The Spider's Web

By Kankomba Mwima

At the age of 18, Jokan is lured by his grandparents to marry a girl within the family. But Jokans interest is to go for further studies and purse a career of his dreams. After his studies abroad, Jokan becomes the youngest Sielian to hold a position traditionally held by expatriates and struggles to get accepted by his subordinates. When Jokan goes to take up a senior position at the Department of Agriculture Headquarters, he meets a lot of opposition from his superiors.
Jokan is excited about the political wind of change in his country. But a few months after the new government takes power, the ugly face of selfishness, greed, corruption and irresponsible leadership begins to show. Jokan finds himself constantly stepping on some government and political leaders toes in his efforts to perform his tasks. After over twenty years of service, Jokan resigns and his resignation firmly closes his career in the civil service of the Republic of Siel. But another and similarly challenging door in his career opens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Aug 5, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456780326

Kankomba Mwima

Kankomba Mwima was born in Kitwe, Zambia. He received his undergraduate and post graduate studies in the United States of America, the Netherlands and Japan. In addition to The Spiders Web he has published a number of short stories in the Z-Magazine. Kankomba and his family lives in Lusaka, Zambia.

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© 2011 Kankomba Mwima. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 8/1/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4567-8031-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4567-8032-6 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

For my children: Tisha, Jason and Alice and my grand children Dingiswayo, Sonia and Kondwani; my parents: Chishimba and Mpundu; my grandparents: ShiFise and ShiChenge and those who inspired me to write this book: Lydia, Constance, Monica, Geoffrey and Grace. For those of you whose names I have not included here, I know that you know yourselves, please accept that this book is also for you.

Author’s Note:

This story is set in an imaginary African country known as the Republic of Siel. Other African countries in the story are equally imaginary and so are all the names of the characters. However, to give some truth to this work of fiction, I have taken liberties with some facts that often times give truth to fiction.

Contents

1 THE DAWN

2 STRAIGHT AND WINDING ROAD

3 Misguided Rescue

4 Crossroads

5 The Destination

1

THE DAWN

The sun had just gone down and the rhythmic sounds of insects, birds and wild animals in Longam village were getting louder. Headman Mwabri and his wife Ma-Mwabri were sitting by the fireplace outside their grass-thatched house about to have their evening meal. Their house was built about five hundred meters from the road and in front of it were orange and lemon trees. In the back of the house were mango and pawpaw trees and a cassava field. Suddenly, they heard quick steps approaching and both froze as they strained their eyes to recognize the impromptu visitor. The approaching figure noticed the old people’s uneasiness and announced his arrival from a distance, I am Jokan Mheka grandmother and grandfather.

Our people, Headman Mwabri said as he struggled to stand up, say: No innocent person travels at night. What brings you here so late my dear grandson?

It is not very late grandfather; it is just after 7:00pm. I could have arrived one hour ago, but my bicycle had a puncture, Jokan said, carefully leaning the bicycle against the wall. Jokan noticed that his grandfather was wearing the shirt he had brought for him when he last visited six months ago. On this particular trip, Jokan brought a wrapper for his grandmother. The old lady unfolded the wrapper and in appreciation; she did a little dance while clapping and waving her hands.

You have arrived just in time, our people say: A good farmer arrives before people have eaten their food…. Ma-Mwabri said and then handed her grandson a wooden stool.

It means, Headman Mwabri cut in with a broad welcoming smile and extended his hand to his grandson which Jokan grabbed firmly, you will be able to produce and feed many people my dear grandson.

Yes indeed, Jokan said nodding as he firmly sandwiched his grandfather’s hand in his palms.

Ngusma village is a stone throw from here, said Headman Mwabri patting his grandson’s shoulders, if you started early, you would have been here in good time even with a punctured bicycle tyre. In the olden days, the greatest danger to man were wild animals, but these days, it is man who is the greatest danger to man, so you are better off travelling during the day. Anyway, we thank God you have arrived safely my dear friend. How are your parents, brothers and sisters?

Everyone is fine and they sent their greetings.

Praise be to God, Headman Mwabri said gently nodding his head.

Ma-Mwabri put a lump of mash-potato like made from cassava meal on a trough-shaped clay plate and cassava leaves cooked in groundnut sauce on a saucer-shaped clay plate for her husband and her grandson. Thereafter she put her own food on two pumpkin-shaped clay plates.

Our people say: Food is not like clothes, it is never small – the food is ready, Ma-Mwabri knelt down to invite her husband and her grandson to take their food and then sat on the other side of the fireplace. Headman Mwabri said a prayer for the food and thanked God for granting his grandson a safe journey. The food was taken in complete silence. Immediately after the meal, the old man broke the silence and started a conversation.

