In The Coup

The sun slowly rose over the equatorial lands as it does everyday. But on 01 August, 1982, there were no birds flying or singing in the trees anywhere, including the Mwakecha residence.

“Something is wrong,” said Jayesh Mwakecha, one of the top Indian Businessman and founder of the top Surgical and Pharmaceutical Companies in Kenya, as he woke up and stretched his arms and legs and opened the bedroom curtains to look out of the window.

The garden looked beautiful, green and lively with equatorial plants that the gardener had planted. But something was wrong.  At that moment the phone rang and the man of the house answered it.

“There’s been a coup,” Jagdish Mwakecha told his elder brother, Jayesh, “The government has been over thrown. There’s a lot of looting going on. Switch on the radio as a statement is expected soon!”

Jayesh ran into the lounge and switched on the wooden looking Grundig radio.

“The corrupt government of Daniel Arap Moi has been overthrown. A curfew has been imposed and everyone is ordered to stay inside and the members of the Police Force are no longer operational. They are ordered to go home and behave like civilians,” came the voice of the rebel, Hezekiah Ochuka.

“The Government’s been overthrown,” Jayesh told his wife Jayashree, as a worried expression appeared on his face. For years the Africans had hated the Indians for more than one reason and now anything could happen.  He then walked upstairs and went into his study to think what he could do.

In the meantime, some jets flew over the house and seconds later, they fired their lethal cargo of rockets at the General Service Unit Headquarters for the Kenyan Army, not too far away from the Mwakecha house. The explosions woke up one of Jayesh’s sons.

Pradeep, the middle child, aged nineteen, couldn’t believe what he had heard and from his Advanced Chemistry lessons, in which he had experimented on chemicals that could trigger explosions, he knew that this was not a gas explosion. He blasphemed, as he jumped out of bed and looked through the window. The Airforce jets were flying over the house and releasing their lethal cargos at the nearby Army Headquarters and anti aircraft gunfire could be heard. Soon more gunfire could be heard and turning around, the young Mwakecha boy, worked out where it was coming.

“Dad!” he shouted, as he ran to his father, “There’s gunfire coming from the State House.”

“There’s been a coup,” interrupted his father seriously, “and our offices and warehouse, containing surgical equipment and Pharmaceutical drugs has been looted. And Indian women have been raped so this means that we have to...”

“Take care of Mum and sister,” said Pradeep, as he thought of what he could do to help protect the family. Looking around the study, he saw a rifle that he had been given for his thirteenth birthday when he joined a shooting club. He then looked up at the wooden, TNG ceiling and remembered that there was an attic there. He told his father of a plan that had thought of – ladies hiding in the attic.

“We are not going to hide up there,” argued Jayashree, as the youngest sibling, came and sat next to her.

Fifteen year old Saraswati looked scared and nervous as she hugged her mother, as the nearby sounds of explosions and gunfire got louder and shook the whole house.

“Sorry,” said Pradeep, as he loaded his rifle with live bullets, “Can’t take any chances. The moment they enter through the front gates, we will have seconds to get you up there. I can only hold them back for a while by shooting at them.”

It was decided that the women in the house would get into the attic while the men would try whatever they could. As day turned into evening, the sounds of gunfire and explosions got louder. But as evening turned into night, sound of gunfire slowly died down and it was announced that there would a dawn to dusk curfew and that the Army loyal to the President had gained control and were hunting down the conspirators. But as the night went on, the only sounds that could be heard were of movement of military trucks, tanks and gunfire. Saraswati slept with her parents, while Pradeep and his elder brother, Jayant, who had been a Air Force Cadet in England and also had a rifle, decided to keep watch as the streets outside their house turned dark and no lights came one

The coup that had taken place on the early hours of 01 August, 1982, had failed. The conspirators had only been in power for six hours but the damage had been done. No businesses received any compensation from either the Government of Kenya or from Insurance companies.