong. Now we have one request: we women of this ward want to start a women’s empowerment fund, and we want you to be our patron.” An applause greeted the request. “Please help us to kick start the fund. We can even call it ‘The Gwinso Women’s Empowerment Fund’ if you allow us.” Another wild applause. I tried to give Mama Hiro a why-didn’t-you-prepare-me- for-this glare, but she totally avoided eye contact with me. I was now on my own.

 “So, mheshimiwa, do something memorable for us women on this Fathers Day,”Mama Bidii said and sat down. There followed a while of uneasy silence with all eyes fixed on me.

“Say something,” Mama Hiro whispered to me. I stood, reluctantly though, and pledged to give Sh50,000 to start the fund. The murmurs that followed were telling. Mama Hiro stood and whispered to me, “Don’t embarrass me. Give them 200K” I felt besieged. I had not known it would come to this!

“Ok, let me adjust the figure upwards,”I mumbled. “I shall give you two hundred thousand shillings.” Ululations filled the room as I resumed my seat. As if she had not done enough damage, Mama Bidii stood and reminded me that each of the women neededfare and a little sugar to take back home. 

“We are askingfor this because we know how kind-hearted you are,” she rubbed it in. I had no choice but to raid my campaign kitty. 

Niliona siku mrefu! 

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