Don't tell me Farouk Kibet's is dreaming of bedding Sabina, just chilling on Lamu daybed

A collage image of Farouk Kibet and Sabina Chege. [Photos: Benjamin Sakwa/Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The nation might be on fire, but Prezzo’s aide, the alleged power behind the throne, Farouk Kibet, is absorbed by something more urgent: the visions of Nominated MP Sabina Chege.

An online search of the man’s name prompts you to his education, not because it’s much, but because it’s so scant, so “self-taught” is the best summation of Prezzo Ruto’s man.

So there he was, in Lamu, presiding over meeting about this or that—who knows really, what the role of Prezzo’s PA could possibly be—but it appeared Farouk was presiding over the Lamu event, introducing speakers and providing running commentaries.

He was pretty efficient, segueing who the next speaker would be, and reiterating key takeaways after they were done. Sabina Chege, Nominated MP and the disputed leader of Jubilee Party, was introduced as “Mama Jubilee.”

Even though Farouk was visibly distracted when Sabina took the floor, picking his nose, making or answering calls, directing guests and fielding questions from a scribe—all in under three minutes—he sprung to his feet to signal to Sabina to wind up with a tap on the shoulder, before spinning her around to look at her backside.

These are deft manoeuvres that only Farouk can marshal, offering that same hand that was picking his nose to hold the comely Sabina, then complementing her not for what she had said, but for how she looked.

“Huyu mama ako sawa, si sawa?” Sabina did not find this pejorative question objectionable, as she clarified afterwards, for it complements the obvious.

“Akipinduka mnafurahi?” Farouk pursued, unable to conceal his excitement as Sabina sashayed away. Then Farouk delivered a masterstroke: “Huyu mama akiwa kwa kitandani si unalala kabisa? Unaamka kesho ingine?” It means when this woman is in bed, you sleep through the night and wake up the day after.

This is neither crude nor crass; it gestures to Farouk’s political savvy of using local idioms to convey a pertinent message. Lamu, after all, is renowned for daybeds that locals use to rest and dream on, as the world goes by.