SHACKLES OF FATE

SCHOOL: SOWETO ACADEMY

PRODUCER: MOSES MCHWANJU

SCRIPTED BY: LEROY MAXWELL

DIRECTED BY: LEROY MAXWELL

 CHARACTERS
1. NICODEMUS – HEAD BOY
2. AUTONET – HEAD GIRL
3. PATRICK – PRINCIPAL
4. DIANA - MOTHER
5. EMRYS – UNCLE
6. JOSIAH – FATHER
7. IROH - MANAGER

POLICE OFFICERS/EMPLOYEES
1. DAVID
2. MARTIN
3. LEON
4. VICTOR
5. JOHN
6. KAMAKOZI
7. KAMAU
8. BOKELO

STUDENTS
1. NAOMI
2. MERCY
3. DEBORAH
4. SASHA
5. KATE
6. AKINYI
7. ATIENO
 SYNOPSIS
Shackles of Fate focuses on a plight of a boy considered to be an orphan by the
School Principal. NICHODEMUS, who is accused of Impregnating his fellow captain
undergoes both Physical and emotional Suffering in the hands of the Police
Officers. NICHODEMUS Pleads so hard to prove that he is innocent and he is
determined to make this dream come true. Will he also come to meet his father?
Will he succeed after risking To Make his dreams come true?
 (DOWNSTAGE)

IROH: This marks the end of our new project, publishing new textbooks for the
new curriculum; Welcome back to your beloved country; relax, unwind, and let
this atmosphere, be filled with delight and tranquility.

(The employees change their positions)

Ladies and gentlemen of goodwill, we have gone through the dark dungeons of
misery; and encountered all sorts of pain and suffering but we have emerged
victorious. We have sacrificed a lot to accomplish our project; we have put our
children before anything. It is now time to celebrate our achievement, allow me
to award the most prolific employee during the project. This person shall be
promoted to be the new director of our company;

ALL: (THEY CLAP TWO TIMES)

IROH: This award is given to none other than Diana Rose

(THE EMPLOYEES APPLAUSE THE GENERAL)

EMRYS: Congratulations my wife, I am happy for you.

Diana: EMRYS, we are before dignity.

EMRYS: Let me shower you with my happiness…

Diana: Stop! Embarrassing me

EMRYS: I am sure that this award will completely change our lives

Diana: This is not the right moment

EMRYS: I am sure, that our daughter AUTONET will enjoy the fruits of parental
hard work.

Diana: It is not the right time to exchange wedding vows….

EMRYS: But I am your husband

IROH: EMRYS, what do you want here?

EMRYS: I am here to celebrate my wife’s achievement

IROH: You are my servant and you are not allowed to mingle with dignity

EMRYS: This is for my wife’s sake

Diana: Look at you, you’ve already embarrassed yourself by coming here and it
seems; you have passed by a Tavern.

EMRYS: I am not drunk

IROH: Disappear from this place, SHU! SHU! SHU! Out of here, out!

(EMRYS LEAVES)

IROH: Ladies and gentlemen, sorry for the interruption. In addition to the award,
Diana will be given a fully furnished house.

Diana: Wow, I am greatly humbled by this change of generosity

IROH: I am anxious to see my new house

IROH: We have already relocated your family to this place.

David: Sir, cut the ribbon and open the gates to expose her new home.

ALL: For this is a new day

(MANAGER IROH CUTS THE RIBBON AND THE CURTAINS OPEN AS DIANA
ENTERS HER NEW HOUSE)

ALL: This is the day, This is the day that the lord has made, This is the day, This is
the day that the lord has made, This is the day, This is the day, that the lord has
made,

IROH: Diana, allow us to depart as you orient yourself to your new home.

Diana: Sir, you are most welcome anytime.

(THE MANAGER LEAVES AND AUTONET ARRIVES HOME)

Diana: Autonet!

AUTONET: Mother.

Diana: What are you doing at home at this time and hour of the day? You are
supposed to be in school.

AUTONET: I am strangled

Diana: Strangled

AUTONET: I am a caterpillar mother, a caterpillar that is unable to metamorphose

into a beautiful butterfly.

Diana: Cut short your metaphorical expressions and tell me why? Are you not in
school, break the suspense Autonet Talk to me.

AUTONET: My dream of transforming into the best version of me has rudely been
interrupted. My destiny dangles in the carnivorous Pit of uncertainty.

Diana: Why? Were you caught cheating in an exam?

AUTONET: No

Diana: Did you disobey or disrespect school authorities?

AUTONET: Not exactly

Diana: Did you use your position as the academic captain to incite other students
to cause unrest in school?

AUTONET: I choose to seal my lips and maintain my silent position in this matter

Diana: I still insist to know why? Are you not in School?

