Written piece
Dismissed
Husein Chasia
Kenya
About this piece
A young man fights for justice after an assault, but the courtroom turns his identity into the real trial. Even after being dismissed by the system, he chooses to remain true to himself unbroken and unapologetic.
DISMISSED
I sat on the freezing metronome floor, my heart pounding non-stop, waiting for my attorney, Kerauma. My case was about to be called in the courtroom, yet she was nowhere to be seen. Every second I sat there, the clinical air in the corridor became more suffocating. Yet, with every delay, Ryan's smile grew wider.
"Did she change her mind?" I soliloquised to myself.
Immediately after that question ran through my head, I heard clicking on the floor. There she was! My attorney in six-inch stilettos and bright red lipstick, like the Filipino Chelsea Fernandez. Kerauma had taken my case pro bono, and I wasn't paying her a dime for her services.
"Am sorry I'm late," she said as we entered the courtroom. Her shoulders straight, her poise, her elegance spoke louder than words of her readiness.
"It's time to kick some ass," she whispered as I took my seat.
The judge performed the ritual with the gavel as usual and called my lawyer to give her opening statement.
Kerauma stood with the confidence of a woman who has never failed in life and doesn't plan to. She began.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. We are here because of a boy whose only mistake was to exist freely in his body." She paused dramatically and looked at the jury, assessing the weight of her words. "To be expressive. To be free. To fly. A boy who didn't want to sing while in a cage, as per the title of Maya Angelou. A boy who doesn't owe anything. A boy who didn't choose to live in the shadow of society.
I personally believe in freedom. In letting people be. Letting them mispronounce a word or two, letting them talk about a show they love, or just get excited about things you don't understand because we cannot be the same. We have different things that light us up. I believe in letting people shine. But in this case, my client was denied the opportunity to be himself. Thank you."
She concluded, leaving the jury now confused.
The opposing counsel was called for the opening remarks. A middle-aged man who looked like he drinks self-assurance laced with pride for breakfast stood with theatrical flair. He had an aura of a finesse who had dealt with many cases like this and wore a face that screamed boredom.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," he began. "While I must admit Attorney Kerauma’s theatrics are impressive, let's not forget that a life here is about to be ruined because of someone's discontentment with God's work. I believe all of us believe in a supreme being that created male and female. I couldn't put it better than Nicki Minaj: boys will be boys. Boys be boys."
He went back to his seat.
After Deamon,Ryan's lawyeropening statement, something inside me shifted. Something changed within me. Something was not the same. And I was no longer sure if I’d defy gravity like Cynthia Erivo. One thing was clear: we were no longer dealing with civil assault, harassment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, but something else that I knew and couldn’t name.
Kerauma stood again and called the first witness, Nesh, my roommate. He took the stand under oath to give an account of what happened that night.
"We stay in the university hostels and we do not cook in our hostel," he began.
"And so, we left that evening to buy ourselves supper. We took our takeaway meal. My roomie, Sein, is obsessed with this passion juice, and so on our way back, he went to buy some. I waited for him by the road. I saw when Ryan approached him, and from the manner of talking, I could tell that he was angry. I observed, and he threw a punch and a kick at my roommate. That is when I jumped in to defend him."
"Was your roommate verbally or physically aggressive towards him?"
"No."
"That's all. Thank you."
He took his seat as the juice vendor was called to the stand.
"I love all my customers, and Sein is like a son to me. That evening, that boy came as I was selling juice to him and was like, 'Unajua mimi ni ghetto?' and I was like, what does him being a ghetto boy have to do with my customer? But I knew he wasn’t good. I told Sein not to answer him because I knew the boy and had witnessed him fighting two men in front of my shop while closing one night. And when he started assaulting my customer, his friend came to save him. I gave him some ice to use since his eyes were swelling and told him to wait for a few minutes for that boy to disappear because I was afraid he could be waiting for him at the road."
"Where is your shop located?"
"Opposite the University gate."
"That's all. Thank you."
She took her seat.
"Your honor, the testimony of the vendor brings me to the third and final witness: the security guard."
The security guard was called to the stand for questioning.
"Did you witness the victim being assaulted?"
"Yes, I was there, but…"
"Thank you, that's all," Kerauma cut him mid-sentence.
"Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we have just heard the testimony from these three witnesses. What was my client’s mistake? Is buying your favorite drink a mistake?"
"Objection, Your Honor. She is testifying!"
"Objection sustained!"
Kerauma took her seat.
Your Honor, before proceeding in calling the 'victim' to the stand, in a case similar to this,MC v. Kipyegon,the court considered the behaviour of the complainant as relevant to the events that occurred. We ask the jury to carefully consider the circumstances of my client’s encounter with the witness before you,” Daemon uttered.
