Author: Jngunjiri

Categories
Reviews

Negative Ethnicity: From Bias to Genocide

Title: Negative Ethnicity: From Bias to Genocide
Author: Koigi wa Wamwere
Publisher: Seven Stories Press

For a long time Kenyans held their heads high confident that theirs was a peaceful country, that the “Curse of Africa” – internal fighting – has never struck us, in spite of the fact that we are a multi-ethnic communities.
Well, this came to an embarrassing end following the disputed December 27 elections, when untold violence was visited upon innocent Kenyans. Their crime, they belonged to an ‘enemy’ ethnic community.
Following the clashes that saw Kenya being put in the same category with perennial trouble spots like Gaza, attempts have been made at explaining what caused such violence. Some have said that the presidential election results brought about the mayhem, while others put it down to “historical injustices”.
Former Subukia MP Koigi wa Wamwere begs to differ. In his book Negative Ethnicity: From Bias to Genocide, written in 2003, he identifies negative ethnicity as the chief cause of what is happening in the country today.
It is astounding how the book, written a good four years before the 2007 General Election, speaks almost prophetically about present day happenings. What is more the book says that negative ethnicity is not a phenomenon unique to Kenya or Africa for that matter. Based on research the book says negative ethnicity is to blame for what happened in the former Yugoslavia.
From the outset, Koigi sets about distinguishing ethnicity from negative ethnicity. According to the book ethnicity denotes the aspects that make us unique and different from others, be it shared language, beliefs, religion, race or colour. One’s ethnicity is something to be proud of, as it defines our culture and who we are.
Negative ethnicity on the other hand manifests itself when a group of people see themselves as being superior to others by virtue of their ethnicity. It also applies to those who see themselves as being inferior to other ethnic groups.
While in Africa negative ethnicity is manifested as being black against black, further a field it is in the form of white against white. “Though obvious, there are many who deny the existence of white negative ethnicity,” writes the author. “And when it is conceded, people seem to think it is less pernicious than its black counterpart… White negative ethnicity is just as brutal as black negative ethnicity, as the Croat-Serb conflict in the former Yugoslavia illustrated.”
“In this ethnic carnage,” he continues. “Over 200,000 people have lost their lives and two million were displaced from their homes, half never to return – proof that the monster of negative ethnicity is no more civilized in Europe than in Africa.”
Recently Kosovo declared itself an independent state, earning the recognition of world powers like the US. While the separation of those countries might seem the way forward in bring an end to the violence, Koigi does not believe it is an answer in itself.
“The more difficult promise of democracy, security of life and property, freedom, justice, and equality for all must replace the simplistic carving up of multiethnic nations into weak single ethnic states that are hostile to one another,” he writes.
Seeing as negative ethnicity, among the whites is no different from that which occurs among the blacks, the author singles out Europe and America for blame, if their response is anything to go by. He argues that powers in Europe and America were more enthusiastic in dealing with negative ethnicity in Yugoslavia than they were in Rwanda or Sierra Leone.
In the book, the author expresses concern that negative ethnicity is yet to be handled with the seriousness it deserves by the international community. “Like racism, negative ethnicity has spawned many genocidal forces. But while genocide, the product of negative ethnicity, is rightly regarded as a crime against humanity, negative ethnicity is not. It is indeed funny logic that considers the child worse than the parent,” he argues.
Koigi’s book presents the interplay between negative ethnicity and racism. He argues that while racism is a form of negative ethnicity, it is indeed racism that prevents Western powers from putting in place mechanisms that would tame negative ethnicity. On the other hand African leaders will whine about racism, while at the same time conveniently overlooking negative ethnicity, which the author identifies as Africa’s biggest problem, after HIV/Aids.