AUTONET: Okay, Okay mother

Diana: I deserve to know the truth

AUTONET: Just leave me alone, I need some time to rest

Diana: What is it? I demand to know the truth

(AUTONET GIVES HER MOTHER A LETTER FROM THE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL)

Diana: A letter, from the school Principal.

Diana: A letter! And what is the content of the letter?

AUTONET: Just read it, mother

(TENSION)

Diana: Dear parent, RE…Suspension

Patrick: It should be inscribed in the history of the school; that once more the
leadership of the student fraternity has failed. Two of our head captains have
disappointed us, AUTONET and NICODEMUS; step forward. You are hereby
suspended from school for allowing your intimate affairs in school which has
resulted in AUTONET’S Pregnancy. Go home and come back with your parents to
face the disciplinary committee.

AUTONET: But Sir….

Patrick: Parade dismissed.

(THEY ALL LEAVE)

Diana: What! Do you mean that you are expectant?

AUTONET: Yes

Diana: (WITH RAGE) Who is responsible? Who is this boy that has disrupted your
future?

AUTENET: He is not a boy

Diana: Then who is it?

AUTONET: (HAPPY) He is a maaaan…

Diana: Eish! Your father will kill you

AUTONET: (DARING) I am ready to be crucified

Diana: You have embarrassed your parents

AUTONET: I am a victim of circumstances

Diana: You have tarnished and stained the aim of this family

AUTONET: Let me be! mother

Diana: I will now be forced to drag you to school and demand to know who is
responsible for your pregnancy; Let us go!

AUTONET: But mother

Diana: Let us go!

(DIANA AND AUTONET DEPART FOR SCHOOL WHILE MR PRINCIPAL IS

WELCOMING THE POLICE OFFICERS IN SCHOOL)

Patrick: Detectives

Detectives: Sir, yes sir!

Patrick: I am privileged to have you here, Welcome to UPENDO ACADEMY; The

School to be proud of. Allow me to introduce to you NICHODEMUS the School
captain.

NICHODEMUS: Detectives, I am not guilty of the allegations presented to you by

the school principal.

Detective Martin: Young man; how old are you?

Patrick: This boy is an adult

ALL: An adult

NICODEMUS: But I am not an adult

Patrick: When I perused through his admission file I realized that he has just
celebrated his twentieth birthday.

Detective David: Young man; do you know that any person who engages in sexual
acts with a child below the age of eighteen years is guilty of an offense term
defilement and is liable for a lifetime imprisonment?

Patrick: This boy is a farmer

ALL: A farmer?

Patrick: He has cast his seeds that fell not only on rocks but also on the soil

NICODEMUS: Detectives, I still insist that I am not guilty, these are false
accusations.

NICHODEMUS: I am innocent!

Detective Martin: Young man, you will have to come with us and record a
statement.

Patrick: You can use the disciplinary square detectives

Detective Martin: Thank you, sir

NICHODEMUS: MR Principal….

Detective Martin: Young man, get into the disciplinary square and record your
statement.

NICODEMUS: (LAMENTING) My bright birthday, my bright birthday has

experienced an eclipse and turned into a dark silent night. I am cuffed with chains
that have lured my fate on the ground and denied me the freedom to fly to my
desired academic heights of excellence. I am immersed in the bottomless wavy
waters of deceit; that chock and clenched with fins refuting my liberty to swim to
the banks of excellence. Like a weed, a cactus; I am alleged to have grown among
flowers perforated and punctured their petals.
Detective Martin: Young man; your poetry will not fish you out of this pond of
captivity.

NICHODEMUS: Detective, I am disturbed.

ALL: Disturbed!

Detective Martin: Young man; get into the disciplinary square and record your
statement.

NICHODEMUS: But sir…

DETECTIVE Martin: In

ALL: In

Detective Martin: the disciplinary square

(NICODEMUS ENTERS THE DISCIPLINARY SQUARE WHILE DIANA AND AUTONET

ARRIVE IN SCHOOL)

Patrick: Welcome dear parent to UPENDO ACADEMY, the School to be proud of.

Diana: (WITH RAGE) MR Principal, I demand to know which boy is responsible for
my daughter's pregnancy.

(THEY ALL FREEZE)

Detective Martin: Are you the one responsible for that girl’s pregnancy?

NICODEMUS: It is a complex matter very complicated

(THEY FREEZE)

Diana: For sure I am filled with rage, ready to strangle that boy to death.

Patrick: Calm down, the police are interrogating the boy as we speak

(THEY FREEZE)

Detectives: Complex!
Detective Martin: Remember, this is an interrogation, and precise answers are
demanded.

NICODEMUS: Understood.

Detective Martin: Young man; take this paper, pen and record your statement.

FLASHBACK

NICHODEMUS: It all started in the drama hall…

ALL: Then what happened?

