Our relief and joy lasted for a few minutes. It didn’t take long before we heard a loud bang coming from the gate. I struggled to rise since I was tired and was about to catch a nap when it suddenly disappeared. We lowered the volume from the TV and made our way to the window to have a glance at what was happening. I will never forget what my eyes came into contact with. The gate was opened wide and a strange truck and our family car ran into the scene. They got into the compound and five men alighted followed by my husband who was in the small car. The men who accompanied him were heavily built similar to the ones who had come to patrol the previous night. Perhaps they needed to successfully accomplish their assignment to be entitled to full pay from their master.

Without altering a word they forced their way into the house and started collecting any household items they stumbled upon. I opened my mouth to say something when I was silenced by a hard slap on my left cheek. All I could see were stars. That is when I realized it was not business as usual. They picked all the electronics and loaded them in the waiting truck. They ignored my daughter as she attempted to beg them to allow her to finish watching her favorite cartoon. Some other men were in the bedroom while others were in the kitchen each trying to accumulate as many items as they could. They carried the kitchen appliances as we watched. He instructed them on what to pick and supervised as they loaded the items on the truck.

They finally managed to sweep the house clean. We were left with only our clothes and a mattress to start all over. I also noticed some insignificant kitchen households that dropped on the floor as they made their way out. Camilla could not believe that our once full house looked like a hall. She uncontrollably cried her heart out calling out at her dad who was now in the car ready to leave. He ignored her and they drove off together with the fully loaded truck as we helplessly watched. They had successfully fulfilled their mission of the day. We were left devastated, confused, and with broken hearts.

This was now on the 31st of December and it was New Year’s Eve. There was merry-making, jubilation, and celebrations coming from the neighborhood. People around were getting ready to usher in the New Year in style. The situation was quite different for us. We had nothing to celebrate about. We were mourning and counting losses. The house was left a mere shell. We had lost the household items that we treasured. My marriage had just disintegrated. He had vanished in thin air. I fought hard to stay sane for the sake of my unborn baby but nothing made sense at
that point. He had left us wounded, confused, traumatized, and emotionally tormented.

I needed to talk to an adult. Someone who would understand me. Someone who would listen to my pain with no interruption. Someone who will not judge me. I immediately called Mama Judy who gave me a listening ear. I
expressed myself and poured my heart out to her. She really empathized with us and promised to come early the following day since it was getting late into the night. I quickly thought of calling my mother back in the village
too. I knew she always had a solution for my problems. I was certain she would sacrifice to send me help. She did not answer my phone call as quickly as she would normally do. I tried once more and she finally answered the call. What shocked me was her unpleasant and trembling tone. This worried me a lot and I quickly shouted

“Mum, are you okay?”

Sadly, all I could hear in the background were desperate cries, loud noise, distress calls, and frustrations. She had to look for a safe place and gathered the courage to tell me what was going on. This was before I even told
her my reason for making that call. They had their own struggles. They experienced a lot of difficulties. They were fighting to save their lives and rescue their properties that were at stake.

There were fights between two tribes in their neighborhood after presidential results were announced. They were seriously hit by tribal clashes due to post-election violence that happened in Rift Valley in the year 2007. They were forced to vacate home with their animals for their safety. They ended up in an IDP camp since there were no relatives around where they could run to. I listened to her and felt they were in a more dangerous situation than I was. We all had our share of troubles at that time. No one could help the other. I just encouraged her and said a word of prayer. I was left to deal by myself.