It is Saturday afternoon and as the clock ticks 3pm, an informer calls me up. “I have a hot story for you,” the informer says with a hasty tone before losing taste for suspense and urging: “Just get yourself down to the Wilson airstrip… Jaguar…”
“Jaguar? What about Jaguar?” I wonder aloud as the caller disconnects,
leaving me confused.
Frantically, I try to reach out to the singer, all in vain as my
paparazzi instincts get aroused.
By now, the caller’s number has gone mute. I arm myself with a camera,
call my taxi guy James, and command him to head to Wilson. Upon getting there,
I make no sight of Jaguar and my frantic efforts to get to the waiting lobby
are thwarted by heavy security guards, who don’t give a damn about my rhetoric,
that I am a good ol’ scribe in the line of duty, trying to investigate a story.
Worse so, even Jaguar’s mobile phone has been switched off.
As I ponder my next move, to my reprieve, a young man dressed in
airport attendant’s gear sighs as he passes by, waving his hand, directing me
to follow him. I oblige.
“I am the one who called you. I got some photos for you. Jaguar has
just left in his new plane. He was with some musicians, and I am aware they
have gone to Naivasha for the weekend,” he drops the shocker, before pulling
out his camera in which there is a sequence of pictures of the singer standing
by a sporty Bentley convertible and a six sitter plane, both christened with
Jaguar’s name.
I can hardly identify the individuals but two look familiar; the two
bodyguards Jaguar had been moving with during the campaign period after word
went round he was working closely with (now) President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The informer, who now introduces himself, as John wants nothing to do
with the story and pictures. In fact, all he asks for is a few coins to quench
his throat over the weekend.
“Jaguar bought this plane during the campaigns and he is always coming
here over the weekend to fly out. He was in Diani last weekend and now, he has
left for Great Lake Resort in Naivasha. The Bentley left with someone else
alongside another car,” John informs.
I hand the guy some little cash and in another minute, the pictures are
safe in my flash disk… Mission accomplished, almost.
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