LOST is an original Lapatutu fiction following Henry’s life journey. All characters, locations, and events in this work are fictional; any resemblance to real entities is entirely coincidental. [Click here if you missed Part 12]

Enrique Kerima was a tall, dark-complexioned man whose name carried deep respect across the nation. In his youth, he had captained the national football team all the way to the AFCON quarter-finals as their reliable goalkeeper. Now, in his senior years, he spent his weekends coaching young local talent.

Away from the pitch, he was a proud grandfather to two girls and a boy. If there was anything he loved more than football, it was those three children—his personal dream team, as he affectionately called them. Whenever they visited him during a coaching session, he would halt all drills, step into the net, and let each child take three penalty shots. Anyone who scored more than once was guaranteed ice cream on the drive home. Unsurprisingly, they never missed!

For the past twelve years (spanning three consecutive four-year terms), Enrique had served as the Governor of Miraje County. His tenure marked a transformative era for the region. He was a genuine leader of the people. Unlike his predecessor—the very man Henry had spent years idolizing—Enrique never drove a flashy Mercedes-Benz ML, nor did he retreat to a distant city estate. He lived right among the people in Miraje, sharing their daily realities and fiercely advocating for their needs.

His proudest achievement was completing the Miraje County Youth Resource Centre—a state-of-the-art facility designed to equip young people with practical skills to lift themselves out of poverty. It was this same Resource Centre where Henry’s sister, Janine, alongside her husband, had donated the double-door Samsung refrigerator—originally Henry’s generous wedding gift to them—to keep the child immunization clinic’s vaccines safely chilled.

For over twenty years, previous administrations had made empty promises while funds vanished into private pockets. But when Enrique took office, he put the people first. His unyielding integrity earned him bitter enemies among those who profited from corruption, but he stood firm, and the people of Miraje loved him for it.

Now in his eighties, Enrique was ready to step down. Standing beside him for the past seven years was Alex Ndima—a younger, brilliant protégé who had earned the old man’s total trust. Alex was Enrique’s shadow, attending every village town hall meeting, being a part of county activities, and learning how to lead from the ground up. When Enrique began moving around Miraje endorsing Alex as his successor, the voters saw a veteran leader passing the mantle to someone who shared his exact values.

Alex Ndima was born and raised in Miraje, dedicating his career to empowering local farmers. A food scientist by profession, he was particularly passionate about the soybean’s nutritional value—a concept he had mastered during his university years. His character was tested early when a major regional agro-processing company offered him a lucrative consulting role. Knowing the company secretly utilized GMOs against local farming regulations, Alex turned down the fortune and chose instead to serve his home county as Enrique’s Personal Assistant.

For the last seven years, Alex had indeed proven himself more than worthy of carrying the mantle as Miraje’s next Governor.

Inasmuch as Henry was also born in Miraje, there was no way his track record could match Alex’s. For one, Henry had barely spent any of his adult life in the county. Sitting across from the Group of Eight in their final strategy meeting before nominations, Henry finally raised the issue of his competitor in the race.

“If he is anything like Enrique, he will be very difficult,” one from the Group of Eight blurted out. It was an accidental slip—definitely not the kind of talk they engaged in around Henry.

But Henry missed the signal entirely. He assumed they meant Alex would simply be a tough opponent to defeat at the ballot box.

Edmond stepped in immediately to cover the slip.

“Everything is being handled.”

Edmond’s reply shut down the room, leaving no space for further questions.

Three days to nomination, Alex oversaw the commissioning of the 78th cohort of youth from the Resource Centre. The event ended at 16:26 hours.

By this point in time, word circulating across the region was that only two candidates were in the running for Miraje Governor: Alex and Henry. As a condition of their backing, the Group of Eight had instructed Henry not to contact his people just yet. They insisted on a grand announcement on nomination day. As a result, even his parents only heard the news as a distant rumor—one they were almost certain was untrue for they had never heard a word of it from him.

Two days to nomination, a brand new car was delivered to Henry’s address. A metallic black Land Cruiser VX with a personalized number plate—ZAMUNDA. 79,873,000 Shanga. He had paid for it in cash, since Edmond had practically pressurized him into spending the 100 Million the way he felt a Governor should.

One day to nomination. The morning started like any other. Henry took his coffee in his apartment and sat down in his home office, having ceased physically working from AZ FM. On his to-do list that day was ensuring his suit and shoes were delivered in time from the dry cleaners for the big day tomorrow.

He switched on the TV to catch the news. Still standing, holding the remote in one hand and his coffee cup in the other, he noticed a sharp red Breaking News ticker crawling across the bottom of the screen. At first, his eyes drifted past it, but when the words finally registered, his hands froze. The mug slipped, spilling hot coffee all over his desk and laptop keyboard as his eyes stayed glued to the screen:

BREAKING NEWS: ALEX NDIMA FOUND DEAD IN HIS OFFICE LAST NIGHT.

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© An original Lapatutu Story.

See you next Wednesday.