Ugandan Passion, Kenyan Fire
Dear Beautiful Scrabblers
The final National Tournament before the African Championships in Kirinyaga County took place this past weekend in the Western lakeside City of Kisumu, the glorious land by Lake Victoria of mesmerizing Sunsets, graceful Impalas and a staggering 115 bird species!
In the Open Division, Dorothy Nalutaaya got off to an electric start but eventually settled for 16th. Benjamin Powell Kiplagat was all set to win but something strange happened. An eccentric SANGOMA from South Africa communed with Kisumu’s purplish-gray hippos which weigh a staggering 2 tons. He then cast a powerful spell on the Open Division meaning if your name wasn’t JOHN then you would enjoy no success.This is exactly why Benjamin Powell Kiplagat didn’t win. What ho!
Thus, JOHN Wachira cruised into 3rd place, while no surprise here – JOHN Ang’awa collected the second place trophy. The Open victor was a fast-talking, straight-shooting young gun who in 2017 almost cost The Phenomenon his ticket to WESPAC, Nairobi by beating me hands down in the Last Chance Qualifier. Tarus Kipruto has such mad Scrabble skills no Sangoma spell can hold him down.
In the Premier Division, Pierre Opio, General Secretary of Uganda, freely admitted he came to collect all the fresh, tasty tilapia around Migingo Island as he sparkled in the top 20. Former World Number 6, African Number 3 and double ECASA Champion Dr. Patrick Litunya will believe he should have made the Top 5. Sir George Nyangau bragged that he disproved all his detractors, who believed he would finish stone last, by shining in 14th.
With an intimidating Warrior label branded on his back, Chris Ntege – the head of the ENFORCEMENT CREW – stormed into 12th. Capturing 7th, Stanley Mulaku dispatched every Ugandan he met in ruthless, uncompromising fashion including Chris, Ivan the Terrible and the Eagle himself! Stanley, from the Die-Hard Kenyan Wordsmiths; “Thank you very much,” or as they say in Swahili; “Asante Sana.”
Godswill Akpabio Number 9 Nic Mbugua was Reggaing Hard and in his AWAYNESS there was opportunity for others to grab glory. Kenyan Vice-Chairman Ben Amuke fought into a valiant 4th. The Seaman, Manase Otieno danced a little jig into 3rd. World Number 8, African Number 6 and quadruple ECASA Champ Patrick Gigaton Nderitu threw bomb after bomb to seal 2nd. I might be the Master of 9-letter zingers but Vaquero Gigaton, in sensational form, hit me with the 10-letter REINSTATED.
The only other man to hammer me like that was WESPAC 21, Geria Richard. The Lion from Arua mauled me once with the 10-letter zinger TRIBULATED.
In the absence of the highly troublesome Nick Okioma who boasts a fantastic record of 3 – 0 against East Africa’s alpha male, I was able to breath, sealing a first Kisumu Championship to go with the Kakamega glory and of course the Sultanate of Mombasa. Coming off a 9-month hiatus I go unbeaten in National Qualifiers on both sides of the border. Come on, who does that?
With this further ratings boost, I cement the Kenyan Seed One Ranking to go with the Ugandan Seed One I recaptured a month ago.  Just tying up loose ends. 68th Championship in 174 career tournaments.
Globally, all eyes now turn to the African Scrabble Champs in Kirinyaga, the land of the Bronze Sunbird, Elephants and bluish-grey Buffalo. In Kirinyaga expect a passionate, strengthened Team Uganda (ranked 3rd in the World!) but also a tougher Team Kenya as Dr. Muema Muumbi drafts in reinforcements in the form of Prezzo Fred Magu, Stanley Njoroge, Nic Mbugua, Willy Mwangi, Chris Okioma and the superstar Allan Ombaso Oyende.
Ugandan Passion, Kenyan Fire!
We can only hope that as the defending Continental Champions cross the Ndaraca ya Ngai (God’s Bridge), these Nigerian Ogas (short for Ogaranya) don’t melt under the competitive heat like hot butter in the golden Kirinyaga sunshine.
Someone should tell Nairaland that Locusts are a delicacy in parts of the Great East African Rift Valley. Local Locusts are caught under the silver moonlight by the Mountains of the Moon and fried until crispy and bronzed in flavouring ingredients and native spiced sauce. They taste heavenly to the tongue.
So, when a dozen African Nations’ Word Warriors converge on the slopes of the spectacular, towering 5 000 metre Mount Kenya, guys should watch out, or as they say in Swahili; “Chunga maisha!”
Or in Afrikaans; “Pasop!”

The Phenomenon