Detective Victor: We are all eager to know

(SWEET MUSIC IS PLAYED IN THE BACKGROUND WHEREBY NICODEMUS AND

AUTONET ARE ENJOYING THE MELODY)

NICHODEMUS: Sweet melodic tunes glared in the air, and harmonious codes
soothed my soul as beautiful (WRENDITIIONS) beautifying the atmosphere…..

Detective Martin: Tell us what happened exactly in the drama hall and stop
beating up around the bush; we are eager to know.

NICODEMUS: She came in

Detectives: Who?

NICODEMUS: AUTONET

Butterflies: Wow

NICHODEMUS: AUTONET; Flapped the doors open only to find me rehearsing for
the drama festival competition.

Detective Martin: Then what happened?

AUTONET: NICHODEMUS

NICODEMUS: AUTONET
AUTONET: (IN A ROMANTIC WAY) The tune that resonates from this instrument
has attracted my attention, I admire your pores; I admire your scent of melody, I
admire and adore your sweet handsome face.

NICHODEMUS: Detectives, she tempted me.

Detective David: How can a young girl tempt an adult of your age?

NICHODEMUS: Detectives, I was the chairperson of the Christian union.

AUTONET: Nick, shake off the scales of Christian union and prove to me that you
are a real man.

NICHODEMUS: Detectives, I was then the head captain, and according to that…

AUTONET: I am also the head captain and I don’t think positions can be a
hindrance to our satisfaction and comfort.

Detectives: NICODEMUS

NICHODEMUS: Detectives, which man? Which man? Can resist such enticements,
she lured me.

Detective Martin: Did you or did you not touch her

NICHODEMUS: I did not do such an act.

END OF FLASHBACK

(IN THE PRINCIPALS OFFICE)

Diana: I do not regret why I brought my daughter to this school, I still insist to
know whose son is responsible for this (Mess)

Patrick: The boy is an orphan

Diana: No wonder, he lacks direction in life.

AUTONET: Mother….
Patrick: You will have to go back home with your daughter as we wait for a proper
solution to this matter.

(THEY FREEZE)

Detective Martin: NICHODEMUS, we will have to retain you here as we continue

with further investigations.

(THEY FREEZE)

Diana: Okay MR Principal

(THEY FREEZE)

NICODEMUS: As you say, Detectives

(THEY ALL LEAVE AS ACTION CONTINUES AT AUTONET’S HOUSE)

Diana: AUTONET, we are back at home and I don’t think your father will take this
lightly.

AUTONET: Mother

Diana: Open the door! AUTONET, AUTONET, Stop!

AUTONET: Diana, just leaves me alone.

Diana: What! This is the very last time that I demand respect from you.

AUTONET: Diana, you are exclusively blamed for this.

Diana: This is the last time; that you refer to me by my name.

AUTONET: You are a witch skeleton figure of a mother

(Diana slaps her daughter as EMRYS enters the house)

AUTONET: Mother
EMRYS: And what exactly is going on here? Diana, is this the best way to rejoin
your family after your two-month stay in Dubai? AUTONET I thought that you are
supposed to be in school? What is not happening in this house?

Diana: AUTONET is suspended from school

EMRYS: Suspended!

Diana: She is expectant

EMRYS: Expectant? This is unbelievable!

AUTONET: Yes, Father I am expectant

Diana: And you have just arrived when I was fishing out information on who is
responsible for her pregnancy.

EMRYS: Who is responsible for AUTONET?

Diana: (TO AUTONET) Who is responsible?

AUTONET: Who is responsible? That is the question that you are all eager to
know.

Diana: AUTONET, can you tell your father who is responsible?

AUTONET: (DARING) If this is what will make you happy. The handsome man
responsible for my pregnancy is standing right before you.

Diana: What! Jesus, Joseph, and Mary; this is an abomination.

(TENSION)

AUTONET: Yes, I am pregnant with Dad; this is the breaking point of this
irresolvable conflict.

Diana: (FURIOUS) EMRYS, get out of my house now!

(THEY ALL FREEZE AS NICODEMUS CONTINUES TO FACE CORPORAL

PUNISHMENT)
Detective Martin: Are you the one responsible for that girl’s pregnancy?

NICODEMUS: It is not me

Detective Martin: (SLAPS NICHODEMUS) Did you or did you not touch her
flowers?

NICHODEMUS: Detectives, please listen to me.

Detective Martin: This is not a village

NICHODEMUS: Detectives…

Detectives: We are on a serious mission

(THEY ALL FREEZE)

Diana: My husband, this is a serious matter; please tell me that this is not the
truth. Please negate this desperate accusation, since when have you developed to
become a rapist?

AUTONET: Mother, blame games will not fish you out of this harsh reality.

Diana: AUTONET

(THEY FREEZE)

NICODEMUS: Don’t lay a finger of accusations on me, I am innocent

Detectives: Nonsense

(THEY FREEZE)

AUTONET: It is I who insisted to step on your shoes while you were away

Diana: (SLAPS AUTONET) Nonsense

EMRYS: Diana, please don’t slap her.

