Chapter 29

Luyanda found Nomsa at the student centre, waiting for her study group members to arrive. He collapsed into the seat beside her and groaned.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked.
“I just went and made a fool of myself in front of the Dean.”
“What happened?”
Luyanda had hardly opened his mouth to respond when Gina came hurrying up.
“Hey, have you guys heard what happened to Uru?”
“Heard what about Uru?” Nomsa asked. Gina leaned in conspiratorially. “Apparently - and this is top secret - so everybody knows, but don’t tell anyone it came from me —” she paused dramatically.
“What?” Nomsa pressed. “What’s the news?”
“Hey guys,” Emeka came up and dropped into the empty seat beside them. “Have you heard that Uru’s up for a disciplinary?”
“Oh, come on Meks,” Gina said. “You stole my shine.”
“What?” Emeka asked defensively. “Everybody knows.” He caught the shocked expressions of Luyanda’s and Nomsa’s faces. “Wait. You mean you guys didn’t know?”
“They do now,” Gina answered. Imtiaz walked up to them. “Sorry I’m late, I stopped to get the latest on the Uru disciplinary.” Gina rolled her eyes.
“Hang on,” Nomsa said. “What I want to know is, how did this get out? Isn’t this stuff meant to be absolutely confidential— Hey, Lu? Where are you going?”
Luyanda sprinted out of the student centre without so much as a glance backwards. He ran straight to his department building, up the stairs and down the passage to Keita’s office. He paused at the door and knocked, gulping down mouthfuls of air.
“Come in.”
He found Keita trickling drops of water onto his pot plants. Soft classical music filled the room. Keita looked up over his glasses and smiled when he saw Luyanda’s puzzled face. “The music helps the plants to grow, or so they say. Whoever “they” is,” he added with a chuckle.
Luyanda closed the door behind him. “Have you heard?”
Keita raised an eyebrow. “Heard what?”
“About Uru’s disciplinary hearing.”
Keita leaned in closer into one of his plants and peered at its leaves.
“I trust I have,” he said. “After all, it was I that initiated the process.”
Luyanda dropped into a seat like a piece of lead.
“Why did you do that?”
“Why not? It had been bothering you for a while and we had agreed on twenty four hours, right?”
“But why didn’t you tell me this was your plan all along?”
“Because it wasn’t.” Keita answered. He sat down opposite Luyanda and gazed at him intently. Everything snapped into place for Luyanda in a sudden wave of realisation.
“It was you,” he exclaimed.
Keita frowned. “Yes, I initiated the process,” he said.
“I mean the evidence. It was you that stole the evidence - all the genetics tests records that I found and wanted to use to bring Uru down. It all disappeared last night. It was you behind it, wasn’t it?”
“Guilty as charged,” Keita replied. “I’m not going to deny it.”
“But why? Why would you do that?”
“So that I would have all the evidence I would need to initiate a disciplinary procedure against Uru. Isn’t it obvious?”
“And to stop me from doing it myself?”
Keita shrugged.
“You told me to leave it alone,” Luyanda continued, “and to stay away from the whole thing. Why would you then go ahead with it?”
“Because,” Keita replied, rising to his feet and crossing over to his geraniums, “I have far less to lose than you do. Trust me. I think I gave these too much water yesterday.” He picked up the flower pot of geraniums and placed them on the window sill. “Aah, that should do.”
“What makes you think I’ve got more to lose than you do.”
“For one thing, you’ve got more years of life ahead of you than I have.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Everything. You still have a long way to go on this journey before it ends.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“Don’t I?” Keita levelled him with a stare. “Free will makes the future uncertain. In this case, however, your hot-headedness would tilt the scales of certainty towards Uru’s side.” He opened the window.
“I think they also need some fresh air. I’ll have to remember to move them in the afternoon,” he added, peeking at the sky.
“How did you steal the information? I thought the database was secure.”
“If hacking into a university database was simple for you, you can imagine how much easier it was for me to break into your personal files. I wouldn’t leave my keychain in my backpack anymore if I were you.” He shot a glance at Luyanda’s backpack. Luyanda stuck his hand inside, fished out his keychain and hung it around his neck.
“You gave me the idea,” Keita added, his eyes twinkling.
“Yes, I realise that now.”
There was a knock on the door. Luyanda and Keita exchanged a look.
“I think our time here is up,” Keita said. “Just remember one thing. Should you be called upon to speak at the hearing, do not mention your gifts. Or Nomsa’s. Or anyone else’s.”
“But would they want me to speak?”
“Yes, because you already mentioned Uru to the Dean.”
The knocking came again, more insistently this time.
“Come in,” Keita said.
