Of Pawns and Players by Kinyanjui Kombani

I don’t know if I have ever bet in life but what really is betting? If taking a swipe at love or imaging that things will change for the better in life is part of a bargain, then I must have bet in one way or the other. However, the craze that has swept the country and many other parts of the world at large in form of sports’ betting seems to have inspired Kinyanjui Kombani to pen Of Pawns and Players. Although this story targets a young readership, it is generally appealing to a wide audience. I loved the simple language, the familiar setting and definitely mutura since I have at one time in life gone to lengths to satiate my appetite for the same when I did reside in Kawangware and my good Friend, Peter Onyancha and I had to board a matatu all the way to Uthiru for the delicacy. God knows I still miss that mutura guy to date.

However, in Of Pawns and Players, Kombani takes advantage of a mutura vendor’s setting to weave an interesting story that has a dark side for many families. In this story, the myths are demystified and the reader can discern, aptly so, that it is the company that wins not the one who bets. This is the story of Thomas Karamu and an unlikely romance that never happens although many a reader would have wished to see the relationship blossom. One could easily accuse Kombani for short-changing the reader. How come the classic poor boy meets rich girl does not magically happen in this story? This I guess, is a story for another novel or sequel? Honestly, Kombani don’t fall for this!!

One of the things I enjoyed the most in reading Of Pawns and Players is the humour. Consider the thrashing of Thomas in the opening page; although this is meant to elicit pity on the part of the reader, the narrator, Thomas himself, makes it enjoyable for us when he describes the esiorori – I imagine the many stars that one sees before hitting the ground when they receive a heavy hit on the head. The reader is invited to take a ride as Thomas journeys into a myriad of puzzles trying to decipher who could be after him. When he rules out the dreaded kanjo, county police, the reader knows that he/she has begun a mystic journey which portends both thrill and fear.

When Thomas encounters Aria, his life changes. Aria’s father, Mr Walaki the owner of a betting company MoneyBet, the reader discovers the trickery and the fraud that is the betting game. The reader will also later learn that most of the multimillion companies engage in shady deals some of which involve drugs and drug-trafficking. Thomas is drawn into this web of wealth creation since the betting firm sees an opportunity to rope in many more poor clients. The company wishes to take advantage of hoodwinking the masses that a poor mutura guy is the grand winner thereby catapulting many poor people to imagine that they could be next in the line of winners. It is a popular trick that has born great fruit previously.

Image Courtesy of  https://www.jamesmurua.com

Unfortunately, Thomas is in for a bigger surprise since Aria is planning on tricking him from their earlier plans. His win is well choreographed and Thomas receives a lot of publicity as a poor mutura guy who has won three million dollars. The moneyBet company engages social media, a famous journalist and a popular comedian to hype the win and keep it trending on different social media platforms. This of course helps to market the company. However, what many people don’t know is that Thomas has been coerced to accept a deal where most of the money drawn from the bank will be given back to the company and he will receive a small token of appreciation and continue with his normal life.

Consequently, what most people view as life-changing circumstances from crazy betting wins are nothing but lies. Most if not all winners continue to wallow in poverty. The plan that Thomas has with Aria is to defraud the company the money and plough it back into families affected by betting to help turn around their economic tide. But Thomas discovers that Aria is also planning to defraud him. However, it is Thomas and his friend Elisha who have the last laugh when they con Aria and her friend Danny of the money. As the writer and the common saying goes, both Mr Walaki and his daughter are in for a big surprise: watajua hawajui!

There are great moral lessons to be drawn from this story concerning betting but to say that is all that the story advocates for would be misleading. This is a beautiful story about simple happenings in life like taking a boda boda ride or buying mutura in the street at the places of residence. It is a story of passion, yearning to make it in life and hopefully falling in love and enjoying the fine things in life. Does this happen? Will the novel grant the reader a romantic ending? Read and discover who the pawn or the player is in this story and be careful lest you discover that utajua hujui in the process!

Although I drafted my review long before the 2019 Wahome Mutahi shortlist was announced, I am happy that Kombani won the coveted humour prize.