We were two against the world

Moses Waswa

How would you describe Alice?
Often affectionate and warm. She is adventurous, seeks out the fun in life and is always up for new things except food. She loves her staple food and lots of bread

What is your earliest memory of her?
When we were five years old, we would walk to school together holding hands. We felt safe that way.

What nickname did you have for her?
Nanto, Magwegwe, alizona, and Naato.

What is she most scared of?
Dudus especially, (cockroaches), the flying ones

What is the craziest thing she did as a child?
She tried to set me up with her best friend Claire. She knew I secretly liked her and Alice tried to set me up several times but it never worked out.

What is the craziest thing you did together?
We were in a dance group. I enjoyed that very much.

Were you always friends?
For the most part, yes. We fought quite a bit earlier on, then it was with our other siblings. We always cared for each other- “two against the world”. It is a bit different with fraternal twins - less competition.

How often did you fight?
Between ages five and eight. I had a temper and would fight using my hands. Alice always fought back with utensils- wooden ladles, pestles - that scared me and I always stopped as soon as she got those things to fight me

Did you ever team up to fight someone?
No, Alice was often vocal if I needed some support. I stood up for her sometimes.

How often do you meet these days?
With the distance, it is difficult to meet, however, we often text via WhatsApp or talk on phone. There is one thing though, it does not matter if we have not spoken in weeks or months, we always have a connection, and catch up easily. I guess it comes with being a twin. I could not have asked for a better twin – she is the best.

Alice Nakato

What is your earliest memory of him?
When we used to go to school holding hands with our siblings and also sometimes going on daddy’s pick-up truck from school. Oh, there is a time we were taking confirmation classes and the priest got him talking to a neighbour and invited him for kifaalu (caning). Those were some hot strokes. The classes were serious.

What nickname did you have for him?
Shiika. I don’t even know how we came up with that name but it came from among us (his siblings). Who started Shiika? I think it is our little sister, Duni.

What is he most scared of?
I don’t remember Waswa being scared of anything. He was brave at kiboko (canes) and not the type that got bullied. He was small but tall and strong. But we were all scared of daddy when we were small. When we heard the honk, we would scatter to the bedroom.

What is the craziest thing he did as a child?
He climbed a pawpaw tree all the way to a branch in the village and he fell down. It was scary but funny. Thank God he went unharmed.
Another crazy one is when he went looking for a Christmas tree in someone’s yard but almost got caught. He took off and ran through barbed wire but, he did not realise the deep cut he had sustained. He reached home dripping with blood, and told us the story. He was hurt and very scared. And now he has a huge scar which his wife fancies.

What is the craziest thing you did together?
Uhm. I do not remember doing anything crazy we did together. Just niceness.

Were you always friends?
Yes, despite the fact that we would fight a lot. I would hit him and run as fast as I could.

How often did you fight?
A lot and most times, I would start the fight.

Did you ever team up to fight someone?
No, Waswa is kind and loving. He had many friends and people who liked him. He was and still is such a sweet boy.

Today, how often do you meet?
Not often but we often talk on phone since we live in different countries.

How would you describe Waswa?
Waswa is a polite and loving boy. We attended the same schools, did the same sports, that is, volleyball and basketball. Despite our difference in gender, he is my friend and loves all our siblings.