Enzi enjoyed going to the banks of River Kijito near his home, where he watched the kingfisher catch fish, as well the other animals that inhabit the river. He considered the river magical due to the abundance of creatures that he shared his day with.  He always had tales to tell his parents whenever he got back from the river. Although his mother told him that he was daydreaming, it did not stop him from going to his favorite spot by the river.

River Kijito was  full of secrets. It once had plenty of fish. Elders from the village had warned the chief against allowing a factory to be built up stream, but he ignored them.

Enzi was born around this time when the fish were abundant. However, when he was 7 years old, fish disappeared and his father, who was a fisherman, became a worried man. He always wondered why his father behaved this way. Every day as he went to the river banks near his home, he was filled with questions. His parents never told him about the factory upstream. He only heard about it from people in the village.

One day, as Enzi rested at his favourite spot by the river banks observing frogs leap, a crocodile swam his way. He had never seen a crocodile on this side of the river. He wasn’t scared but quite curious about the behaviour of this crocodile. 

“Every day you come on this particular spot and watch the animals swim, feed, and play. I can tell you are very curious,” said the crocodile.

Enzi wasn’t shocked. “I’m always fascinated by how the kingfisher quickly grabs the fish and how the frogs effortlessly leap on water,” he replied.

“Hop onto my back and I will show you more” the crocodile offered.

Without even a second thought, Enzi was on the crocodile’s back ready for an adventure of a life time with Mr. Crocodile.

Riding on the crocodiles back felt like being a smooth boat that glided against the flowing river as they headed upstream.

“Where are you from Mr. Crocodile?” asked Enzi.

“My kind has been on this river for a very long time. My great great grandmother was born here and so were the rest of my family.”

But doesn’t this river flow all the way to Mamba which is more than 40km away?” asked Enzi.

“Yes it does.” Said Mr. Crocodile “There is a crocodile in every big river. This is my family little boy.”

As they swam upstream, kingfishers and frogs would come towards Mr. Crocodile’s ears and speak to him. “What are they saying?” asked Enzi.

“Be patient, you will see.”  Mr. Crocodile replied.

Suddenly as they made a slight turn heading towards the factory which Enzi could now see, he started to cough. He asked Mr. Crocodile why there was such a bad stench around the area.

“Many years ago,” said the crocodile sadly, “River Kijito was full of fish. All the fish you wanted you could get right here, on this very spot. My family would come here to feast. Kingfishers and frogs were everywhere and this even brought more animals which you haven’t seen. Even fishermen like your father would come to this area to fish. Not long ago, men came and built a factory to harvest the fish. You see little boy, these men caught any fish even when they were just babies. For our kind, we only ate the big fish and spared the little ones.”

“That’s not nice, what this men did.” said Enzi

“Sometimes, men do not see the future, soon enough there were no fish.” Mr. Crocodile continued,“The fish factory became useless. Other men came and took over the building to produce some toxic liquid they release in to the water as they said it would bring back the fish. But what all this has done is pollute the river all the way downstream.”

“But can’t you stop them?” asked Enzi.

“All I am is an animal that is despised by many of your kind,” said the crocodile.

“What can I do then? What can my people do?” asked Enzi.

“Your elders in the village are very wise, they saw this coming while others didn’t.” said the crocodile,” They can still do something,” Mr. crocodile hinted. “You are a very curious child. I have seen you stop your father from cutting down the tree at your favorite spot. You are a very brave young boy. You saw the importance of the tree by the river bank even when others didn’t.”

“But it was just one tree and this is an entire factory,” said Enzi.

“You are only as brave as you think you are. Look into yourself and believe you can change the situation ” Mr. crocodile suggested.

When Enzi got home, he couldn’t wait to tell his mother the adventure he had had with the crocodile.

His mother thought he was joking. Even his father did not believe him.

This did not stop Enzi from seeking the truth, he wanted to save his village, he felt that it all depended on him, even the animals of  River Kijito were in his hands.

Image credits Ken Gitau

Thank you to Rose Gichohi and Esther Ngei for the encouragement to do this story and to Jabari, for the inspiration.