Diana: EMRYS, this curse will forever haunt you.

(THEY FREEZE)
Detective Martin: NICHODEMUS, this curse will forever chain your liberty.

(THEY FREEZE)

Diana: (TO EMRYS) You are a snake; you are worse than an animal. Who gives
birth and goes ahead to prey on its offspring?

AUTONET: Father, Father, can you tell Diana…….

Diana: Diana…

AUTONET: To avoid pointing fingers without giving this matter a second thought.

Diana: EMRYS, EMRYS, can you tell AUTONET to stop, stretching and twisting my
nerves?

AUTONET: Diana, you have got no moral authority to address Dad with such a
tone.

Diana: AUTONET……

EMRYS: You have sacrificed your marriage and your family at the Alter of your
career; you selfishly decided to get married to your provider.

Diana: EMRYS

EMRYS: All of your essential time is consumed at Work; you are extremely loyal to
your company than your family.

Diana: But that does not justify; this instance.

EMRYS: I tried all I could to make you come back but you turned your back on us.
I used all the solemn words from the dictionaries but you blocked your ears; I
even sang for you sweet songs but you never listened.

Diana: Which vocabulary from the dictionary did you use? Which songs did you
sing?

EMRYS: Diana, Diana, My wife do you remember this song

ALL: Another day has gone

I’m still all alone

How could this be?

You’re not here with me

You never said goodbye

Someone tell me why

Did you have to go and leave my world so cold

..Every day I sit and ask myself

How did love slip away?

Something whispers in my ear and says

…That you are not alone

I am here with you

Though you’re far away

I am here to stay

But you are not alone

I am here with you

Though we’re far apart

You’re always in my heart

AUTONET: Dad, Dad, was the only friend I had while you were away; I recall when
I first experienced my monthly moons, it was Dad who guided me. When I felt
sick, Dad was my doctor; when I had assignments from school, Dad became my
teacher. When I was low and needed spiritual guidance, he was my pastor. This
was the only man I could see first thing in the morning and the last man I saw
before I went to sleep; he became my mother. Mother, which girl? Which girl can
hide her nakedness from her mother? Answer me

Diana: This family is collapsing

AUTONET: But you left Dad alone in the wilderness

Diana: You don’t have a right in this house. EMRYS, please say something. Your
silence catalyzes my thoughts of irreconcilable contradictions.

EMRYS: AUTONET, get inside your room now! And let me handle your mother

(AUTONET GOES TO HER ROOM AS NICODEMUS CONTINUES TO FACE

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT)

NICHODEMUS: AH! AH!

Detective Martin: We shall not tolerate your silence anymore; for the very last
time, did you or did you not touch her flowers?

NICODEMUS: Detectives

Detectives: Yes/no

NICHODEMUS: Okay, i..i..i.I touched it but only once

Detectives: (THEY SMILE) Goood!

(THEY ALL FREEZE)

Diana: EMRYS, it is why? We think that we are victims of hate; I feel hate for you.

(THEY FREEZE)

Detective Martin: Now, did you put on gloves or did you touch them with bare
hands?

NICODEMUS: I touched them with bare hands

Detectives: Eish
(THEY ALL LEAVE)

Diana: Yet you Proceed to trap your daughter in this Velm of darkness.

EMRYS: Correction, you are the one who flapped the doors of the house with this
monster that is continuously pushing me to my limit.

Diana: EMRYS, why? Did you involve AUTONET in this Mess?

(AUTONET ENTERS)

AUTONET: Father, did I just hear you mention my name?

Diana: Yes AUTONET, and we have concluded that you might procure an abortion.

AUTONET: What! Mother, I am scared.

Diana: Yes AUTONET, we must uproot the seed of immorality convicting you.

EMRYS: Diana, we have not yet reached a consensus; we need some time to think
about this matter critically.

Diana: But your stupidity and recklessness resulted in this, and I am the head of
this family and I have already made up my mind. AUTONET will have an abortion
period.

EMRYS: Then let us not wash our dirty linen in public

Diana: What! Do you have any linen? And if you do wash it by yourself

EMRYS: Diana, abortion is illegal, immoral, and illegitimate.

Diana: EMRYS, I now declare you a persona non – grater in my house

EMRYS: But Diana…

Diana: EMRYS, leave my house! You don’t have any foundation in this house.
Nincompoop, valueless, wreck lace, hopeless, useless man, a buffoon.

AUTONET: But mother…

Diana: Stay out of this!

(DIANA LEAVES)

EMRYS: It's okay, let me leave.

(DIANA THROWS AWAY EMRYS CLOTHES)

AUTONET: Father

EMRYS: What!

