03.02.04 The 2nd Part of Daudi's Story

BORA Development Corporation

Soon after completing his first degree in Engineering, Daudi joined BORA Development Corporation as an Operations Officer.  That was where he met his first ever boss, Zakayo, who coached the young man on how to get rich quickly and fraudulently. 

One day, a sweaty and dusty Daudi showed up late for work after walking a distance due to scarcity of public transport.  “Dude’,’ the shrewd Operations Manager had said with a subtle smile…; “Smart professionals do not hike to work... they drive.  You need to buy a car…”  What followed was a lecture on how to extract money from suppliers and an agreement that Daudi would take thirty percent of the ‘proceeds’ whilst the Manager kept the seventy.  And indeed a few weeks later, the young Engineer put Zakayo’s teachings to work.

It all started when Daudi waylaid a desperate supplier, Nalule who was following up on a tender that had taken ages to process.  What she did not know was that the Engineer had stealthily locked up Nalule’s file in his drawers, waiting for the D-day when she would crawl into his bait.  As Daudi had anticipated, it was not long before a frantic Nalule showed up in the Engineer’s office, seeking for redress in whatever form.  And although Daudi expressed his willingness to assist, what followed was a series of ‘come tomorrows’ accompanied with the Engineer’s excuses that BORA’s tender processes were known to be chronically slow.  So, with no breakthrough in sight, Nalule demanded to see the Director.  “Madam.  Zakayo is always either upcountry…, or attending meetings…!” Daudi would relate.  So eventually, when the Engineer put his demand for a bribe on the table, insisting that the supplier should ‘cough’ hard cash, Nalule was too exhausted to decline; and, in just one day, the file reappeared and the tender was processed.

“Ah.. this works” smiled the delighted Daudi, as he pocketed his freshly earned shillings while submitting the lion’s share to his boss.

But as God neither sleeps nor slumbers; that very Sunday, Daudi’s Pastor (called Ssiwa) preached a fiery sermon against corruption, inviting those that were having challenges with the vice to go to the front for prayer.  Daudi who had already dropped some of the ‘bribe’ money into the offering basket closed his eyelids tightly as he froze in his seat, determined not to expose himself to the Pastor and the entire congregation.  “Please forgive me dear Lord...” he had whispered with his hands raised in surrender, promising God that he would never touch bribes ever again. 

However, his apologies to God did not hold any water, since the ‘easy-come’ money became sweeter by the day.  Before long, he had even started budgeting for that income.  Daudi became such an ‘expert’ that within only six months, he bought the car that Zakayo had prophesied prior; and since then, walking became history.