Many Kenyans are being held in jails across the country for various crimes that they did or did not commit.
I have been a victim of unlawful arrest in Nairobi and here are some of the things I learned while being held overnight in a Kenyan jail. The tips will make your stay in there less painful.
First, there is always that guy who is the self-proclaimed leader. He will give orders and expect everyone to obey them without questioning him. He draws his happiness from threatening and bullying others.
Such people are always well-built with mean-looking faces. He has committed several major crimes and being held in a cell is like a hobby to him. If you want to survive in a cell, befriend that guy.Obey what he tells you. If possible, win him by making him laugh.
Study him and know what he likes and what he hates and then play along to his tune. If you manage to win his friendship, you will, in fact, enjoy your stay. While others will be ordered around to do this and that, you will be spared.
Secondly, you need to act the part. Whether you are innocent and it is your first time to be held in a police cell, act as if you are used to spending nights in police cells.
Appear tough but not to the extent of disobeying orders from the leader. What will make your stay in a police cell difficult is showing the weak side of you.
When others will realise that you are a coward or that you are a cry-baby, then they will take that advantage to mock you and make fun of you. They will laugh at you and call you a woman. Even others who are being bullied will, in turn, bully you. Show some muscles. Talk tough and behave as if you are a bad boy.
The third trick to help you survive in a police cell is to talk. Open your heart and share your predicament. Do not sit alone in a corner and appear miserable.
Join others and contribute to their conversations. Sharing always unburden the heart. You will find interesting facts and jokes in other people’s stories and it will make your problem appear light.
Another good thing about striking a conversation with others is that it makes the time to move faster. You will get absorbed in story-telling that by the time you are feeling tired, the first light of the morning sun will appear.
If you decide to be a lone-ranger, it will take an eternity for the dawn to break.