Part VIII: The Revolt
The wretched conditions of the trip was significantly highlighted by the number of people who died every day. A month into the journey, the death toll had risen from five to ten people a day. Such staggering numbers made Kaya Maga realise their chances of surviving the ordeal was slimming by the day. Three hundred of the initial six hundred had perished within a month. If left to faith the remaining slaves will die also. It is therefore crucial to find a way to free everyone in order to overrun their captors and take over the ship. Kaya Maga angered by the situation, began ruminating on possibilities. He concluded the best way to achieve such a feat would be to enlist the help of other slaves, especially the woman he saw a week earlier.
The next time he was allowed above deck, Kaya Maga carefully snuck into the kitchen to speak with the unknown woman. The kitchen which was next to the captain’s quarters and the dining room did not give much cover, so the conversation lasted less than a minute.
The front door of the kitchen was cracked open when kaya Maga arrived, so he smoothly went inside. The women who was facing away jumped in panic fearing the man had come for ominous motives. At first glance she did not recognise him. The dirty face and shirtless torso did not allow much possibility for identification. Turning around, the woman stammered and asked the intruder.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“If someone finds you will be flogged to death.”
“And I will be thrown overboard.”
“You should leave at once and I will not tell anyone you were here.”
“Or I will be forced to report you.”
Although Shaken by these words, Kaya Maga stood his ground and replied:
“My name is Kaya Maga and I have been on held below deck for over a month.”
“What is your name?”
With a sign of relief the lady responded:
“I am Aminata Koulibaly, daughter of SamoryKoulibaly.”
All of a sudden everything clicked, Kaya Maga understood why she looked so familiar. He had never seen her face in the past, but he was not disappointed. She looked better than he could have ever dreamt of. Her clean nappy hair, symmetrically oval face and large smooth lips gave the impression she was being employed in a lawful and respectable establishment where she’d receive monthly wages to take care of herself. Surprisingly, the hair still smelled of white ginger blossoms. To Kaya Maga, Aminata Koulibaly was an angel sent from the heavens to save him. So he was encouraged the plan to take over the ship will succeed. Aminata who’d also recognised Kaya Maga decided to remain calm and listen to him speak.
“I am so glad to see you.”
“I wish It were under better circumstances, but we are here now.”
“Your presence and freedom to roam the boat is a great gift from Allah.”
“I have a plan to take over the ship, your help will be invaluable to operational success.”
Interrupting him, Aminata koulibaly asked:
“How may I be of service my emperor?”
Hurriedly Kaya Maga who’d noticed he had been too long replied:
“I will give you exact details afterwards.”
“But for now keep your head down and continue your routine.”
After the short conversation Kaya Maga rapidly re-joined other slaves on the deck before the headcount. The excitement of knowing he had finally seen the face of his betrothed and she was willing to help him with his outlandish plan to save everyone gave him butterflies in the tummy. The following nights were filled with optimistic dreams. The prospect to see Mali once again became more than just a dream. Kaya Maga decided to share his objectives with Sembema together they decided to involve other captives. Despite the high survival instinct and fear of death everybody was on board with the strategy. The compelling arguments laid out by Kaya Maga and Sembema were based upon the truth. He reinvigorated their courage by reminding them of their proud origins.
The whole plan hinged on Aminata Koulibaly, poisoning the white crew and freeing all slaves so they can take over the vessel. The poison was made from dead cockroaches and rat fluids. The concoction was to be poured into the evening meal. After eating the guards were expected to be incapacitated. At which point, Aminata will remove the keys from the guard on duty and free the slaves. Some of the slaves were army veterans and will help subdue the surviving crew members. At first the feat seemed easy, but when came the day nerves started palpitating. The high level of anxiety was palpable below deck. Once they were brought up to throw out dead bodies, Kaya Magas surmounting his fear risked getting caught to speak to Aminata one more time before the deed.
Inside the kitchen, Aminata was quivering. Her caring eyes swollen as if she had been crying overnight. The sadness could be felt by any passer-by. Kaya Maga calmly approached to grab her shaky hands. She began tearing up and held him tighter while she muttered:
“I can’t do this”
Kaya Maga gently retracted, while still holding her he responded:
“I know”
“But you have to”
“The faith of our people lies in your hands”
“Without this we are assured shameful deaths”
“They will exploit us to death”
“Over five hundred and fifty of us have died despicable deaths”
“No more”
“This ends tonight”
From his short, Kaya Maga brought out a rug imbibed with poison, dipped it into the fishsoup cooking in front of them before he spoke to her again.
“The seafood should mask the smell”
“All you have to do is serve the plates and free us”
“We will handle the rest”
“I am counting on you”
He then hugged her again before turning back to leave the room.
