'They are trying to kill me'

By Onie Ndoro | Sep. 10, 2023

I had no other solution for him except to tell him to run as far away as possible.

I HAD never seen him like this. He was a wreck. Hokoyo was my work mate. He kept saying that he was next. That sounded ominous.

“What do you mean you are next?” I asked.” Do you know anyone who can help me?” He said. The plot was getting thicker.

I could not fathom his dilemma.

“Help you with what?” I said. I was trying very hard to keep a straight face. At first I thought he was joking but I could now see that something was bothering him. He was nervous. I had never seen him like this.

“I am next, this is the end of me,” he said.

“What exactly are you saying?” I said. The more I tried to get to the bottom of the matter, the more he dug in. He was quiet for an interminable period. I could hear a wall clock ticking somewhere in one of the empty offices. I decided not to probe further. There was no way I could help him if he did not open up.

“Why should this happen to me?” He wailed. I was getting frightened now . Hokoyo was getting under my skin. The fear was contagious. I even looked over my shoulder from one side to the other.

“They are trying to kill me,” he said.

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“Who?” I said, all the while checking for any sign of danger. I began to have serious doubts of his sanity. Hokoyo was usually a jovial fellow with a sense of humour. This was quite unlike him. At that moment I did not want to think that he was coming off at the hinges. He groaned and the next moment he was sobbing, with tears flowing like a river down his cheeks. I was puzzled. How could I comfort him?

Who would want to kill him? All sorts of questions were coming to my mind.

“Let me see the supervisor so that you can go home and rest,” I said, while getting up at the same time.

“No, leave the supervisor out of this,” he said. “I don't want to go home.” I was shocked. This was even more serious than I thought. Hokoyo lived in Section C with his wife. They had one child. And I could not think of anyone wanting to kill him.

I looked at him and our eyes met.

“Can you help me?” He pleaded. There was unmistakable fear in his eyes. He rubbed his eyes, trying to wipe away the tears that had dried whitish on his cheeks. He was near breaking point.

“I borrowed money from Dangermore more than a month ago. It's almost two months now and I am failing to repay back the initial loan plus interest,” he said. It had taken him great effort to get it off his chest. This was trouble.

Dangermore was a notorious and ruthless loan shark and rode rough on his clients. Those who failed to pay had broken limbs or ribs from his bouncers. Hokoyo was in trouble. Rumours doing the rounds was that some of his clients had met unexpected endings.

Despite all this, his clientele base was on the rise. People driven by desperation saw a saviour in him. His interest was 50% and very few of his clients paid without problems.

“How much did you borrow?” I said.

“It was not even much, I borrowed just fifty dollars. He is demanding one hundred dollars and is threatening to kill me,” he said.

Unfortunately, I had no solution for him but I could not say it in his face. He had swallowed more than he could chew. There was no telling where this would end.

Myself I knew where to draw the line. I was hard up, but I would never borrow from Dangermore. He was bad news. The vicious cycle of poverty drove people to desperate measures.

I had no other solution for him except to tell him to run as far away as possible.

“You can even go to South Africa, find a job and try to repay the loan,” I said

There were many people in the same predicament. The hard knocks of life were forever knocking on the door.. There is no free lunch in this world.