The Devil Wears Okrika

Chapter 41

Dé John looked at his colleague intently with a sad look on his face "how could you do this...why did you do this....all this while elder. Why?"
Pa Kenneth clenched his teeth "he was my son..bone of my bone..!" he replied bitterly.
"You framed Okudili, you killed him!"
"He was a menace and a nonentity"
"But he was human, and he was innocent!"
At the same time, Dé Nwachukwu and Amara arrived at the market square.
"Jesus...what's going on here?!" Dé Nwachukwu demanded raising his voice above the noise from the crowd.
The noise died down as Dé Nwachukwu walked to the front, looking at Pà Kenneth and then studying the charred remains of his son.
Benedict was the first to speak "Elder...Bartholomew was found guilty of rape and murder and sentenced to death...pa Kenneth on the other hand is guilty of aiding the killer"
"Hmm....we don't burn our people in Amaife! That is not the law of the land!" Dé Nwachukwu said with a disgusted expression.
"He was never one of us sir...never!" A voice shouted from the crowd.
Dé Nwachukwu looked at Dé john. He avoided pa Kenneth's eyes. "Dé...you allowed this happen?"
"Actually I only just arrived myself...but what can I do, the people want justice...jungle justice and to be honest I quite agree with them"
Dé Nwachukwu sighed tiredly "this is still not right...what are we going to do to Pa Kenneth now"
"He's going to face another trial but truth be told I see him suffering the same fate as Bartholomew" De' John said solemnly
Pa Kenneth scoffed and Dé Nwachukwu looked at him finally
Benedict strolled to the elders "Dé, we want to commence the trial of Pa Kenneth"
"Who are the we? Are you now in charge of this village?" Dé Nwachukwu asked.
"Elder...It is not possible, I am a loyal indigene who is only the voice of the youths" Benedict replied, managing to look contrite.
Dé Nwachukwu nodded, satisfied. "We will have the trial, but this time no death sentence...it would be a taboo to end the life of the oldest man in our village like that"
"But Dé-" Benedict protested.
"He's right...we can not afford to treat our elder in such a disgraceful manner" Dé John agreed.
"Okay sir...I agree, but what punishment would be suitable for him? Remember Bartholomew got away for so long because Pa Kenneth shielded him."
There was a brief silence then Dé Nwachukwu said "Exile...we exile the traitor permanently"
"Okay Sir... But the crowd may want-"
"Benedict...forget the excuses, you're a blood thirsty young man, now call the crowd to order, whether you like it or not you're one of us now" Dé Nwachukwu chastised.
For the judgement of exile to stand, two of the three elders must be in support of the verdict and in this case, De' John and De' Nwachukwu were in total agreement.
De' Nwachukwu cleared his throat after Benedict had riled up the crowd with more chanting. "My people, in trying times like this, what makes us strong and special is our ability to lean on each other and collectively stand for what is right no matter who is involved" he looked at Pa Kenneth then glanced at the charred remains of his son in the distance "This man, our leader, the man who comforted us when we cried but still stabbed us the minute our back was turned is guilty of aiding and abetting batholomew, that is why as your leaders, dedicated to stand for truth and justice for everybody in the land of Amaife, we hereby banish Pa Kenneth from the land, total banishment from the land. Should he return, he would be killed immediately"
The crowd began to boo and murmur. They needed more blood.
But De' Nwachukwu was having none of it. He held his ground and De' John joined him and echoed "My people....that is final...the final verdict is Exile!"
Benedict had his own band of supporters in the crowd, namely; the youth and they all kept on booing and watching him closely as he kept on frowning and looking at the elders. He was obviously not happy with the call and it seemed like he was going to try and instigate a riot right there but suddenly he smiled and nodded "My people our elders have spoken. They are blessed with wisdom, the type of wisdom we can only hope to learn from. We accept their verdict loyally"
Immediately the general crowd began to make sounds of agreement.

"wow, that's a very influential man right there" Reverend Okorie said to Gregory who still held the handkerchief to his ear. Gregory nodded in agreement. Although he would never say it to the reverend but he wouldn't have minded if the elder was stoned to death.