Now that you have completed your secondary school education my grandson, what are your plans? Headman Mwabri asked while washing his hands.

I still have more schooling to do grandfather, Jokan said.

Your uncle went only up to Standard Six. He is now a teacher and a very good one, but you have completed secondary school, what more schooling do you need? Headman Mwabri asked.

You see grandfather, Jokan answered smiling, if uncle had an opportunity to go further in school, he would have completed his secondary school education and would have proceeded to go to the university, besides, I know that my uncle was – according to what I have heard – always top of his class….

I don’t understand!.. Headman Mwabri cut in shaking his head, "What is unifersity?" Headman Mwabri asked.

Ahmm, Jokan briefly paused wondering how best to answer his grandfather’s question and then went on, the university is the school where people are taught skills for different jobs. At that moment, Ma-Mwabri who was quiet for most of the time joined the conversation.

Listen young man, said Ma-Mwabri as she pulled her wooden stool closer to her grandson, in this village, there are only six boys and two girls who completed their schooling last year ….

And, her husband cut in, none of them has received the amount of education you have received, yet all of them have good jobs just like your uncle.

Mosquitoes with their irritating wails kept disturbing Jokan’s concentration as he kept slapping himself to kill the little devils – as he often called them. Headman Mwabri and his wife did not seem to be bothered by the mosquitoes. How come these old people do not seem to be bothered by these little devils? Jokan asked himself mentally.

Jokan stood up and took two pieces of firewood from the pile behind his grandfather and put them on the fire, he knelt down to blow and a bright flame came up. As if prompted by the bright flame, the old man brought up another subject. He tried to lure his grandson to consider marrying, as he put it, a girl within the family. Ma-Mwabri firmly supported her husband and went on to say that the girl was very well-mannered. But Jokan insisted that he still had some more schooling to do. By asking his grandson to marry a girl within the family, Headman Mwabri wanted to maintain the tradition of uncles marrying their daughters to their sisters’ sons. Headman Mwabri himself got married to the daughter of his uncle.

Well, Headman Mwabri said resignedly after the young man’s fierce objection to the suggestion, you should sleep over these suggestions, as the wise words say: The night gives wisdom. Jokan nodded as if in agreement although deep down, his mind was fixed on acquiring more education and – at 18 years old - he had not even considered the idea of getting married.

When Jokan visited one of his aunties on the other side of the village, he discovered that the girl within the family was actually his uncle’s daughter and when he returned to his grandparents’ house, his protest against the idea of marrying a girl within the family became even stronger. As far as Jokan was concerned, marrying a cousin was like marrying one’s own sister.

On a cloudy Sunday morning, Jokan boarded the Kochia bound bus from Msween. After seven hours on a bumpy and dusty road, Jokan was relieved when the road gave way to a tarmac. The whole trip from Msween to Kochia took ten hours but the excitement of going to live in an urban area took away all the exhaustion from him.

During his stay in Kochia, Jokan’s main preoccupation was to find a job in a company that would sponsor him to the university. Jokan’s job hunting included writing and hand-delivering application letters to as many companies as possible. Almost every day, the mail man delivered a letter or two and sometimes a bunch of letters from the various companies where Jokan had applied for jobs. Jokan would hurriedly open letters and if the letter had one word: regret, he would put it down and pick another one. In four months, all the responses to his application letters were negative. One day, one of the letters Jokan received came from his young brother Sachila. In his letter, Sachila requested his elder brother to allow him to visit Kochia. Jokan put the letter back in the envelope before he could finish reading. When another letter came from his young brother, Jokan concluded that it was just a follow up to an earlier letter and he just put it aside and never bothered even to open it.

One day Jokan was so frustrated with the many regret letters he had received that he decided to just stay in his room and while he was day-dreaming, he heard the dining room door open and heard his cousin’s wife, Mrs. Somenda talking to her neighbour.

Ma-Sando, Mrs. Somenda said, I have not seen your brother in law in the last couple of weeks…

Aaaaah! Ma-Sando said excitedly, the young man found a job with the coal mining company and is now staying at the company staff development center…..

Lucky you, Mrs. Somenda cut in and went on, I doubt if my husband’s cousin did well at school. It is now more than four months since he came from the village and almost every day, he wakes up early in the morning to search for jobs, but nothing has come up and you know how expensive it is to keep loafers… Jokan slowly tip-toed over to the window of the dining room and with his ear pressed to the window, he heard everything that was being said outside.

You can say that again, Ma-Sando said, loafers can be a big drain, we got very relieved when my brother in law got a job.

