The Bahatian

  Standing at the summit of a hill or a mountain and looking at your surroundings from that vantage point can be exhilarating. It is as though you’ve conquered a strong giant and you can jump up and down giving out whoops of joy to the delight of none other than your satiated heart.   Mountaineering is one of my hobbies, but over the years, I’ve given it a wide berth owing to the ups and downs of the life’s rat race. Of course, we all gets encumbered with cares of life that we hardly takes note when lethargy sets in and our pastimes slowly becomes things of a remote past.   The other day, I reignited this idyllic passion and set to the east of my general residence. The hill is simply known as ‘ Kirima ’, which simply translates as hill. It has been denuded of tree cover with few trees scattered here and there with surrounding peasants given minuscule plots to farm. These handkerchief sized pieces stretches all the way to the rocky summit. And how they manag...

Watchmen, or security guards for that matter, have emerged as a force to reckon with. With the insecurity on an upsurge countrywide, you're sure to find this cadre of employees in almost every building entrance. From public buildings to private homes, gates are nowadays manned by security guards with menacing eyes aided by four legs canines.   The high and the mighty dreads stepping on their toes let alone pinching their noses or lecturing them on values of 'knowing people' lest they find themselves on the wrong side of the law.   And like your maid, or house manager as has become the common term, who becomes an integral family member of your household, and who you can't easily dispose off with, the same is true with watchmen and security guards. In an era where everything appears contractual, your powers to hire and fire at will are greatly curtailed. Oral agreements are now admissible in courts as bidding as formal ones. Thus, you can't dispense 'casua...