Br. Kokany

            Trust me, if you get to know someone’s mother before the actual person, you somehow half know the person. Of course not always! Before I met Kokani, I was expecting something else. To my surprise, and in Br. Stephan’s words, “he is shrinking”. After having sat with him at table, it dawns on me that he is justifiably shrinking. He keeps telling me, “wewe ndiye unakua, kula uwe mkubwa” as he adds another portion in my plate instead of his plate! This is why I didn’t feel guilty when he delayed for lunch and I – like a good Franciscan- fed the cats with his share. I hear he is the first Pokomo priest having submitted his oral application to Fr. Joe. Now they are both priests. It is nothing but hilarious when they recount their past pastoral experiences. In one funny Christmas play, a certain ‘Mary’ wanted a specific ‘Joseph’, “nikawafukuza, niliwafukuza, niliwafukuza”, Kokani says as Joe calms him down, “sema polepole bwaana”, and we all break into laughter!