Film Studies
Live in Kibra has never been easy for any middle aged woman and Rachael was not exceptional. There were escalating levels of crimes like; rape cases, robbery with violence, car jacking, prostitution, drugging among others. At the age of seventeen, Rachael had been gang raped several times. Being a girl from a poor family she also had suffered hunger, poverty and mistreatment from people within the ghetto. The harsh Kibra’s life had hardened her and she had adopted a way of life through prostitution in the nearby city brothels, smoking and drinking. At her tender age she had known all types of narcotics and had developed a wide clientele base both for her prostitution and in her narcotic merchandise.
Selling my merchandise or being a whore is not easy for a teen, some time she could meet clients who were unwilling to pay for her services and other time she could meet some rough men who want unprotected action. Her mother who was pregnant from a horrific rape incidence passed on when she tried to abort. This brought too much distress into her life and after her mother’s burial in a municipals’ cemetery she decided to live home for the streets. Even with too much enthusiasm to protect herself from HIV/AIDS, the young lass was not lucky, her risky lifestyle hard failed her effort even with protect. As such, hopelessness and stress crept into her life and she left her had nothing left to loose. Rachael became a deadly female character that was planning to revenge and contract men with the virus. At some point she was able to lure many with her sexual appeal. At first she would wear extremely short skirts and hot pants. Her intension intentions were to get money from them. Men were well aware of her tactic and her tender age was irresistible to them.
On 12th Dec 2008, the young girl in her teen year opted to life in the street fulltime. She spoiled herself with drugs, alcohol and prostitution became her fulltime job. As she said during an interview, Rachael looked very beautiful and had very many men knocking at her door. They all came to buy HIV from the beautiful damsel. Who known how many thousands of men she infected with the virus even her? At some point in her street life she and her friends especially a huge Norah how used to be her best friend drugged a member of congress - rich man who used to life his wife to come and have fun with the women of the night. This was their first attempt and it turned out to be overwhelmingly successful. The two ladies had a jackpot of four thousand dollars that night and it marked a turning point to drugging and robbery.
The drugging and robbing habit became a disease that became incurable at good day Norah and Rachael would drug at least one person. They recruited many prostitute and Pretoria became a threat to drunks and people going for leisure. At some point it came to the attention of the municipal security and bars started being closed early to reduce the rate of drugging related deaths and insecurity within the central business division. Lack of money and clients turn the prostitute to yet another wild move. They joint hand wife male gangs from the Kibra ghetto and started highway robbery. Rachael’s gradual move graduation from prostitution and petty crime to serious crime had change her attitude towards life and the age of twenty she had passed through too much it was almost impracticable fro her to develop any positive attitude.
Rachael was the architect of her own life she knew where she had come from and she knew exactly where the path she was following would lead; nonetheless, she had made a decision to be a bad girl. Her sharp wits and her beauty attracted attention from all manner of people in the town from fellow streets, to bar owners to men who visited the club for beer and sex. Norah her close friend had showed her around many street clubs and the managers in those clubs saw her as a good source of clientele. She became a stripper and earned her self a reputation in the strippers clubs. This went on until fell met with a client who seduced her to falling in love with him. At some point Rachael had promised herself to change and to become a responsible woman when the man –Kim, promised to marry her and relocated her to a prestigious estate on the other side of Pretoria. Trying to change and live like the rich in the estate was a huge challenge for a girl who had adapted like in the streets. Staying in the house with a dog brought more problems and she could not understand how a dog could possibly live in the house. Days passed but eventually life of waking up to watch TV all day became too boring for her she decided to go back to where she belonged. Kim on the other hand had been contracted with the virus. It seemed anybody who related with Rachael was not lucky, Kim eventually was hit by a hit and run motorist. This brought loads of trouble to the young woman, the family and friends of Kim believed the whole story of Kim’s death was stage managed and that Rachael had planned to take vengeance on Kim for leaving her. Months past and Rachael was arrested and detained to give way to investigations. While in the police custody She Met Hassan a police officer who used to take bribe from her in the streets.
Hassan help Rachael to get her freedom back but there was an agreement that she have to exchange her freedom with some favor at the night club. When they later mat in the streets, Rachael told Hassan how painful it would be to exchange his favor with pleasure since she was positive with the virus. This changed the life of Officer Hassan completely and he started avoiding strippers clubs while on night duties. He thanked her and wonders “so even prostitute have a heart.” Rachael and Hassan became friend although he used to feel ashamed to walk with her along the streets. Other prostitute joined in and the relationship of Hassan and prostitutes led to his transfer.
One unlucky day, Rachael and several of her friends were trapped and a reigned to criminal court. They were accused of public indecency, prostitution, and possession of stolen properties. They were jailed for three years without fine. While in jailed Rachael developed HIV/AIDS related complications and her health drastically deteriorated to a point that she was admitted with tuberculosis. The young girl was put under medication and it took her a whole year of tuberculosis medication for her to experience full recovery. Even after recovery and a lot of counseling from the prisons counselor and d rehabilitation officer all those who were in similar situation with her continued with ARVs. The prison life change the life of a young lady who was a victim of circumstances to becomes a woman with an iron heart.
After the prison life, hard life for Rachael who was determining to change for good continued. The lovely lady confronted a pastor in a local church and narrated all her predicament to her but failed to tell the pastor that she had contracted a deadly virus and that she was ones a prostitute. Rachael did not have any ill- intention in concealing this information she just feared being thrown out of the church and feared to find her in the street again. She lived in the church and served as an usher. Without her knowledge, pastor had started admiring her and he slowly started advances toward her. This was another stressful phase in the life of a twenty third year old lady who was trying to put herself together and did not want spread the virus to the pastor who had given her refuge in the church compound . The more the pastor made his advances the more she resisted but she was not willing to tell him why she behaved this way despite the good things he hand offered her. It got to a point when pastor started threatening to chase her out of the church and she had to tell him the truth. Rachael sat with the disbelieving pastor and told him the reason why she refused to give in to her advances but her effort to restrain the man of God from lust offered no fruits.
The pastor fell into his own trap of Rachael’s beauty after too much effort to stop him and his lust or love won him the incurable virus. This made Rachael to become very stressful to a point that she preferred to go bad to the street than to wake up every day and see a man who was dedicate to helping her to loving her and to keeping her suffer from Aids. This time round she went and discovered that her friends had started robbery with violence and she joined in. Rachael, Norah and several men would still from big homes and businesses and terrified both motorists and pedestrians. After a month, Rachael discovered she was pregnant with the pastor’s baby. This intensified her worry and she decided to go back to the pastor and tell him the news; however, she brought in the news in a very terrible manner. “I am pregnant of your orphan” said Rachael to pastor who almost fell down in shock. This time the pastor took her serious and they went for a test where they were confirmed positive. This was too much for the pastor who lost word for his congregation and decided to hang himself. Other the other side Rachael gave birth to a virus free son and they both attracted the sympathy of one on the congregant after narrating the whole story to the church and what lend to dead of the pastor.
