Bibaayo – Of Mice and Rats

By D.R. Ruhweza

The Village of Bibaayo was just like any other village you know of. There was a Chief who was revered by many of his people. The Chief was also criticized by some of his people. There were a people that went about their business as God ordained. There were people who went about their business against what God ordained. There were seasons of plenty, and there were seasons of less. People died and people were born. Marriages occurred and divorced happened. Life in the village of Bibaayo was like life anywhere else

However, one day, a mouse appeared upon the bed of a young baby. The mouse had nibbled at the toes of the baby and caused it immense pain. The mouse was successfully killed. The baby healed. Life went on.

Then another mouse appeared in the bed of yet another baby. Another mouse appeared in the granary of the old woman who stayed by the crossroad towards the village centre. More mice were spotted. Rather large mice. Mice that didn’t care whether the Chief was having his finger millet with beans or not. Mice were everywhere. They ate everything – from wedding gowns, to choice sun hats. They bit into foundations and crept through crevices of grass thatched roofs. At first the villages of Bibaayo – the village that was as normal as any other village, ignored this usual occurrence until they could do so no more. The Chief had run out of ideas, the mouse traps were not enough to keep up with the number of mice. They crept in people’s hair, they jumped into freshly boiled rice, they interrupted lover’s nights, and they made life in Bibaayo un-normal

Somewhere in the village, a middle aged man returned from his village trotting in the neighbouring lands. He was surprised by the number of mice around the place. He inquired why the people were not using cats to chase away the mice. Interestingly, no one had heard about this thing called a cat. The Chief wondered what it was and no amount of explanation could help the chief or his people to understand what a cat was. Ndiwulira had no option but take an impromptu journey across the River that separated Bibaayo from the other lands and returned with a cat. 

Immediately, the cat set to pounce on the ready meals of mice. The speed with which the cat demolished the mice was quite impressive. More and more people of Bibaayo were now interested in having the cat come to their huts to chase and kill the mice. Everyone praised Ndiwuulira for his great innovation. He soon made a profitable business bringing in more and more cats in the village

Before long, the mice were all gone. The people were now able to sigh with relief. No more mice to eat their millet. No more disturbing and embarrassing times of competing for well cooked groundnuts with mice. No more torn clothes or hats. Life was good

Months later, the people of Bibaayo suddenly grew weary again. It was difficult to sleep well. The cries of the cats at night became annoying. The putrid smell and fur of the cats which were left in beds were becoming annoying. Meals were being tipped over as cats looked for an extra morsel of food. Allergies from cat fur erupted. The smell of cat droppings loosely covered in the soft dust of compounds became unbearable. Bits of dead lizards left in the houses were so annoying. The demand for the cats to leave became clear  -

As I left the village, the Chief was pondering as to whether he should bring back some of the mice to keep the cats busy. 

What would you do if you were the Chief? 

The Writer is the President of the Uganda Christian Lawyers’ Fraternity