THE LEGEND OF KIWAKAAZI

“Sources close to Nyansapofie dan kese (the great house of Nyansapofie) reveals that the man believed to be behind the act of terror in Nibooman has just been arraigned before Nibooman’s decision making body. We still do not know the name and identity of this mystery person. We hope to find out soon,” said a news reporter. The reporter, an attractive woman standing outside the Imperial palace and smiling at the cameras was reporting for Nyansapofie’s largest television station, Asempa TV.

After the doors were closed behind Kiwakaazi, he heard his heart thumping in his chest. He sensed trouble but what kind of trouble was the mystery. He looked right and saw the first of many faces that confirmed he was in trouble. The first face he saw was Obenfobaa (Professor) Frema’s face; one of a handful of women whose great work had earned her a place amongst men.

Obenfobaa Frema was the only woman to be honored with the “Order of Sinduye (Black genius)”. If you remember, the word “Sinduye” was the nickname of the founder and first Emperor of Nibooman (Western Empire), Attawaazi. After he died, his successor decided to honor men and women of science whose research and work had telling impacts on the lives of people.

She won the award for her discovery of the cure to the most feared disease during the civilization. The disease called “atridii” and caused by “Gbeleshie koolo (the insect of death)” was the most feared disease. Atridii is now known as Malaria and the vector, Gbeleshie koolo is the mosquito. It used to be treated with neem leaves until Obenfobaa Frema isolated a compound she believed was solely responsible for the treatment and formulated a drug combining that compound and other natural extracts from ginger and garlic. This antimalarial drug she named “pam-atridii (drive malaria away) saved the civilization from this killer disease. Obenfobaa Frema became the first woman to win “The Order of Sinduye” award and the first person to be honored while still alive. Her six predecessors all passed before being honored.

For her hard work, she sat on the lowest floor of the circular court; the floor reserved for the directors and heads of institutions as well as men and women like Obenfobaa Frema. Great musicians, artists, scientists, soldiers, business men and all those who have achieved greatness in life while maintaining a certain moral and ethical code; people who demonstrated patriotism and a desire to serve Nibooman. Being a mother, she looked truly concerned for Kiwakaazi.

Kiwakaazi raised his head and met the eyes of a couple of chiefs. The chiefs occupy the next circle in the hall. There were close to 200 villages alone in the west and each village is ruled by a chief. The two chiefs unlike Obenfobaa Frema looked angry. They looked at him the same way the people of Tumushie used to look at him.

Higher than the chiefs were the kings of Nibooman. Kiwakaazi read a few facial expressions amongst the kings also and they too were upset to see him. Then the elders of the chiefs and kings occupied the fourth circle and occupying the zenith was the Quaazi (Emperor) of Nibooman and his family of royals. Unfortunately, the Quaazu could not make it and his son, Prince Kuame occupied his father’s seat. A man holding a staff with a lion’s head carved on one end stood on Prince Kuame’s right. Other members of the Emperor’s royal family sat to the left and right of Prince Kuame. Standing behind each member of the Emperor’s royal family was an armed man; a bodyguard. They were muscular and tall. They wore black trousers and multicolored shirts. The man with the staff turned and started walking. He opened a door and his footsteps were heard while he descended stairs.

Outside the palace, a crowd was slowly gathering. Asempa TV’s broadcast had reached people; brothers whose sisters were in pain; mothers and fathers whose children have died and have lost everything; friends who did not even get a chance to say goodbye and husbands and wives whose hearts have been broken were slowly finding their way to the Imperial Palace of Nibooman.

The man carrying the staff opened a door on the ground floor and entered the circle within which Kiwakaazi stood. He walked slowly to Kiwakaazi and stopped when he was just about a meter or two in front of him. He asked, “Tell us Kiwakaazi, why did you do it?” Kiwakaazi looked puzzled. He responded, “Why did I do what?” The man asked, “Why you killed your own father and unleashed a deadly poison on Nibooman?”

Inside Nomposuro, Arangosango vanished after he caught his sword this hoping to appear next to Kaki and end her once and for all. But the Kaki who should have been unconscious after being punched in the chest by Aran got up, and threw a left punch towards her right. Aran appeared right in the path of her punch and got hit hard. He was flying backwards when he planted his sword in the soil to halt his backward flight. He looked into Kaki’s eyes with a cocky smile and thought, “She is trying too hard to protect him. I guess I should quit playing with her,” right before he disappeared again.

Kiwakaazi asked, “My father is dead? I don’t believe it!” The interrogator showed Kiwakaazi a picture of his father lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. He had been stabbed in the gut. Tears started to flow down Kiwakaazi’s face. His beloved father had been murdered. Who was so cruel to do this? Kiwakaazi answered, “I did not do this. I am being framed.”