According to the book, the seeds of negative ethnicity are planted with such innocence that they are a source of fun. In the Kenyan example it manifests itself in the form of the ‘harmless’ jokes leveled on the different ethnic communities. These gradually grow into ethnic prejudices, and these are as varied as we have many ethnic communities.
These prejudices eventually graduate into using derogatory terms. These are geared towards generating resentment and hostility, and eventually the need to get rid of the ‘enemy’ communities. At that stage proponents of negative ethnicity drum into their people such hatred for their ‘enemies’ that they justify the killings that occurs afterwards.
Giving the example of the Rwandan genocide, the book argues that Hutus equated Tutsis with pests like cockroaches or weeds that had to be destroyed at all costs. “Negative ethnicity does not only dehumanize those it will destroy. It also dehumanizes the murderers into cold, sadistic machines. In Rwanda, the dehumanization of killers was unmistakable,” writes Koigi.
In a multiethnic country like Kenya, negative ethnicity challenges multiethnic nationalism, uproots and replaces national patriotism with ethnic patriotism. Thus, like it is the case in Kenya, politics takes on an increasingly ethnic nature, such that those who refuse to identify with ethnic patriotism are branded traitors to the ethnic cause.
Negative ethnicity, among other ways manifests itself when a particular community says that they would like one of their own in State House so that they can take part in “eating”. On the other hand, those with one of theirs in power say that they would like to protect their “chance to eat.”
Negative ethnicity presents itself in such a way that those who practice it do not see it as being a problem, and therefore has a way of deflecting people’s minds from its evil nature.
Writes Koigi: “Negative ethnicity never parades itself as evil. It promises security, food, power and freedom to African communities, and such it wins adherents by millions.”
And negative ethnicity afflicts everyone, in spite of their profession or standing in society. “I have seen church leaders use their pulpits to preach it (negative ethnicity) to their unsuspecting congregations. I have seen it taught by university professors, advocated by young intellectuals. I have seen it fed to the masses by journalists working, not just in the so-called gutter press, but for respectable newspapers, radio and television. I have seen in practiced by politicians in government and used by those in opposition,” writes the author.
The tragedy of negative ethnicity is that while it promises ‘liberation’ to the whole community, it only benefits a chosen few, namely the ethnic elite and those closest to them. “The elites are guilty of masterminding negative ethnicity, ethnic clashes, wars and massacres. Ordinary people are guilty of executing these conflicts…” says the book.
The book gives the author’s own experience with negative ethnicity in the country, as well as the history of ethnically inspired clashes and massacres in the country, their causes and effects. The book also gives channels that are used to entrench negative ethnicity. It also suggests ways in which the fires of negative ethnicity can be quelled.
The author suggests that a body be formed to measure how widespread negative ethnicity is, something akin to the global corruption index. “If we had such a chart for Africa,” he writes. “Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Ethiopia, Congo, Sierra Leone, and Liberia would top the list with perhaps 95 per cent of the population involved in ethnic conflicts.”
Kenya, Nigeria and Ivory Coast would come a close second with 80 per cent. South Africa would follow with 30 per cent, while Tanzania and Botswana would be at the bottom with 20 per cent.
This book is recommended reading for all Kenyans, if only to understand, the kind of enemy they are flirting with. Negative Ethnicity also comes highly recommended to the mediation committee led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. It would help them understand the conflict that has brought them here in the first place.

