life in st. josephs college layibi……..okuyu benards story

episode 7.

during the dance session my friends were excited except for a few who were dancing solo, bull dance was the name who called it, others gladly shared a gal coz of scarsity of the female species in our college. okello, ocen and okot took turns dancing with Nancy and so did other guys, zero distance was inevitable since we were adults and of-course we were free to dance in whateva manner we so desired, girls suffered coz u would get a girl fully surounded left right behind and center, it was fun and by the time the evening bell rang to signal supper time, the assembly hall was on fire…sweat was all over the the place infact some people like ocii danced half naked coz it was too hot for the fan to contain it, i wasnt left out though coz i also got the chance to squeeze my beautiful anyadwe……………………to be continued(extract from my book…okuyu bernard unplugged)

okuyu the genius

am a genius and i believe in me lies untapped potential, just like my lovely african continent am gifted by God and it takes wil, determination, perseverance , endurance and goodwill to discover my full potential. am excited of my future.

in love with patongo…..complete version

okuyubenard
IN LOVE WITH PATONGO….TOWN BOY MEETS A VILLAGE GIRL, THE AYARI STORY
Episode one
When the sun had gone down and the stars rushed to welcome the night the noise subsided and the traditional dancers collected their drums and dancing attires..it was a cultural ceremony at our village in patongo and most times held in order for the youth to know each other better . My grandmother once told me it was always the best time to get a bride. Bwola dance was always refered to as courtship dance in the acholi culture…patongo is a village i treasure with passion.. reaching back home my grandmum asked me if i had admired acii or ayari
episode two
My grandma insisted and requested to know which girl had caught my eye. I wanted to be sincere and tell her i was not impressed by any gal but i felt she would not take no for an answer. I lously said i had liked ayari because of the way she moved her waist well decorated with glittering beads, my grandma was quick to add that Ayari is well mannered and she came from a learned family and she would make a good wife, by the time we went to bed it was already too late. I would still hear my grandma talking to herself as she dashed to her bedroom. We didnt have “wangoo” that night because of the fatigue we went through. I slept like a baby no sooner had i closed my eyes than i heard the cock crow signaling the rise of the african sun. I saw smoke coming from the kitchen meaning i was late for breakfast i had to quickly get on my feet and do the obvious. Grandma proposed i shoot two birds with one stone. She was fully convinced that Ayari was a gal i should marry. She said latin na “okuyu di ino dako maber gin mudong ayer ceto gangi chi walim lunyondo ne” meaning my son okuyu you have now found a good wife what is now left is for us to visit her parents. Alas i was left in shock by her sentiments . Much as they say..what an elder sees while sitting on a stool a young man cant see even if he stands on an ant hill. I openly told her i hadly know Ayari and i needed time to court her…..to be continued…..
episode three
Grandma didn’t want to hear what i had to say about her counting her chicks before they hatch, i pleaded with her saying we live in the 21st centuary where marriage was always a mutual agreement unlike in their days where you only met your partner at your wedding day. Grandma kept praising Ayari and calling her all sorts of sweet names but in my mind i decided to give her peace of mind by accepting all she said about her. Soon we were done with breakfast and as usual the village boys came for me . In Patongo we had real hunters of edible rats called “anyiri” in da local dilect, i wasnt a good hunter but i was a good company to the experts, on our way to the bushes we discused several issues and girls topics always dominated our discussions, i was quick to mention da apple of my grandma Ayari, no sooner had i mentioned her name than a moment of silence took over, everybody became as silent as a grave, until Obalim the leader of the hunters broke the silence by saying Ayari is a good woman but comes from a strict family and his father had put three boys in prison for messing up with her. Ayari was not a young girl.. she was at her last year at high school and her father had hopes of her joining the pretigious harvard of africa aliaS Ivory tower alias Makerere university so any village boy who messes around with her was never taken lightly. He always took them to “the university of understanding” read prison. Fear rushed down my spine i became numb
episode four
The university of understanding was the last place i would chose to go. Obalim always spoke with authority and since he was the chief hunter no one questioned him. We moved together untill we reached a well and at my suprice alas Ayari and her young sister Adong were fetching water at first i thought of aproachng her but the fear of being reported to her father was stronger than my desire of asking her out. I played it calm and all i asked was a cup of water. Obalim looked at me and waited to hear whether i would say anything ontop of asking for drinking water. “Jal ini ilwo kuman kara” literaly translated as” your this afraid”
All i replied Obalim was that am not afraid but i was waiting for the right time and right place to launch my manifesto
episode five
IN LOVE WITH PATONGO.Episode five….
Obalim laughed at me sacarstically then he tapped my back and said okuyu, here in patongo we have an NGO called save the children but of late it has only been saving the girl so we decided to change it to save the girl coz they arrest guys who mess up with girls and they nolonger care about thier age. Once your seen in a compromising and suspicious position with a gal the men in blue are notified and handcuffs are put to use…Obalim made me more scared than before. We made traps for our eadible rats and the hunting went on untill night fell. Ayari was the only name my grandma sang as soon she saw me coming towards home. I was shocked when she said Ayari’s mum had visited her