Aminata standing alone in the kitchen felt much calmer and willing to try.
Diner was set right after the slaves had been taken back to the hull. Although still scared, Aminata performed the role of a lifetime. The unsuspecting crew joyfully devoured through the entire bowl of soup. For several hours the crew was fine and Aminata unnerved began to panic. Every time the unending racket made by the drunk crew caused cracking sounds, Aminata worried the plan would not work. She was concerned the poison was not potent enough to kill the entire crew. On top of that, she dreaded the idea that the captain was to be kept alive. He always ate alone in his quarters, unlike the rest of the crew his meal was safe. As time flew by, the noise began tempering down. Aminata calmly walked outside of her cupboard size roam to make her way to the dinning room. While approaching, she was careful to avoid making any sound as the ship captain’s chamber was right next to the dining room. If apprehended, the crew will almost certainly kill her.
Upon entering the room, she noticed a man laying at the door with foam coming out his mouth—big eyes popping out their sockets looking up towards the captain’s door. He must have been trying to warn him but it was too late. Further into the room, forty three men laid dead. Some still sat where she saw them earlier full of joy. She could not believe the horrific sight she was witnessing. The room reeked of food, alcohol, vomit and feces. Aminata was overwhelmed by the atrocity of the situation and she couldn’t refrain frombarfing; then she skimmed the room to find the night guard and collect the keys to the chains. On her way out she heard the captain yell, “what is going on out there?”, nonetheless she continued dashing towards the hull. In her mind, she repeated to herself “there is no turning back.”
Meanwhile, Kaya Maga, Sembema and the rest of the slaves were chained below eager to assist. The thought of Aminata fighting off the crew alone haunted him. He feared for her wellbeing because he understood if the plan failed she will be in serious trouble. In the quiet of darkness he’s heart beat faster than it ever had before. His hands and feet chained to the beam, he had a flash back of his childhood and father teachings about courage in duty. He recalled, his coronation and the first time he truly felt strong and invincible. Living as a slave was not something he was prepared to accept. To boost moral he decided to encourage everyone else around him. He reminded them of where they came from and who they were as a people. Few minutes after the speech they heard stilted steps cracking, metallic key sounds and saw light glimmering before the door opened. It was Aminata armed with a torch. She leaned over Kaya Maga to rapidly unchain him and said:
“The captain is still alive, we must hurry before he realises something is wrong”
As soon as the chains came off, Kaya Maga rose to assist her in unchaining everyone else. Once they were all free, the mob headed towards the captain’s quarters to finish him off. Up the stairs, they realised a fire had broken out, many rushed towards the blaze to extinguish it while Kaya Maga and Sembema continued to search for the captain. The whole place looked like a war zone. The captain’s room was empty. But as they strode through to the dining room, the captain was sitting near his dead men with a weapon in both hands. Without warning he fired two shot. Enraged Sembema leaped onto him and strangled him until his eyes popped out. Then Sembema fell to his knees holding his chest. Blood pouring out of his body faster than it could be refilled. The first shot had hit him. Quickly Kaya Maga ran towards him to place a rug over his wounds and stop the bleeding. But it was too late, the light in his eyes was fading. His once large vain on the neck, had flattened. The lion was no more.
In disbelief, Kaya Maga continued calling his name, but to no avail. As a child, he always thought Sembema too strong to die. And never in his life time did he expect it would be under such horrid circumstances. The death of such a close friend felt like losing a father all over again. The pain was unbearable, the tears unstoppable. Kaya Maga’s heart was shattered into a million pieces. For over an hour he sat next to his friend to protect him while he journeyed to the world beyond. When he came to his senses, Aminata was standing above him and saying:
“We did it, they are all dead”
“The captain set fire to the grain stall before we could reach it”
“The food is gone”
Still unresponsive, Kaya Maga looked up eyes watery and replied with a wobbly voice:
“Can you help me take him outside?”
With her help, they carried Sembema outside onto the deck. The corpse was then washed, wrapped into white sheet and thrown into the vast ocean. The whole night was spent reading coranic verses and praying for the departed souls. No songs were sang, no laughter heard. Kaya Maga remained alone in the captain’s room to mourn. The next morning he reappeared full of energy and ready to bring his people back home. Outside he realised everyone was waiting to know the next steps. Forty nine newly liberated slaves were concerned about the future. There was no food or water, the captain had burnt everything before his demise. If rationed properly the remaining water would only satisfy a month. This meant, their days were numbered as anyone capable of navigating the ship laid dead on the ship. Over the next few days loyalties will be tested.