AUTONET: Father, Father

(DIANA APPROACHES CLOSER WITH RAGE)

Diana: Get your few belongings and vacate this house

EMRYS: Diana, I love you

Diana: I hate you

AUTONET: Mother

Diana: (ANGRY) Stupid

AUTONET: Since when? Since when, did you start developing this feeling towards
Dad?

EMRYS: Diana, what is the genesis of all this hatred? Why do you hate me so
much? Tell me before I leave

Diana: (SHE SINGS a song of I am already enough)

EMRYS: It is okay let me leave

AUTONET: Father wherever you go I will go, whatever you eat I will eat, through
the dark dungeons, of misery I will grip tight to your hand and illuminate your
path with candles of hope. Despair not, collect the pieces of your life and put
energy into your tired bones for this cold, dark silence will not last forever; Father
say something.
EMRYS: No

AUTONET: Father I need you

EMRYS: No! Even in Genesis chapter one verse one, the Bible says “Jesus wept”

(EMRYS LEAVES AS AUTONET IS LEFT CRYING AND THE MANAGER ENTERS THE
HOUSE)

IROH: Darling, sweet Heart.

AUTONET: What! Mother who is this man?

Diana: AUTONET…..

AUTONET: This is not my father

IROH: Young girl, mind your own business.

AUTONET: What are you doing here? What are you doing at my father’s house?

IROH: Diana, advise your daughter; visitors should be appreciated.

AUTONET: You are a fool, a raccoon a descendant of the baboon.

(THE MANAGER TAKES A KNIFE FROM HIS POCKET THREATENING TO STAB

AUTONET WITH IT)

IROH: What! AUTONET….

AUTONET: Kill me if you want

IROH: Leave this knife

AUTONET: Kill me

IROH: Leave this knife

AUTONET: Kill me

(DIANA STOPS THEM)

Diana: Stop this! sweetheart; leave her alone come in.

(AUTONET IS LEFT CRYING AS EMRYS FINDS HER HOLDING A KNIFE)

EMRYS: AUTONET, what are you doing with this knife? And where is your
mother? The flames of vengeance are burning my soul, where is your mother;
where is she?

AUTONET: Father, don’t go inside.

EMRYS: What is going on inside there?

AUTONET: The pictures you will see inside there will crush your heart.

EMRYS: (ANGRY) Get out of my sight!

AUTONET: Father

EMRYS: I said out of my sight

AUTONET: I am your daughter

EMRYS: (MOVES AUTONET OUT OF HIS SIGHT) Out!

AUTONET: Father

EMRYS: (SHOCKED) What! When, where, how, what! What!

IROH: And what are you doing at home at this time and hour of the day? You are
supposed to be on duty.

EMRYS: What! What were you doing in matrimonial chambers?

IROH: Go back to work, now!

EMRYS: But….

IROH: I said, go back to work! You are on the brink of losing your job.

EMRYS: So, this is the reason why? You have always insisted that I stay on night
duty. This is very clear; Diana never deserved the award.
Diana: This action marks the beginning of a premature end.

IROH: EMRYS, remember I am your boss.

EMRYS: You are my boss, but not in my own house.

IROH: You are now trespassing

EMRYS: It is you who has trespassed my matrimonial territory

IROH: Leave

EMRYS: I will not leave (NAITWA SITOKI)

IROH: What!

EMRYS: I will not leave, this is my house and this is my family.

Diana and IROH: Correction, this is government property.

Diana: My house

EMRYS: I will not leave

Diana: you are now irritating me, leave my house now!

EMRYS: I will not leave; kill me if you want (SEATS DOWN)

IROH: EMRYS, remember this is government property. (SMILING) Sweet Heart; I

will be waiting for you there.

(EMRYS AND AUTONET SEEM TO BE SHOCKED AS THE MANAGER LEAVES)

Diana: AUTONET, I have already contacted the doctor and a few nurses; the
abortion is taking place in this house today.

AUTONET: But mother…

Diana: Be quiet, finished (KWISHA KABISA). The lioness of the house has already
spoken.

AUTONET: You have always applied cruel tactics to manage this family.
EMRYS: Diana, when will you ever admit that you are always wrong?

Diana: I am not wrong; I am always right.

(They freeze)

Detective Martin: NICHODEMUS; follow me! We hereby find you guilty……

NICHODEMUS: But sir…

Detective Martin: Period! KABUT

Detectives: Kwisha kabisa (THEY CLAP TWICE)

Detective Felix: Say your final words, before your sentence begins.

NICHODEMUS: Detectives, I want to see my AUTONET; I want to bid her farewell.

I want to set my eyes on her for the very last Time.

Detectives: Eish!

(THEY FREEZE)

(TENSION AS THE MEDICAL TEAM APPROACHES DIANA’S HOUSE)

Diana: Welcome doctors; AUTONET, the Stight is set. Get into the operational
table

AUTONET: But mother….

