MY SECOND SHIRT GETS AN UPGRADE

Adeladius Makwega – Mwanadilatu, Mkuranga, Pwani

For many years, Mwanakwetu has owned five shirts: two white, two black, and one green. He especially loves the two white ones, as the saying goes,

 

“a dark-skinned person loves white, and a light-skinned person loves black.”

 

Recently, out of his two white shirts, one that used to fit him very well got completely ruined.

 

 

How did this happen?

As usual, Mwanakwetu is fond of riding a motorbike (bodaboda). On that day, he put his bag on his back and began a journey of about six kilometers. In his hand, he carried a blue sweater along with two pens—one blue and one red.

 

A blue pen is normal for Mwanakwetu, but the red pen he carried by accident. This type of pen is usually reserved for teachers, magistrates/judges, and even the President.

 

Mwanakwetu is a teacher. He remembers the last time he used a red pen was in 2012, when he was a lecturer teaching a radio course to undergraduate journalism students. From then until 2026 is about 15 years. So when he noticed the red pen in his bag, he was surprised and decided to take it so he could return it to its owner.

 

 

On his way to …(at a place jokingly referred to as “dry ugali, add some sauce”), he arrived and got off the motorbike—bag on his back, sweater in hand, and both pens still in his hand.

 

As he was entering, a young woman named Consolata greeted him:

“Shikamoo, brother Mwanakwetu.”

He replied,

“Marahaba.”

Then she said:

 “Brother, look at your shirt—it’s stained. Your pens are leaking ink.”

Startled, Mwanakwetu exclaimed:

 “Oh no! These pens are leaking!”

 

 

When he checked himself, his poor white shirt was covered in blue and red ink stains.

 

As he tried to adjust himself, an older woman passed by and greeted him:

 

“What’s going on, Mwanakwetu? Why is your whole shirt covered in ink? I thought you were helping us with our monthly duties! So it’s just pens—sorry about that, brother.”

Should he go back home and change his shirt?

Mwanakwetu decided to wipe himself a little, threw away both pens, and wore his blue sweater to cover the stains. He planned to finish his tasks until evening and deal with the problem once he got home.

 

Although he considered going back home to change, his financial situation did not allow it—he did not have enough money for another bodaboda ride (6,000 shillings). So he had no choice but to continue as he was.

He carried on with his responsibilities until evening. When he got home, he soaked the shirt for five hours and then washed it—but the stains did not come out.

 

He repeated this process on the first day, the second day, all the way to the sixth day. Instead of fading, the stains spread across the entire shirt.

Finally, on the sixth day, Mwanakwetu gave up and decided never to wear that shirt again.

 

He began to wonder:

“Where did these pens come from—especially that red one that ruined my shirt?”

He reached a conclusion:

 

Blue stains are easy to remove, but red stains are very difficult. Often, when you try to remove them, they spread even more.

 

My reader, red stains are not something to wish for. Never hope they fall on your shirt!

 

This shirt was once very valuable to him, but now it is completely ruined—faded and worn out. If you have other clothes, it is better to use those. The damaged one can be used for cleaning, wiping your feet, or even thrown away.

 

Therefore, there is no other option:

 

“My second shirt gets an upgrade.”

 

Mwanakwetu, are you there?

I wish you a good day.

Contact:
makwadeladius@gmail.com
0717 649257

NB:
This article was written by Mwanakwetu in honor of his cousin, Msekwa Njama.