My heart almost skipped a beat. Kerauma had assured me that with the evidence and witnesses we would win, and she didn’t prepare me for the stand. But at this point, it was inevitable. I looked at Kerauma. She nodded, a nod of assurance that everything would be fine.
"Noted. You may call him to the stand."
"Sein, do you know that lying under oath is perjury and is punishable by law?" he asked.
"I am aware of that."
"How many times have you interacted with Ryan?"
"We’ve never…"
"Let me reframe the question. How many times have you met him?"
"Two or three times."
"Is it true that one of those times you were applying lip gloss in the restroom mirror?"
"Objection, Your Honor, that is irrelevant," Kerauma protested.
"Objection overruled."
She went back to her seat.
"Is it true that you were applying lip gloss?"
"Yes," I answered faintly.
"Did you by any chance look at Ryan?"
"He was the one who looked at me with a disgusted look."
"How did you know that his look was disgusting? Did you look at him?"
"Yes," I answered.
"What about the other time?"
"I was in the bathroom washing my hands, and then he came, and he looked like he was going to hit me."
"Why would he want to hit you? I’ll answer it for you: it’s because you were seducing him."
"No…" I said, tears almost running down my cheeks. I looked at Kerauma, and she looked back.
She objected, but her objections were overruled. Daemon was a demon, and he kept insisting that my character was in question.
"Are you gay?" he asked.
"That’s irrelevant," I replied.
"Are you gay?"
"Is this case about my sexuality?" I summoned the bits of courage that were left unshredded in me and asked that question.
"Your Honor, permit me to treat the victim as hostile."
"Permission granted."
"Are you gay?"
The permission to treat me hostile had already been granted. I decided to answer.
"Yes."
"When you reported the matter to the hostel department, Ryan was called, and he gave his account of what happened. He said you were seducing him. And when you were called separately, you were asked by the hostel manager if you are gay, and you denied it. Right now you have just accepted that you are gay. So you are a liar."
"I didn’t accept because.."
"You are a liar."
"I didn’t…"
"Thank you."
I took one glance at the jury before going back to my seat. I wished I could turn to air and disappear. Yes, I lied about that, but I was only protecting myself.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you’ve seen that the victim is a liar. So, how are we even supposed to believe a person who can’t admit what he really is? What if even these are fabricated charges? Because if a person can be dishonest about himself, then what the hell are we even doing here?"
He went back to his seat.
The time for closing remarks came. Kerauma stood tall again with a clutch of brown envelopes. She stood in the middle of the courtroom before approaching the judge’s bench. She took out a photo and medical reports and gave them to the judge. He went and also gave copies to the jury before she spoke.
"While my learned friend here brought up issues that tend to impugn the character of my client, to say that we were paid to be here is extreme. Let’s not forget the reason why we are here. As you can all see from the photo and medical report, my client was badly injured and bruised. This is assault and harassment, and my client is living in fear because of that. What’s wrong with a person being gay? What’s wrong with a boy using lip gloss or even wearing crop vests? Does it interfere with other people’s rights? Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, let’s give this gentle soul the justice he deserves. Thank you."
Daemon gave his final statement too, emphasizing "liar," "lies," "lied," and "gay."
I wasn’t aware that seduction happens when the one seducing is unaware of the seduction. This was almost a fatal seduction if my roommate hadn’t saved me.
The court was called to break. The jury went to their room. I waited for the verdict.Kerauma asked if I would grab something before the session resumed, but I couldn’t eat in that condition. I could sense what the verdict would be, yet I couldn’t admit it to myself. I just wanted to hear it from the judge’s mouth.
She said that she would stay by my side. She was caressing my lap at the time. I could see the tears in her eyes.
The jury returned. The courtroom fell silent as the judge cleared his throat.
"After careful consideration of the evidence and testimony, the court finds this matter to be a misunderstanding," he said. "While there were witnesses to the events, the credibility of the complainant is in question. This case is therefore dismissed."
A cold weight settled over me.
Kerauma leaned down and hugged me. "I’m sorry," she whispered.
I pulled back slightly and shook my head. "It’s okay. In this world, in order to get justice, one must be straight and a saint. You must not have told a single lie in your whole life. And that’s how the law operates,so low."
I called my father to tell him what the verdict was, but he said that I should straighten up. Be a man. He only added to the emotional turmoil. I cried and cried and cried.
When I woke up, I remembered Neyo…my manicured nails must set the pedicure off. I left for the salon, unbent, unbroken because they tried to cut my thread but it held.