Dean Musa stepped into the office. His eyes settled on Luyanda, then shot across to Keita.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” he asked.
“Nothing at all,” Keita said, closing his window. “We were just in the middle of a consultation. Which I think we’ve concluded, haven’t we, Mr. Michaels?”
Luyanda nodded and rose to his feet. “Thank you, sir,” he said, and headed towards the door.
“Just a minute, Mr. Michaels,” Dean Musa held up a finger.
“I don’t know if you know but we are about to initiate a disciplinary procedure against Dr. Uru?”
“Yes. I do.”
“Yes, but-” Dean Musa shot a worried glance at Keita.
“He didn’t tell me about it, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Luyanda remarked. “Some of the other students told me.” Musa shook his head, deflated. “You can’t keep anything secret nowadays. What’s the world coming to?”
“These things spread like wildfire,” Keita said, with a shrug. Musa seemed lost in his own thoughts for a moment. He recovered himself and cleared his throat. “Aah, yes. The hearing. I wanted to ask you, Michaels, whether you wouldn’t mind coming before the disciplinary panel and answering some questions?”
Luyanda was stumped. He shot a look at Keita. Keita averted his gaze. “Er- sure, Dean. No problem. When were you thinking of—,”
“Tomorrow morning, half past eight.”
“So soon?”
“Yes. It’s better to get these kinds of things over and done with as soon as possible. I hope I won’t have to subpoena you?” he added with a nervous giggle.
“No,” Luyanda shook his head, “You won’t. May I be excused?”
“Yes, yes of course. Thank you. Remember, half past eight tomorrow. Sixth floor of the admin block, in the boardroom. I’ll send you the address.”
“Thank you, sir. I will see you there. Do I need to prepare anything?”
“No, nothing at all. Just show up.”
Luyanda nodded and stepped out the door. He hardly noticed the people walking past him as he made his way to the next class. How did Keita know that Luyanda was going to be called in as a witness? Had he orchestrated it? And why didn’t he want him to mention any of their powers? His stomach churned at the prospect of sitting before a panel of stern, be-spectacled professors. He started to realise how unprepared he was for the whole thing, and how poorly he had thought things through earlier. A wave of gratitude swept over him. Keita had shouldered a load which he would have undoubtedly been unable to take.

++++++
The next morning, he got to the university bright and early and navigated his way to the administrative block. He had never been in there before but Msiza did a good job of guiding him, using the coordinates that the Dean’s secretary had sent him the previous day. As he turned the corner into another long, dimly lit passage, he froze in his tracks. There in the passage, seated with his head in his hands, on a bench opposite a massive wooden double door, was Jabu. Luyanda seriously considered turning away, but then it occurred to him that Jabu must have also been called in to speak at the hearing.
Jabu stirred and looked up. They locked eyes for a second, then Jabu dropped his head again. Luyanda trudged down the passage, and paused beside the bench. The sign on the door across from them read, “Boardroom.” He was in the right place. Jabu cleared his throat, but didn’t move. Luyanda remained standing. The silence between them was tense and uncomfortable. The doors swung open, and an attractive young woman with blonde hair and large spectacles stuck her head out.
“Mr. Michaels?” she glanced from Jabu to Luyanda. Luyanda nodded.
“That’s me.”
“Please come through.” She held the door open for him.
Luyanda stepped into the room. Its walls were cushioned, dulling all the noise from outside. There was a long, dark wooden table that stretched from one end of the room to the other, leaving little space for anything else. Twelve pairs of eyes bore into him. He recognised Dean Musa, Dr. Flannegan and Keita. At the far end of the room, with a defiant look in his eyes, sat Dr. Uru.
“Thank you for joining us, Mr. Michaels,” said the Dean.
“Please,” he pointed towards a vacant seat close to the door. “Sit down.” Luyanda sat down in the seat indicated. The pretty woman adjusted a tiny, black receiver on the table before him. “For your information,” Dean Musa continued, “Everything that you say is being recorded for future reference. Do you agree to have your voice and likeness recorded?”
“Yes that’s fine.”
“Thank you. Please, state your name, your degree and the relationship that you have with Dr. Uru.”
“Luyanda Michaels, first year African History Major. I work as a volunteer at the Pan African Heritage Museum, where Dr. Uru is my boss. I am a volunteer curator, and I also take Dr. Uru’s elective course on African Slavery.”
“Thank you. Dr. Uru is under investigation on charges of carrying out illegal genetic experiments on his students. You are aware that that is a very serious crime that could lead not only to his immediate dismissal, but to the laying of criminal charges against him?”
“Yes, I am aware.”
“So even though you are not under oath, it’s important that you understand that whatever you choose to disclose or to withhold could have grave consequences.”
