Njugush: The day I was handed the ‘mother’ of all beatings.

In his new book titled “Whispers from My Childhood,” popular comedian Timothy Kimani, also known as Njugush, shares memories of his younger days, highlighting moments when his strict mother punished him for his mischief.

Njugush recalls one particularly bizarre incident that he learned about years later. He describes how, before the birth of his younger brother Kadugu, he killed his mother’s brood of chicks.

“My mother told me that before Kadugu was born, I strangled her entire brood of chicks,” he reveals.

Without delving into the reasons behind this act, Njugush recounts that this occurred while his mother was chatting with a church member over tea. As per household rules, he was supposed to give the adults space and find something else to do outside.

“So I walked out. We had a chicken that had just hatched chicks. Eight of them. Angrily, I went to the coop and started picking the chicks one after the other while strangling them,” he narrates.

To make matters worse, he threw the lifeless chicks into the house, aiming at the table where the tea was.

“My mother tells me she could not wait for the guest to leave. She went after me and gave me the mother of all beatings,” Njugush recalls. “It must have been quite a scene that day.”

His mother describes him in the book as a boy who always sought attention. “When he did not get the attention, he felt it was not his place. I knew he wanted to be famous,” she says.

In another memorable story, Njugush talks about leading a small gang to a neighbor’s farm where they cut down banana trees. He had gone with his brother and cousin to demonstrate his new tree-felling skills learned from a village feller.

Armed with a hacksaw, they encountered a neighborhood child, Kanyiri, who joined them in their mischief. They chopped down banana trees until evening, planning to continue the next day.

“That evening, Kanyiri’s grandmother came to visit. We were having tea, and the tea suddenly became tasteless upon seeing her. She did not waste time with small talk; she immediately reported how we had vandalized her farm,” Njugush states.

“That evening, we saw what my people call ‘Kanyoni wa Ng’ethe.’ Little brother and I received thorough flogging in turns, and then, just as a reminder that I was never to mislead Kadugu again, Mother gave me an extra beating,” he adds.