Doctor Julius: AUTONET, time is of cardinal essence; you are wasting my time.

Doctor Julius: And may the operation commence; Surgical blades, pharmaceutical
gloves, stylizing solvent, bicep tic forceps, and finally mathematical compass.

AUTONET: What!

EMRYS: What! Diana, this man is a murderer

AUTONET: (GOES TO HER MOTHER) Mother, I am scared.

Diana: AUTONET, get back on the operational table.

AUTONET: I Can’t

(DIANA SLAPS AUTONET, AS A FEW PEOPLE SING A SONG OF ATHIE DALA MALO)

AUTONET: Mother, I can hear a bulge; I can hear a sad song. This marks the
collapse of a bright future; the fury of NICHODEMUS won’t spare me its wrath.
Today after we were suspended from school, he remained numb and deaf. He
never wanted to say anything to me; his eyes, his eyes gestured anger, rage, and
ferocity. Mother, mother

Diana: AUTONET

AUTONET: Mother, I love him.

(THEY FREEZE)

NICHODEMUS: Detectives, I love her.

Diana: AUTONET

AUTONET: Mother, I have disappointed him.

NICODEMUS: Detectives, I have disappointed her

Diana: AUTONET

Detectives: NICODEMUS

AUTONET: Mother

NICODEMUS: Detectives

AUTONET: I broke his heart

NICHODEMUS: I crumbled his heart and threw it into the wilderness.

AUTONET: Okay Mother, I accept; but give me a few minutes to prepare myself
psychologically.

NICHODEMUS: Detectives, please give me a few minutes; I want to see my

AUTONET. I want to bid her farewell
Detective Martin: it is okay, come let us go

(THEY DEPART)

EMRYS: Doctors, leave my house now!

(THE MEDICAL TEAM DEPARTS)

Diana: You should not dictate anything from my house

(DIANA BEATS EMRYS)

EMRYS: (FURIOUS) Diana, Diana, if you ever lay a finger on me again.

Diana: What will you do?

EMRYS: I will not eat in this house for one week

Diana: (HAPPY) My pleasure

EMRYS: I will only cook and leave

Diana: Suit yourself (SHE LEAVES)

(NICODEMUS ENTERS)

AUTONET: AUTONET, why are you crying? AUTONET, what is wrong? Talk to me
AUTONET

NICHODEMUS: NICHODEMUS, the child growing in my womb….

NICHODEMUS: Speak AUTONET!

AUTONET: Is not yours

NICHODEMUS: What! Then who is this boy who trespassed into my precious
territory without my consent? For sure, I will slice him into shreds of lifelessness.
AUTONET, is it John who crossed my path?

AUTONET: No

NICHODEMUS: Edgar?
AUTONET: No

NICHODEMUS: Wilbur?

AUTONET: No

NICODEMUS: Then who is it

EMRYS: AUTONET

AUTONET: My… My...My beloved dad

NICHODEMUS: What! (HE COLLAPSES)

AUTONET: (tensed) Nick no quick someone call the ambulance

(HE wakes up as the detectives enter the house)

Detective Martin: NICHODEMUS, we don’t have the whole day here.

NICHODEMUS: Detectives, I have unfinished business with AUTONET.

Detectives: Out! Let us go!

NICODEMUS: Detectives, my dreams have collapsed

AUTONET: My family is collapsing; our house is burning on fire

NICODEMUS: My heart is burning with a blaze of betrayal

AUTONET: You are my friend

NICODEMUS: You are not my friend

AUTONET: I am your girlfriend

NICODEMUS: You cannot be my girlfriend; you are an enemy pretending to be a

friend

(NICODEMUS IS FILLED WITH ANGER AT AUTONET AS MR PRINCIPAL ARRIVES

AND STOPS NICODEMUS)
MR Patrick: Stop this! AUTONET, what is it dear? Detectives, I am here to make a
follow-up on my student case. This file should be closed be closed

Detective David: This case has a new development.

NICHODEMUS: The pregnancy is not mine, I am innocent.

Detective Martin: This is a family matter

Patrick: A family matter? What do you mean?

Detective David: The pregnancy is domestic

Patrick: Domestic?

Detective Martin: Yes MR Principal, AUTONET’S father practiced zero grazing.

Patrick: Please try to simplify your words, so that we can be on the same page.

Detective Martin: MR Principal, AUTONET’S father is the father of AUTONET’S

child.

Patrick: Where is the world headed today oh God of Abraham and Moses?

(DIANA COMES FROM HER BEDROOM AND FINDS A LARGE MULTITUDE OF

PEOPLE IN HER HOUSE)

Diana: (SURPRISED) And what exactly is going on here? NICHODEMUS!