“Yes,” Luyanda nodded, “I am aware.”
“Good.” The Dean folded his arms, and leaned in closer. “Are you aware of anything strange or untoward that’s happened at the museum recently?”
Luyanda took a deep breath, and looked around the room. Dr. Uru glared at him with burning eyes, full of hatred. It was that same defiant look he had seen so many times before - a look that dared him to say anything. Keita had his eyes closed, almost as if he was asleep.
Luyanda gulped.
“Not at the museum itself. But something did happen at his house during the New Year party.”
“What New Year party?”
“Dr. Uru invited all the volunteers to a party at his house on December thirty first.”
“And what happened at that party?”
“He made us dress up in costumes.”
“And what else.”
“He gave us some weird drinks and…”
Luyanda’s eyes flicked around the room. Keita still had his eyes shut. Uru glared at him. He remembered Keita’s warning.
“…and the drinks made us sick. When I asked him what they were, he said they were gene altering elixirs that he had cooked up himself.”
A heavy silence fell across the room.
“Dr. Uru,” Dean Musa said, “Is that accurate?”
“I did no such thing.”
“He’s lying,” Luyanda said. His eyes swept across the room, begging the adjudicators to believe him. “You can ask the others. He’s lying.”
Dean Musa didn’t say anything. He looked up and down the table.
“Does anyone else want to ask him any further questions?”
There was a cough or two, and a couple of people stirred in their chairs. But no one said anything.
“Is there anything else you’d like to add, Mr. Michaels?”
Luyanda shook his head.
“Thank you. You may go.”
The pretty young woman stood up, walked to the doors and pushed and held them open. As he stepped out, she called Jabu in. The two walked right past each other. Jabu kept his eyes firmly on the floor, avoiding Luyanda’s gaze. The door slammed shut behind him. Luyanda quickly turned and looked up and down the passage. There had to be a way of getting into the boardroom. He wanted to hear what Jabu had to say, and how he would respond to the questions. The passage was poorly lit, and there weren’t too many shadows that afforded him possibilities of melting. He slinked up to the two doors, and pressed his ear to them. He couldn’t hear a thing. The room was perfectly sound proof. He got down on his hands and knees and inspected the door. Sure enough, there was a very tiny space - mere millimetres - between the bottom of the door and the floor. And there, covered in a thin film of dust, was the door’s shadow. Luyanda straightened up, and glanced up and down the corridor. The coast was clear. He closed his eyes and morphed into the shadow underneath the door. In an instant, he sensed the shadows in the room. There were several - beneath each chair, the long wooden table, and along the window sills. He slipped through the shadows on the floor, settling on a dark spot at a high window sill. Jabu was in the middle of his testimony.
“We had a good time at the party. It was one of the best parties of my life. I was very grateful that Dr. Uru had invited us. It was very kind of him.”
Dr. Uru grinned.
“And did he give you anything to drink?”
“Yes, of course. But nothing alcoholic. He was very careful about that.”
“What exactly did he give you to drink?”
“Just some traditional African drinks. I’m not quite sure what they were, but they tasted great. In fact I wanted to get some of the recipes from him.”
“And did any of you get sick after drinking them?”
“Not that I remember, no. We were all perfectly fine afterwards.”
Luyanda was outraged. It was all he could to to prevent himself from condensing back into his body, going across to Jabu and giving a good, solid right hook. Jabu was lying through his teeth. Keita looked worried now, and a bit hot under the collar. Uru on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying the whole thing.
“Your colleague told us that he got sick after having his drink.”
“Oh, you mean Luyanda? Yes,” Jabu replied, grinning. “He got a bit sick. But he’s always had a bit of a weak stomach. I’ve known him since primary school. It was no big deal. I told the others not to worry. He was okay after a couple of minutes.”
“So you were perfectly fine?”
“Yes.”
“Why do you think that Michaels would say that Uru gave you a drink which he confessed to be a gene altering elixir?”
“I’ve got no idea,” Jabu replied. “But between you and me, if you ask me, that’s just a tall tale. Michaels has had it out for Uru since day one.”
“Why is that?”
“They have different opinions on a number of things. Which is okay at university, I guess. But Michael’s has always treated Dr. Uru disrespectfully. I take my hat off to the doctor for being so patient and understanding with a student. Had it been me, I’d have fired Luyanda a long time ago.”
The adjudicators stirred in their seats, and exchanged poignant glances. Jabu leaned back, satisfied with the effect that his words had had. The dean cleared his throat.
“We have in our possessions records of experiments carried out in the university genetics labs. These were carried out under your name, and all point towards gene experimentation and eugenics testing with human chromosomes. And the results were sent to Dr. Uru.”
Jabu’s face turned to stone.