episode six
N LUV WITH PATONGO.
Episode six.
Grandma said ayari’s mum had visited earlier and was asking about me .since i was a rare face in patongo my grandma explained to her that i was his grandson “latin pa Ocan John Bosco” translated as son of ocan John Bosco. I sat attentively as she naratted to me wat transpired between them before i came. I came to know after some time that it was a prepland meeting since my grandma had earlier on visted her and asked for a meeting at her home. Grandma could not hide her excitment when Ayari’s mum had jokingly branded me her handsome son in law. I was left wondering what these old folks were planning for. In my mind i had wanted to take my time and learn ayari’s characters and blend my town life life with her village life. Love grows and has no respect for social status. I did not want to blow my own trumpet but sincerely village life and town life in my point of view were two different lifestyles of which i had to get used to since i had chose a village girl over oue town girls with german juices. Ayari was a black beauty with an excellent body figure, she had an exceptional accent and spoke kindly to whoever bothered to talk to her, she had a smile that would make my day colourful and when she laughed the birds would freeze and listen to this african beauty who had swept okuyu off his feet by just the swinging of her waist. I finally told grandma that i was developing strange feelings and attachment to Ayari. I wish u had seen her facial reaction that time. It was no longer a secret that okuyu was in love
IN LOVE WITH PATONGO
IN LOVE WITH PATONGO
Episode seven
Ayari was the woman grandma had wished okuyu benard to marry and when i finally chose to give love a chance, grandma was so excited and she prepared me a very delicious meal that day. I slept like a baby that night and had dreams of love and peaceful forever after. My life had become a fairy tale i walked with my head up and i was proud of being a role modle among my peers. Patongo centre was aware of a buzzling afair between a town boy and a charming black queen. A love story was being written and lived in the midst of escalating insecurity in northern uganda. Friends came closer than before because they felt that by being closer to me they would learn the tricks n formula of a lovly courtship. Acholi’s say “bedo nget bye oweko fura kwa”