The interrogator, the man holding the staff asked, “Alright then. Tell us, where were you last night?” “Last night… um… last night,” went Kiwakaazi. He could not remember. The interrogator suggested, “Let me help you. This is what happened.”

“Before last night, you attacked your father at work. You would have killed him if not for the timely intervention of some students. You left very angry and shouted it was not over. You visited your best friend Nii Addo.” Up to this point everything sounded accurate to Kiwakaazi.

“We contacted Nii Addo. He told us the two of you had quite a day of partying that went on until very late at night. It was a great night of drinking, smoking and some really great sex. You demanded to go back home and that was the last he saw of you.” Kiwakaazi did not remember that happening but it may be true.

“You knew your mother was out of town. You attacked your father at his home and stabbed him many times in the gut. You cut off his finger and used it to open his safe; the very safe where he was keeping the object of your interest – the poison you have spread all over our beloved home. You infected Tumushie and now the entire empire has been infected. All we want to know is why you did it?” The last part sounded fabricated but Kiwakaazi just did not remember. All he knew was that he didn’t have the stomach to poison Tumushie. Kiwakaazi answered, “I did not do this. I could not. I am being framed!”

The interrogator nodded and turned. He gestured and of the guards stationed at vantage points inside the court brought a plastic bag. Inside the bag was a small knife. He showed the knife to Kiwakaazi and explained that Kiwakaazi’s fingerprints were found on the weapon. Kiwakaazi could not believe. He reminded himself not to fall for their tricks. Nothing in this world will force him to kill his own father. He loved that man too much. The interrogator showed him pictures of his father lying in a pool of his own blood. Kiwakaazi could not watch and looked away. Next, the folder bearing the title Tumushie was shown to Kiwakaazi. The interrogator asked, “Tell me, is this not your handwriting?”

Yes, Kiwakaazi wrote the equations. The people of Tumushie were cruel to him and his family and he wanted them to pay for it. He started writing equations that will lead to the synthesis of a pain inducing compound because in his dark and twisted mind, death was not punishment enough. They deserved suffering and pain. But he woke up one day and he realized his life was different. It was great. He did not have to get revenge on Tumushie to be happy. He abandoned revenge and started modifying his equations and the result was the tsofako (cure of a thousand ailments). The tsofako started as an analgesic until later tests revealed it could correct high blood pressure, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. More tests and modifications revealed that it was also potent as an anti-inflammatory, anti-malarial and an anti-bacterial. It was a miracle drug and it was Kiwakaazi’s invention. It was the drug that made him famous and respected in the Western Empire.

Kiwakaazi should have destroyed it – the first equation but he did not. He left it in his room back at his father’s house in Nyansapofie. For some reason he could not bring himself to destroying the folder. His father might have found it and completed it. He had also made a few improvements to make the pain more excruciating; so excruciating that it killed people in the process. Kiwakaazi would have blamed this on his father but with the man dead, he was not sure what to think anymore. Perhaps he did it after all.

Prince Kuame finally spoke. He said, “Kiwakaazi son of Obenfo Molade. Your actions are unforgivable. My Father, Great Quaazi Deladem died after being infected by the same poison. You will remain locked up until the court decides what to do with you.” Two of the guards inside the court grabbed him and bundled him out of the palace.

The crowd outside the palace had grown large and restless. The pain Kiwakaazi was believed to have inflicted on them was great indeed. Some carried placards suggesting Kiwakaazi be killed. Some wanted him to feel the pain he has inflicted on them. He too should be poisoned and left to die a slow and very painful death. But others wanted to avenge their loved ones and carried stones, sticks, machetes and even guns.

The instant Kiwakaazi stepped out of the palace, stones were hurled his way. One of these stones struck and drew blood from his head. There were many guards outside trying to keep the mob at bay but the crowd overpowered the guards and some of them broke out. One of these men carried a gun. He stood in front of Kiwakaazi and shouted, “Die! You devil from hell!” He fired and one of the two guards escorting Kiwakaazi to prison shielded him with his body and was shot twice in the gut. The second quickly drew his gun and shot down the man. After the shots were fired, many guards surrounded Kiwakaazi. They protected him and rushed him back inside the court. One of the guards whispered into the ears of the man carrying the staff and he relayed the information to Prince Kuame. To protect Kiwakaazi from the angry crowd, he was locked up in the old dungeons under the Imperial Palace.

With Kiwakaazi gone, the man bearing the staff questioned, “Now, what do we do with the criminal?”