The giants who had depended on human flesh for their food chased Gahima for kilometres and kilometres. In his school days Gahima was the best long distance runner. He twice took a trophy for the best athlete in Eastern Province. He was faster than a cheetah. The giants were people lived in Ijwi Island in Lake Kivu for the rest of their life. As a custom, they would only canoe their boats across Lake Kivu to the Rwandan side to hunt for people. They had hairy bodies and long hair. They never shaved their hair, bathed or trimmed their nails. They would hide in the mountains and forests to wait for abandoned girls, fishermen, herdsmen and hunters. The forests in this region were famous for wild fruits and plentiful supply of fish in the rivers and streams. They mainly depended on the flesh of the girls who were disowned by their families for having involved themselves in sexual acts before marriage. Any girl in the Rwandan tradition who was found pregnant before she legally got married would be dumped in the forests and left to the mercy of the wild beasts. If a girl was lucky she would be married by these giants. However, the chances that the girls would not be killed for food were few. In most cases, the punishment to sexual immorality was death. Adulterous girls were either thrown in a fast running river or left alone in the forests to be killed by wild animals. According to the traditions, the giants had unbeatable record in running. So, they were surprised by Gahima’s speed and energy. They expected to seize him because he did not know the geography of the area. He was becoming too tired to continue and the distance between the giants and him had reduced to around fifty metres. “Not everyday is a Sunday, let me accept death today,” Gahima thought to himself as he was gasping to death. Ends
