Every time the investigative journalist Mohammed Ali
does an expose, you cannot fail to admire his impeccable command in Swahili.
Grab your Kamusi ya Kiswahilifor a
trip down memory lane.
This takes me back to my primary school days in
Tigoni Primary at the heart of the chilly Limuru weather when Mwinyi Kimani Yahya Bin Yusuftaught me ngeli. I remember him teaching sarufi, uakifishaji, and other Swahili
concepts. So dedicated was he that we used to write and submit inshas on a weekly basis. Mwinyi Kimani Yahya Bin Yusuf insisted
that ‘asiyejuangelihajui Kiswahili’. We would spend numerous lessons on ngeli.
Fast forward to Lenana School.I don’t remember the
name of the teacher who taught our class Kiswahili in form one and two but I
cannot forget Bi. Nzioka, the head of Idaraya
Kiswahili, who taught me us, form three and four.
She taught me things like
nomino,vivumishi,vielezi, viunganishi,
vihisishi, vihusishi among others. Ushairiwas
a necessary evil. I recall her saying something like: “Hili ni shairi la ukara kwani vina vinalingana katika kila kipande cha
ubeti na kutofautiana na vingine vyote katika shairi.” These kinds of explanation
would be followed by terms like mishororo,
mizani, vina vya ukwapi, mathnawi, tarbia, mtiririko, mazida, inkisari, uhuishiand
other funny sounding terms.
I can also recall mofimu. She explained
that mofimu ni kipashio kidogo zaidi na huwasilisha maana maalum ya kisarufi.
There were two types of mofimu which she called mofimu tegemezi and mofimu huru. (Do you guys remember those kind of lessons?). There
were things like virai na vishazi and we
used to do a lot of upambanuzi wa sentensi.
Needless to say, Kiswahili was not a cheap subject. You could easily score a
strong D if you did not revise frequently.
Have you ever asked yourself whether it was useful
to learn all that? After sitting the last Swahili paper in the national
examination, you automatically acquire immunity. You are free to commit all the
possible grammar crimes. Most of us murder the language every day in our communication.
From politicians to traffic police officers (especially the officers!!! This
lot seems to have had zero interaction with the language in their formative
years).
Now, think of Mohammed Ali. Who taught him
Kiswahili? This guy can publish his own msamiati.
There are words he says that Mwinyi
Kimani Yahya Bin Yusuf andBi. Nziokadid
not mention in any class. And if they did, I missed it!
Let’s start with the titles of some pieces he has
done. Ghururi ya Saitoti,
Msaragambo wa ardhi, Paruwanja la mihadarati, and the most recent, Zilizala la Westgate. I have never heard
of those words in any Swahili class! Never! Where does Moha get them from?
There is also a dramatic flare when he narrates his
stories. Picture this: “Ni
mimi mwanahabari wenu mpekuzi Mohammed Ali katika makala ya jichopevu.
Katika pitapita zetu tulikutana na msichana huyu mdogo kutoka Migori. Kwanza,
alianza kutubabaisha na maumbile yake ya kukata na shoka…”Is that an example of jazanda?Probably.
I envy his flawless flow. Consider this: “Ni donda sugu, kizungumkuti, jinamizi..
yote ni misamiati inayozunguka jinamizi la ardhi nchini Kenya.
Msaragambo huu wa ardhi ni tanda belua linalodhihirisha wazi kwamba mnyonge msonge,
huku wakifanya maovu bila hofu kwani kwao hakimu ni fisi, mbuzi kupata haki ni ndoto.
Kitengo chetu cha upekuzi kiliafiki kulivalia njuga hili kwani hapa nchini ni wazi kwamba baniani mbaya kiatu chake dawa”.