“What do you have to say about that?”
Jabu gulped down a mouthful of air and cleared his throat.
“I admit that I did carry out some experiments, out of curiosity more than anything else. I sent them to Dr. Uru because he was the only lecturer in this whole university who took an interest in me. To him, I was more than just a student number. At first, he didn’t understand what it was that I was sending him. But after I explained the data to him, he cautioned me very sternly and made me stop what I was doing immediately.”
Luyanda’s heart stopped. He couldn’t believe his ears.
“I’m really sorry. I won’t do it again. I didn’t mean to harm anyone. Thanks to Dr. Uru, I know I did wrong.” He stared at them through pathetic, puppy-dog eyes. Luyanda almost threw up.
The adjudicators exchanged glances and nods.
“Any questions from anyone else?” Dean Musa asked. Luyanda looked at Keita. Keita stared ahead, passive. Luyanda wished that he could come off of that window sill and shout and scream at him to say something, anything - instead of just sitting there looking like a mannequin. But Keita didn’t move. He deliberately stared at the window sill where Luyanda was perched, and ever so slightly shook his head.
“Thank you, that will be all.”
Jabu pushed his chair back. The pretty blonde woman showed him out the door. Luyanda remained where he was. He wanted to see out the rest of the proceedings.
Dean Musa turned towards Uru.
“Dr. Uru - you know why we are here and we know the terrible allegations that your colleague Dr. Keita has brought against you. The charge of conducting eugenic experiments with your students is quite heinous. A conviction here would without a doubt lead to the opening of a criminal investigation. We are all aware of the terrible consequences that the decision before us brings with it. In light of that, Dr. Uru, it is only fitting that we give you yet another opportunity to make any remarks before we reach a conclusion.”
Dr. Uru cleared his throat and leaned forward. He took in everyone’s face around the table, one by one.
“Like you said, Dean, the charge I am facing is a serious one. It is not every day that one hears of a lecturer being accused of such despicable acts. In light of the gravity of the matter, and in light of my reputation and that of the UAC, I would like to request the opportunity to question my accuser.”
Dean Musa glanced around the table. The adjudicators nodded. Keita narrowed his eyes.
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you.” Uru turned to Keita.
“Professor Keita. I only have one question to ask you. How did you obtain the evidence that you presented to the Dean?”
Keita stirred in his seat.
“Professor Keita—.”
“Yes, I heard your question,” Keita mumbled. Luyanda could see that Keita was battling with something in his mind.
“I cannot reveal my sources,” he said. “They wanted to remain anonymous.”
“Needless to say, the evidence wasn’t subpoenaed, was it? You presented it of your own free will, correct?”
Keita nodded. Uru turned to the rest of the adjudicators.
“I don’t understand why we are even here. The evidence was obtained illegally. I would like to initiate a disciplinary hearing against my colleague here for using underhanded means to obtain information that he wasn’t entitled to.”
Murmurs rippled through the room.
“Please, please,” Dean Musa raised his hands in supplication, “Order please. Before we move onto a new matter, we need to come to a resolution about the current one.”
“I think this thing should end here,” Dr. Flannegan said. “We’ve spent enough time on this already. Plus, we have the faculty’s reputation to consider, not to mention the university at large, plus one of our own. I think we should throw this out.”
“Does anyone feel differently?” Dean Musa asked. Nobody said a word.
“All in favour, please raise your hands.” Everyone raised theirs except for Uru and Keita.
“Case dismissed,” Dean Musa said.
There were nods of approval around the table.
“Moving on to the next issue, that will require a whole new—,”
“That won’t be necessary, Dean,” Keita said. He sat up in his seat, and glared straight ahead at Uru. “I believe that I have already done enough to bring the department into disrepute. As of this moment, I resign from my position, with immediate effect.”
Gasps of shock escaped the tribunal members. Uru face cracked into a grin.
“Now that’s taking it a bit too far,” Dean Musa remonstrated. “Nobody wants that.” Keita turned to Uru.
“Would that satisfy you, Dr. Uru?”
“No, not at all. That’s the last thing I want,” Uru said.
“Are you absolutely sure, Doctor?” Keita asked.
Uru sighed and slumped his shoulders. “I really didn’t want for it to end like this. Is there really no other way?”
“I don’t think there is any other way, I’m afraid,” Keita said. “I admit that I broke every rule in the book to obtain that evidence. And as such, it is better for the department and for the university as a whole if I resigned with immediate effect.” His eyes swept across the room.
“It has been a pleasure serving you and serving with you in this capacity, and I wish you all the best in finding a replacement for me. I am fully at your disposal in that regard.”
With that, he pushed his chair back, got up, and strode out the room.

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