AUTONET: NICHODEMUS; did I hear you mention NICHODEMUS? Mother, how

do you know NICHODEMUS? Mother, I thought I asked you a question.

Diana: He is my firstborn child

ALL: What!

Diana: I had him before I got married to your father

NICHODEMUS: Mother, so this is where you always hide after abandoning me?

Diana: It is a complex matter, very complicated.

NICHODEMUS: Mother, when I gestured a pause in your life and my life, I
encounter an image of complete contrast. When you dine and wine with them
(Points Diana’s family) I am left (DRY) I am also left ( TO CRY) and I ask myself
(WHY) mother, why do you dance to their melodious tunes and forget that your
child; jungles in the pot of misery?

Diana: But at least I made an effort to pay your school fees.

NICODEMUS: I wish that my father was alive

Diana: Your father is alive

NICHODEMUS: What! But I have always known that my father died.

Dian: No! Your father is not dead, he is alive.

NICHODEMUS: Then where is he? Does he know that I am suffering? Where is this
man that has dispatched me to this place of oblivion?

Diana: Your father is here with us in this place

NICHODEMUS: What! (HE IS LOOKING FOR HIS FATHER TOGETHER WITH THE
DETECTIVES) (To EMRYS) Mother, don’t tell me This man is my father.

Diana: No he is not

NICODEMUS: (TO THE PRINCIPAL) MR Principal

MR Patrick: AH! AH! I am not your father.

(NICODEMUS TURNS TOWARD DETECTIVE MARTIN)

Detective Martin: Do I resemble you?

NICHODEMUS: What! Mother, where is my father? Where is he?

(Diana points to the manager)

Diana: My manager IROH, is your father.

NICHODEMUS: What! I can’t believe this. (He leaves angrily)

Diana: (To EMRYS) How I wish I couldn’t have gotten married to this man.

EMRYS: Diana, hold your insult.

Diana: NO, I won’t be silent; I will let the whole world know….

EMRYS: Know what?

Diana: That…

AUTONET: Mother, enough of your hatred towards Dad. Why didn’t you tell me
that I had a brother?

NICHODEMUS: Why? Didn’t you tell me that I had a small sister?

Diana: (Points EMRYS) But at least I told this useless man before I got married to
him.

NICHODEMUS: What!

AUTONET: Father, you knew all this, and yet you refused to cater the curtains
revealing the twist of this matter.

Diana: Life is queer with its twists and turns, repealing its effects.

NICHODEMUS: Mother, once more I deserved to know the truth.

Diana: My son, I promise to re-quench your anxiousness.

EMRYS: Diana, you don’t have to go through these extremes…

NICHODEMUS: Mother, is there anything else that remains hidden?

AUTONET: Mother, break this pot of silence and reveal the content inside it.

NICODEMUS: This is dangerous

EMRYS: This is explosive

AUTONET: (She gives her mother a shoka) Mother, take this shoka and chop off
this pot. Reduce it into immeasurable sizes of reality
EMRYS: Diana, don’t do this

Diana: I will do it

ALL: Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!

(Diana chops off the pot and everyone seems surprised)

ALL: What!

NICHODEMUS AND AUTONET: Mother

Diana: (To EMRYS) You have only impacted your daughter with hate

(The manager takes the pieces of the ribbon from the child who was inside the
pot and gives members of the family one each)

EMRYS: You turned this government property into a brothel, a hub for
immortality.

IROH: The government shall not be swayed in my presence.

EMRYS: Stop! Camouflaging in this government fabric

Patrick: Calm down, this matter can still be solved amicably.

EMRYS: MR Principal, this is beyond repair.

Patrick: You can’t use flammable solvent to put out the fire

Diana: MR Principal, stay out of this matter; I let my antagonistic character take
control.

NICODEMUS: Mother, all of us here want peace, peace, peace.

EMRYS: Peace shall not prevail in our midst

Patrick: You are drugging back my urgent efforts of reconciliation

Diana: I am running out of patience; I want this man out of my house.

EMRYS: I am in the right mind to divorce this piece of a woman.

Diana: I am a glad woman today to divorce this piece of a man

EMRYS: Immediately I got married to this woman, she declared to end our
marriage and yet I got married to her.

Diana: Immediately I got engaged to this man, he divorced me and got married to
alcohol; this is not a man.

EMRYS: And this woman is not a woman

Diana: This is a woman

EMRYS: And this woman is a man

Diana and EMRYS: I want to divorce you

Diana: I detest this circus

AUTONET: I finally support this break up; father, mother, you don’t deserve to be
together.

MR Patrick: Let us reflect and listen to our souls; this condition is not permanent,
you should not be chained forever by these evils. There is still life beyond these

(MR Patrick takes off the ribbons from their shoulders while a song of will you
be there is played in the background)

Now, put smiles on your faces

EMRYS: No I will not

ALL: What is it Again?

