"My Aluu Experience" - @money_alchemist

 The Aluu 4 murder was probably the most shocking and depressing story I have heard in a really long time. For the Aluu 4 story click here. I still feel so heavy and sick to my stomach anytime I think about it. I felt particularly bad about the whole thing because it happened in my alma mater and  also because I lived in the outskirts of Aluu for about a year while I was in school. In an effort to shake off this dark feeling, I kept up bringing the topic up in every conversation I had with everyone. This was what led me to have a chat with @money_alchemist, an old friend from school. As I was lamenting about the way I felt and how I could not believe people could act so cruel and inhumane, he suddenly goes, ‘Did I ever tell you how I almost got lynched at Aluu when I was in school?’ and I, in shock, asked, "You almost got lynched?’ then he told me his story…….

“I will start from the beginning. It was the time robberies became too rampant to bear in that area, so some landlords were guarding their compounds with policemen . A couple of students decided to set up a checkpoint  in front of an off campus hostel where my friends lived since they had the back up of the police guarding their estate. I was staying over at their place that day when it happened. At about 10:30 pm that night I was so hungry so I stepped out to buy noodles. On my way back, I stopped to have a chat with one of the ‘check point’ students. Three cars in a convoy sped past us, and then suddenly they stopped. Fierce looking villagers armed with machete and stuff came out of the vehicles. They insisted someone hit their car and demanded to know who it was. One of them claimed to be their youth chairman. We all looked at each other, confused, because we had no clue who hit the car. They grabbed a student standing next to me. I spoke out, telling them it was impossible considering he was right next to me and too far from the road to hit a passing vehicle. They didn't listen and were about to start beating the student. I spoke again warning them not to touch him because he didn't touch their car. Then some brat came over and shoved me asking me what would happen if they did.

Now, I had noodles and eggs in a bag and didn't want the eggs to get smashed up so I decided to go over to a corner so I could put down the bag with the intention of going back to appeal to the youth chairman who seemed reasonable and wasn't shouting like the others. The stupid brat followed me and as I bent over to put the bag down, he smacked me on the back with the flat side of his machete. I got really angry and lashed out. I punched him in the face and it wasn't even that hard a punch, he fell on the floor, bleeding and started screaming something in his language. The villagers rushed towards me and that was when the universe decided to teach me a lesson. 

The villagers made the student I was trying to help squat when they were about to start beating him. When they heard the brat squeal, they rushed towards me leaving one behind to watch over the squatting student. The villager left to stand guard put his hands on the shoulders of the student with his face directly over the students head. Stupid. The student jumped up suddenly, rammed his head really hard into the face of the villager standing guard, ran across the road and jumped over a fence opposite the compound. And the villager standing guard lay on the ground. Passed out. 

This all happened as they rushed towards me, so when they turned around, all they saw was their fellow villager sprawled on the ground. And they were mad. They all started pushing, shoving and screaming at me to produce the student as I was his friend. Then they all started punching. After a while, they started pulling me towards the estate to show them the student’s room. I told them I didn't know him. All this time I was trying to get a glimpse of the youth chairman so I could call out and make an appeal to him. When I eventually saw him, I knew I was in serious trouble. He was kneeling with the passed out villager in his arms and screaming. Not saying anything, just screaming. He no longer seemed like the reasonable person I saw earlier. Some other villager dressed in a trench coat came forward and asked if I was the one (maybe causing the commotion, I dunno) and if he should go ahead and shoot me. I answered humbly that I wasn't the one and he shouldn't shoot me. This got me another hot slap. 

The next thing I knew, the youth chairman got up and ordered his boys to take me into their car to their village. All this while, I was a bit confused as everything was moving really fast. But when I heard his statement, the fog in my brain cleared instantly. I knew if I went to their village that would be the end. So I said I was not going anywhere with them. They started trying to force me into the back seat of their car. I resisted as hard as I could. Another one of them threatened to use his machete on my head if I didn't get in. I repeated that I was not going anywhere with them. He raised the machete and struck my shoulder. It must have been the blunt side because I did not get cut but I did not know this at the time. All I felt was the intense pain. I saw he was going to do it again, so I panicked and lunged at him. My intention was to grab the hand with the machete but he must have moved because my hand went to his face instead. I felt something squishy, maybe I poked his eyes. He screamed in pain in his language. I tripped when I lunged so I fell on him, I don’t think he had eaten too because he fell too. Me, on top of him. I saw this as my chance to run, but as I tried to stand up, I received the hardest kick I think I’ll ever receive in my life. It was really hard and I fell down again and this time I couldn't get up. It was on my side and all the air in my lungs went out. I couldn't breathe in. It felt like my ribs were broken. 

It was then one of the effing policemen decided to show up and tell the villagers that they should leave me alone. I think a student helped me up and the villagers didn't look like they were going to beat me up anymore but as I tried to walk away, one of them asked me where I thought I was going. I turned around and it was the brat that started it all. I stood still and waited. I was actually scared of the brat at that very moment. I even remember wanting to cry. The villagers shouted at the policeman for a while, got into their vehicles, then left. 

The policeman patted me on the back and told me sorry. For some reason I told him my dad was a custom officer (I really don’t know why I did that). Then some idiot brought my noodles and eggs over to me and told me I was a strong guy. I looked at him wondering why he didn't come to help me. Infact there were a lot of students there, we outnumbered the villagers, but no one did anything when I was getting my ass kicked. Then it hit me, if I had kept my mouth shut and just let the villagers beat up that “innocent” student, none of this would have happened. Best part is when I got to my friends’ room, they both laughed when I told them the story and asked if I was still going to eat the noodles and eggs. My girlfriend at the time laughed at me as well when I told her the story. 

I didn't like the fact that everyone found my painful experience funny, so I decided to go to my own apartment. On my way home, the mystery was solved. I saw the security guard from the next compound. He said he was the one who hit the car. For some reason the psycho had stripped down to his underwear and was holding a knife. I didn't ask him why because I didn't care. All I wanted was to get home and sleep."