Hamisi put the deadline on a large sheet of paper. "The seven days begin today," he said. "After that, I must choose the tenant who can give me clean papers."
Amina had come to his home with the original lease, a rent receipt, and the audit notice. Hamisi disliked family quarrels. He wanted rent without becoming a witness for either side.
"The first lease says any company change must be given to you in writing," Amina said. "Baraka brought a renewal letter, but not minutes."
Hamisi opened a grey file. "I keep everything I receive. This is the letter from Baraka, this is the new list, and there are no meeting notices."
Amina read the letter. Baraka called the new company "a continuation of Mwangaza's operations." The word *ownership* did not appear, but the final table was labelled *controlling representatives*. Only his name was there.
"Did you ask why another member was absent?"
"I am not the company chair," Hamisi said. "I asked whether rent would be paid. Baraka said there was no problem."
"Paid under which company name?"
"That is what I want to know."
Amina showed him her phone receipt. "I paid through the old company account. That does not mean I accepted a membership change."
Hamisi studied it. "If the new company has the right, they could call your payment proof that they operate the old company."
"That is why every payment will carry a note of reservation. Rent and shares are different things."
Hamisi led her to the home's record room. Old rent receipts, repair letters, and the first copy of the lease were stacked in a cabinet. One receipt showed Baraka signing as manager while Amina was listed as lease guarantor.
"A lease guarantor is not a shareholder," Hamisi said. "I learned to separate those after other tenants fought."
Amina asked whether Baraka had requested an addendum. Hamisi showed a letter with the new company's heading. Baraka wanted the new company named as the main tenant but had not mentioned membership. Hamisi had left it unsigned because he did not want a change without minutes.
"You protected me without knowing it," Amina said.
"I protected myself. The school benefited."
Baraka called. Hamisi placed the phone on speaker.
"You stopped the renewal because of Amina?" Baraka asked.
"I stopped it because your papers conflict."
"The new company came from our decision."
"Put the decision and its notice in the file."
"If you continue like this, the investor will leave."
"The investor is not a reason for me to sign something I cannot read."
After the call, Amina asked Hamisi to keep every version together. "Do not make a new renewal, change the tenant, or release keys until the seven days end."
Hamisi agreed, but warned her. "If you fight, the school pays first. Teachers are not paid with your family honour."
Amina remembered Zawadi's receipts. Before she made the deposit, she read the refund conditions. If membership was verified in seven days, the deposit became part of the renewal. If the lease changed, Hamisi would return it without a fee. That gave her freedom not to accept a change out of fear for her money.
The visitors' book showed that Baraka had come the previous day with Saidi Rajabu. Saidi had asked about a "clean lease" and "founder risk." Hamisi had given him no files.
"Do not present me as an investor witness," Hamisi said.
"I will present you as the source of the papers I received."
Baraka called again and warned that the investor would leave. Hamisi answered, "An investor who needs the lease changed before it can be read may not be wrong, but he is not a reason to hurry."
Amina paid the ordinary deposit and wrote: *rent under original lease, pending membership verification*. Hamisi signed every copy, and the clerk added her initials.
Before Amina left, Hamisi showed her the investor's letter. One line read: *lease must be clean before finalization.* She carried the deadline out with her, knowing the next step was to separate the landlord's contract from the family's fight.
The landlord's deadline now stood beside the investor's demand, both waiting for a clean record. Hamisi filed the deposit and lease away from the share documents. # End of Chapter
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