EMRYS: Diana, you are a traitor, a foolish descendant of the devil.

Diana: EMRYS, I will smash your existence.

EMRYS: Kill me if you want

(EMRYS raises a knife as AUTONET snatches it from his arm)

AUTONET: Let me die

ALL: AUTONET

AUTONET: I will tear my heart into shreds of bitterness

Patrick: AUTONET, throw this away!

AUTONET: No! Let me die

ALL: AUTONET

AJTONET: I shall seat on this knife

Detective David: Which kind of suicide is this, you want to commit? AUTONET, I
thought you wanted to tear your heart. What is this you want to do?

AUTONET: I shall seat on this knife; one

ALL: AUTONET, AUTONET

AUTONET: Two

ALL: AUTONET, AUTONET

AUTONET: Three

ALL: AUTONET, AUTONET

(Detective Martin grabs the knife from her hand)

Diana: I still insist, I won't want this man out of my house.

NICHODEMUS: Father, my ribs are dictated with the hot blood of furry; I hate
you!

IROH: Me!

Diana: (To NICODEMUS) You are obligated to obey and respect your father

NICHODEMUS: Father, this is not my father. I am an orphan, I mourn the death of

my parents.
Patrick: Don’t say that! You are a blessing to your parents……

Diana: I still insist, that I want this man out of my house.

IROH: The government demands that you vacate this house immediately

EMRYS: Biblical battle of our ancestors is about to repeat itself here, watch this
closely.

ALL: EMRYS, EMRYS, EMRYS

(EMRYS Takes a jar of petroleum and threatens to burn the house)

ALL: EMRYS, EMRYS

EMRYS: I said out!

Patrick: EMRYS, what are you doing with a Jerrican of petroleum?

EMRYS: This house shall burn into ashes

ALL: Fire!

(Diana points a gun toward EMRYS)

Diana: Don’t make such a mistake; this gun shall crush, inject and dismantle your
skull.

ALL: Diana, Diana, Diana

AUTONET: This sword shall slice my stomach

ALL: AUTONET, AUTONET, AUTONET

EMRYS: This matchstick shall reduce all of us into shreds of lifelessness.

Detective David: We shall treat this as a criminal offense

EMRYS: This is a loss situation

Patrick: Listen to me
(EMRYS takes the jar of petroleum)

ALL: EMRYS, EMRYS, EMRYS

EMRYS: This fire shall put all of us to death

ALL: No! EMRYS

EMRYS: It will roast your flesh

ALL: EMRYS

EMRYS: It will dip-fry you

ALL: Spare us

EMRYS: It will slice us like a cake

ALL: No

EMRYS: Our intestines will boil

ALL: Nooo

EMRYS: Your eyes will be stitched to blindness

ALL: These can’t be

EMRYS: (Happy) Surely; I am enjoying these. And lastly, your souls will burn to
formless powder.

ALL: EMRYS

EMRYS: I will not listen to you

(EMRYS moves in a different direction threatening to pour the petrol as the

others try to persuade him not to do so)

ALL: EMRYS, EMRYS

EMRYS: I said out of my way

Patrick: EMRYS, you….

Diana: (Points the gun to EMRYS) MR Principal, stay out of this matter; or else
you want to become a victim?

Patrick: EMRYS

EMRYS: I will not listen to you

ALL: EMRYS, EMRYS, nooo

EMRYS: Three

ALL: No, no

EMRYS: Two

ALL: No, no

EMRYS: One

ALL: No, no

Diana: (Shoots EMRYS) EMRYS

AUTONET: What have you done mother? (She snatches the gun from her mother
and shoots everyone including herself but the events rewind once more)

Patrick: Cut (They all laugh) this is not a good resolution; the adjudicators at the
national level will disqualify us (They all laugh). Who has? Who has? A better
resolution

ALL: TR, TR, TR, TR, TR, TR

Patrick: (Points one of them) Yes

AUTONET: I have a better idea (Steps forward) The true people of Kenya

ALL: Mmh!
AUTONET: (Lamenting)We have passed through a dark past, we have oppressed
one another, we have gone through dark corridors, ethnicity, and discrimination.
It is now time, it is now time for the light to shine upon all of you.

Patrick: (Holds a shield of love) Rubbish, let this shield be our driver. Let it
promote good relations in our midst, understanding one another and promoting
peaceful coexistence amongst us.

(They all give a round of applause as they agree with him)

Diana: Let us create a new bond, a bond of joy and a bond that will never be
broken in good and bad times.

EMRYS: IN addition to that, let us join forces and forgive one another for the
mistakes we have committed to one another.

NICODEMUS: And without forgetting, Dad I forgive you and I now acknowledge
you as my father as we mark a new beginning

ALL: (They all give NICODEMUS a round of applause) for this is SHACKLES OF
FATE, SOWETO ACADEMY SEE YOU.