Talking about loafers being a drain, Mrs. Somenda said, "did you watch the Tonight with Shokamuki programme last week?"

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ma-Sando laughed, both my husband and I watched the programme…..

Our situation is exactly want the young lawyer was saying, Mrs. Somenda said. Jokan remembered the particular Tonight with Shokamuki programme very vividly and the emotional pain he felt flashed back in his mind. I will pack my small bag and get out of this house; Jokan told himself as he quickly tip-toed back to his room and immediately packed his few belongings. A few minutes later Jokan briskly opened the door and angrily stormed out of the house. He slammed the door behind him leaving both Mrs. Somenda and her neighbour shocked.

The Tonight with Shokamuki programme the two women were talking about was broadcast on the Siel National Broadcasting Services TV and was, as always, hosted by an academic Mr. Shokamuki.

Welcome to tonight’s programme viewers from the Kochia studios of SNBS, the bi-spectacled Mr. Shokamuki introduced the programme and went on, tonight our topic is The socio-economic impact of extended family system and to discuss this topic, I have in the studio a young and very brilliant lawyer who has just graduated from the Siel National University, Mr. Mukambe – welcome to the programme.

Thank you, it is a pleasure to be here, the immaculately dressed Mr. Mukambe said and firmly shook Mr. Shokamuki’s hand.

Can we first start by defining extended family? Mr. Shokamuki asked.

Yes, Mr. Mukambe said as he moved closer to the microphone, I suppose the simple definition is – a family that goes beyond the nuclear family and a nuclear family is simply a husband and wife and their children, if there are no children, then a nuclear family is simply the husband and wife. The extended family includes people like cousins, uncles, aunties, nephews, and nieces. Even brothers and sisters are part of the extended family.

Now, let us talk about the socio-economic impact of the extended family on a nuclear family, Mr. Shokamuki said fixedly looking at the young lawyer.

Let me start by saying that in most African societies – ours included, Mr. Mukambe said, we have strongly embraced the extended family system, but these days the system - and I hope viewers out there will not misunderstand me – has some very serious draw backs. Let us, for instance, take a family of five - a wife and a husband and their three children based in an urban area such as Alijat or Kochia. Now let us assume that the man’s brother or cousin comes from the village and such a visitor is exclusively dependent on the host family for food, shelter and other essential needs. And by the way, these days, people from villages come empty-handed, sometime back, a visitor from the village would bring some ground nuts, dry cassava, wild fruits, game meat, fish and the list goes on. Like I said, most visitors these days come empty-handed but they come with a lot of demands and their presence immediately overstretches the resources of the host family…

And the overstretching of the resources, Mr. Shokamuki cut in, is one of the socio-economic impacts on the nuclear family.

Exactly, Mr. Mukambe agreed, in other words, that visitor is – as our natural science colleagues would like to say – a parasite. For the purpose of this discussion, a parasite is defined as an individual that is hosted by a family and entirely depends on that host family for survival.

At that moment, Jokan felt like he was the individual the lawyer was talking about. He almost left the living room to go and pack so that he could go back to his nuclear family the following day. But before he could firmly make up his mind whether to leave the room or stay and watch the programme, the lights went off and the entire house went in total darkness. Jokan had mixed feelings: If the programme had continued, maybe the two people would have talked about some positive socio-economic impacts and that would have watered down the embarrassment and emotional pain he felt. On the other hand, he felt that he had received enough embarrassment and emotional pain for one night; just as well the power went off.

After leaving his cousin’s house, Jokan went to borrow some transport money from his former school mate and that very day, he boarded the overnight Msween bound bus. A few minutes after his arrival, Sachila gave Jokan a letter. Father opened the letter when he saw the university stamp and after reading it, he asked me to write and inform you that….. Sachila said.

I have been accepted at the university, Jokan interjected beaming with happiness.

Yes, and I suppose that is the reason for your coming back … Sachila told his brother.

Yes, that’s why I have come back, thank you for your letter, Jokan cheated.

Two weeks later, Jokan boarded the Alijat bound bus at 05:30am from Msween. On the way, the man sitting next to Jokan bought The Siel Times, the government owned newspaper. Jokan had no courage to ask the man to loan him the newspaper, but he occasionally kept reading the paper stealthily. Something caught his attention: an advertisement placed in the newspaper by the Siel Department of Agriculture entitled Calling Secondary School Leavers. Without attracting the attention of the owner of the newspaper, Jokan wrote the advertiser’s address in his pocket note book.

Early in the morning of the following day, Jokan joined a very long line of first year students at the main campus