The year that made us Borrowers, 2019.

Eliud Kipchoge, record breaking marathoner who made history by becoming the first Human to run a Marathon in under 2hrs. Photo//Getty images


One of my favorite novels happens to be 'The Borrowers', by Mary Norton. The four-inch-tall family of "borrowers" who live among humans and co-op their possessions. When a crooked lawyer takes over the Lender family's house, he's got to reckon with the borrowers therein, who launch a campaign to oust the invader and restore the home to its rightful tenants. This is what most Kenyans have had to endure in 2019. The year was so economically harsh that it literary turned a lot of people especially young people into 'Borrowers'.

There are a handful of reasons as to why I feel the year 2019 made us borrowers. From the national level, the top leadership has been borrowing loans after loans, I hope our country does not get auctioned soon. At the grassroots level, the effects were visibly seen. High cost of living, companies closing down and the elephant in the room, high rate of unemployment among young people.

Patrick Muthomi, a jobless graduates displays a placard seeking for employment from Motorists at a city street. Photo//Citizen Tv

I can bet Finance Mobile lending apps made a fortune in 2019. Kenyans would borrow a loan to repay another loan and words like Fuliza were common utterances among the young people. 'The Borrowers' installed this apps but mahesabu zilikuwa mingi bado. And kwa ground vitu zikazidi kuwa different.

The results were devastating, some apps even sent messages to siblings and friends to remind them to remind the 'Borrowers' to repay their outstanding loans. When this failed to work they blacklisted them on the dreaded CRB. But to most youth borrowers whose coins were hard to come by they ended giving up all together. After all, heri punda afe lakini mzigo ufike, au sio?

The beginning 2019 had seemed promising, people had saved in 2018 fearing that 'Njaanuary' 2019 would be tough, and first month passed smoothly, I am sure as you read this, Hii Njaanuary you all know what to expect. Staki kusema sana. In march 2019, that when the Borrowers problems started and it went spiral down as the months progressed. The unfavorable weather conditions also worsened the situation, even borrowers found it hard to work. It is usually very hard to think on an empty stomach, so they say.

Money hardly came by, few had it. Corruption increased at a very high rate and the borrowers continued to have a rough year. Despite, showbiz arrests of the 'Big Fish' after siphoning millions from Citizens resserves on Kamata Kamata Fridays, the economy went from bad to worse and even the introduction of new currency towards the end of the year did not make anything any better. As a matter of fact, as I have heard young people say, kupata thao mpya ikakuwa ngori kabisa!

Even Punguza mzigo did not save us. The MCA's kicked it out after getting 'Kitu Kidogo' from Mabiggie and the fate of the Borrowers was left to Building Bridges Initiatives, whose content we are still discussing and the Borrowers are being urged to support it. It is  a shame the only message being amplified by the media is how the country's top leadership will devide the top positions amongst themselves. The Borrowers only coerced to agree without disagreeing with any of the BBI contents. 'Wajinga Nyinyi'.

However, 2019 was a wake up call. 2020 is here, another new decade and I hope the borrowers have carried a few lessons with them from the old year. One thing for sure is the borrowers are no longer interested in empty rhetorics from the ruling class. 2020 we won't feed on politics, give the young people jobs, make it is easy for investors to invest in the country, make basic commodities affordable, the borrowers are tired of the empty promises and 2022 succession politics. Be warned next elections the Borrowers will be much wiser, we have been bitten once and we are now twice shy. Ukikuja kutupigia mdomo, tutakuskiza but ujue this time round wajinga ni nyinyi.

With all that said, I am grateful to God for the gift of life. Being alive to see another decade is the greatest gift of last year. The fight is not over yet and we have another round to play. The bells are ringing, put on your working attires and let start 2020 on a positive note. I wish all my readers a better 2020. 'Borrowers' year is long gone now, it is time to recover what we lost in 2019. Inshallah!

• Felixkinyua35@gmail.com.