Episode eight
In luv with patongo.
Episide seven.
Luv is a beautiful thing if felt mutualy and with the right girl. Ayari was so happy to be associated with me, she would gladly meet me on her way to the well and openly declare her generous love for me. At first i felt flattered when my peers called me a lover boy just because unlike them i managed to tame the girls father and mother. Her parents liked my down to earth lifestyle and always wished us well. I occasionally met with her father and he always addressed me as his son in law openly anywhere we met together. Grandma couldnt hide her excitment everytime news of okuyu and Mr. Okeny(Ayari’s father) reached her saying that we were spoted at the market talking and laughing together
.okuyu ” lubanga ogwok wuu maber onywal lutino rudi maleng” literally translated as may God protect you and you give birth to twins ” dat was grandma’s prayers. Hours became days, days turned to months, months turned to years then skinny funny sometimes chicky okuyu’s love for ayari grew stronger. It felt like a fairy tale just like in the holywood movies but ours was real
Episode nine
IN love with patongo
Episode nine
I was leaving for the city and i didnt know how to break the sad news to my beauty queen Ayari. When i told grandma about my coming trip she felt sorry for my sweetheart because we heard gotten used to each other.. i decided to break the news to my father in law to be and he was so understanding and promised to pass the sad news to her daughter. On my way back home, i met my sweetie, we hugged and kissed as usual and i kept my sad news to myself because naturally i dont stand a girls tears more especially if am the reason for the tears. A day passed and i was left with just a day to finally travell to the city. Memories of my village patongo are so sweet and i miss home so much. Ayari got to know about my journey from her father and she came home crying saying am leaving her forever and yet we had future plans together. I explained to her in the simplest way possible but she insisted that if i love her i should not go away from patongo. I had a very hard time explaining to her my reasons for leaving. By evening i had made up mind

series….two….bridget my highschool crush……episode 2

bridget my highschool crush
i gave her way but my head remained bowed as i continued with my fervent prayer, i didnt know i gave way for but no sooner had i raised my head than alas bridget was besides me, i became numb, speechless and i began to shiver, that feeling u get wen ur excited beyond measure, bridget was not ur average beauty, she was brown skinned with glittering lips, she had nice eyes and a good body, my heart skipped a beat when she spoke out her name to me, i starmmed as i said am called ooookkuuu oookuyu, moments later the program cordinator asked all people present to introduce themselves mentioning ur full names and class, i waited for my crash to introduce herslf and alas she was two classes ahead of me, but that didnt change a thing, we exchanged addresses and she promised to write me a letter as soon as possible, time for leaving reached and……..to be continued

In love with patongo…19

in love with patongo
episode 19
the preacher of the day arrived earlier than everybody else and since it was a once in a lifetime event people came from far and wide, my good friend kapchoge drove all the way from eldoret just to witness my wedding day, fiends and family were all waiting at the venue of the church ceremony when  i cameout of the house all clad in my bowtie matched in my mexican suite and itallian shoes, Ayari was all smiles in her cinderella white wedding dress with diamond sparkling bungles and earings, the rin respected us and it didnt show up too, traditional dancers ushered us through the opening ceremony of the big event, my best man was kiro, my kenyan friend and partner in crime while Ayari chose her longtime and highschool friend Adoch for a bridesmaid, the day was colourful and speeches were as short as possible, the reception was so………..to be continued

who is okuyu benard

okuyu
a simple boy with mixed childhoods,
raised in kampala city
studied primary school in kampala, uganda
my dad was an acholi traffic police man who loved his children equally
i studied my secondary school from gulu in northern uganda at the time the lords resistant army rebels lead by joseph kony were at the peak of their artrocities,
gun shorts hard become music to our ears both day and night.
i love my life coz jesus is at its centre.
i thought u shd know abt u. peace to u all

episode seven

Okuyu Bernard Chemonges
IN LOVE WITH PATONGO
Episode seven
Ayari was the woman grandma had wished okuyu benard to marry and when i finally chose to give love a chance, grandma was so excited and she prepared me a very delicious meal that day. I slept like a baby that night and had dreams of love and peaceful forever after. My life had become a fairy tale i walked with my head up and i was proud of being a role modle among my peers. Patongo centre was aware of a buzzling afair between a town boy and a charming black queen. A love story was being written and lived in the midst of escalating insecurity in northern uganda. Friends came closer than before because they felt that by being closer to me they would learn the tricks n formula of a lovly courtship. Acholi’s say “bedo nget bye oweko fura kwa” ……….to be continued (copyrite protected…okuyu