Circumcision has never been so overrated

Young initiates of Abang'ayo sub-tribe of Wanga community sing and dance at Matungu cultural area in Kakamega County. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

I have had reason on many occasions in my life to question whether I should have been a skirt wearer; the logic being that a man is circumcised to be fearless and immune to suffering and I am not.

When I was young and foolish, I didn’t have to think about it because I was too busy courting danger and suffering. But as the years rolled by, I discovered that fear and suffering are real, and it matters not whether you swing around with a foreskin, or not.  

Two weeks ago, I was driving up the escarpment near Gilgil. The air was oddly hot and humid. Had I paid attention during my physical geography lessons at Kakamega High School, I should have known what was coming. But I didn’t, so the sudden hailstorm caught me unawares.