Categories
Reviews

Deadly Money Maker: A Review

Title: Deadly Money Maker
Author: Saga Macodongo
Publisher: Paulines Publications Africa
It is human nature to yearn for better life. This is the reason why people work so hard so as to improve their livelihoods. It is no longer strange to find people holding multiple jobs, if only to make ends meet.


However, there are a few who opt not to live by the sweat of their brows. These are the ones who prefer to cut corners in pursuit of the ‘good life.’
As a teacher at the Kenya Polytechnic, Judy Akinyi, felt the money she was earning was not enough for the kind of lifestyle she wanted for herself and her family. The fact that she was not content with whatever she was earning put her at a very vulnerable position.
Just as she was contemplating ways of supplementing her income, her mind wondered back to a friend who seemed to lead a thoroughly luxurious life. Akinyi wanted this woman to share, with her, secrets of success.
Just as expected, the other woman held the ‘keys’ to unimaginable riches. She only needed to part with Sh200,000, which would then yield millions. Her vulnerability thus exposed, Akinyi was ready to go all the way, in pursuit of riches.
And go she did. Today, she is a guest of the State, housed at the Lang’ata Women’s Prison, where she is serving the last of 11 years prescribed to her by a judge at the Kibera Law Courts.
While in jail, she decided to put pen on paper, and could well be the first Kenyan to have a book published while still behind bars. Deadly Money Maker, which she writes under the pen name Saga Mcodongo, gives the account of her life including her deadly encounter with the woman who was responsible for her incarceration.
The saga of the collapsed pyramid schemes goes to show how Kenyans, including educated ones are gullible when it comes to making quick money. Akinyi was no different. The lure of easy riches led her to taking a loan, money which she gave her friend, Queen.
Her dream of riches would turn into her worst nightmare. The money got ‘lost’ in unexplained circumstances, leaving her a thoroughly desperate woman. This was the sign Queen was looking for and she went for the kill. To get her money back she was required to run an ‘errand’ for Queen.
The errand involved delivering a ‘package’ from Pakistan. Akinyi had gone to deep to turn back. She had now been initiated into the risky world of drug peddlers. The trip to Pakistan, and back, was supposed to last five days. It was not to be.
Hoping all would turn out well, Akiyi told her family that she was going to her rural home for the five days. And so with a fake passport she embarked on a journey that would take her, not five days, but three months, and straight into the waiting hands of police at the JKIA.
In her luggage was 150 grammes of heroine. So instead of getting rich, she instead earned herself a lengthy jail term, and lost some money in the process.
Deadly Money Maker takes the reader into the murky world of drugs, and in Queen, reveals how ruthless drug barons can be. “She had contacts with key personnel in government and mixed with the high and mighty,” she writes. “… after giving me a long lecture on how secretive I had to be, she went on to tell me how she dealt with people who tried to be clever. “I kill them,” she said coldly.”
From her narrative, it would appear that Queen was extremely powerful and influential. But then, the bigger they are the harder they fall. The long arm of the arm soon caught up with Queen, and she later joined Akinyi at Langata.
And since her case involved trafficking drugs to the US, she had to be flown there. Akinyi was airlifted to the US, where she spent two months testifying against Queen, who was later handed a 24-year sentence.
Akinyi landed at Langata before the Moody Awori prison reforms, and her narration shows how much the reforms improved the place. Sadistic beatings by the prison officers were the order of the day.
The author says that at times prisoners were beaten till they passed out. She argues that the Kenyan Prison system, before the reforms had been inherited from the colonialists and that no efforts were put in place to improve them.
“I keep thinking how the colonialists left us to oppress each other with their old dehumanising rules, while they went back to develop their own countries, practicing none of the things they left behind with us,” she observes in the book.
Wanini Kireri, who during her time as the officer in charge of Langata, receives special mention in the book for the role she played in bringing about reforms at the institution. “In three months (after Wanini’s arrival), there were reforms all over the prison. Where there had been gloom and screams there was now laughter. The new officer in charge radiated sanity, and charity, and there was light at the end of the tunnel at last,” she writes.
Having shared prison walls with inmates who were also drug addicts, Akinyi witnessed first hand the deadly effects of the drugs, which she had wanted to traffic.
She explains that it is that feeling of remorse that led her to testify against Queen, although one cannot rule out the possibility that she did it to get back at her tormentor.
The book also has useful tips on how one can identify signs in a person who is abusing drugs. It also contains a section that describes the common drugs and the effects they have on those that abuse them.
Akinyi should be commended for gathering the courage to tell her story, if only to educate others, and steer them away from the destructive ways of drugs. The book, however well written has quite a number of unanswered questions.
Her explanation of how she ended up in the world of drugs is not entirely convincing. One gets the nagging feeling that she held back some information.
She is also not convincing about the disappearance of her money in the hands of Queen. Why didn’t she report the matter to the police if she hadn’t engaged in any wrong-doing before then?
Since she decide to reveal all, it would have been nice to know they related with her husband after her arrest.
The shortcomings notwithstanding, Deadly Money Maker is a useful addition to literature that touches on prison life and the drugs underworld

Categories
Personalities

Otieno Amisi: Death of a Kenyan Poet

His was such a powerful voice, especially coming from a person of such small stature. Even as he was ailing, Amisi’s voice did not betray this when together with Prof Chris Wanjala and author Onduko Bw’ Atebe hosted Literary Giants on KBC Radio every Sunday afternoon. His unmistakable voice on radio was only but a facade of the daunting odds that must have weighed heavily on him in his last days.
Otieno Amisi, given to a cheerful disposition, never missed any literary event. One thing that struck a person upon meeting him for the first time was his small eyes, that burnt with so much life. I first met Amisi in 2002, when I was writing for the The Standard. He joined from Daily Nation as a theatre critic. Though we didn’t interact much then, from his pieces, I could tell he was a serious person.
In September 2003, a shake-up at the Standard, saw a number of journalists out in the streets without jobs. Amisi and I were among the unfortunate lot. In the course of our freelancing we would bump into each other in several functions. It is around that time that I heard that he had become a dad to quadruplets! I imagined it must have been tough surviving as a freelancer, in Nairobi, and having to raise four new babies.
My real interaction with Amisi came about in 2006 when he opened his blog – he is actually the one who ushered me into the world of blogging. “Dear friend,
I finally have a new blog, where we can share ideas on editing and writing. Just go to otienoamisi.wordpress.com Otieno Amisi,” was the message he sent me on October 25, 2006. And that is when I came to know the other side of Amisi. His fearless wit and intellect came out in his postings. His pen spared no one. When James Murua – www.nairobiliving.com – launched his website on social life in Nairobi, Amisi gave it a stinging review, in his blog, dismissing it not being ‘artistic’. This drew sharp reactions from people who thought Jaymo was doing a great job, including yours trully.
With our pens, Amisi and I had crossed s(words), and this brought about a healthy mutual respect. In the course of his blogging Amisi never shied away from getting into a fight, with whoever, as long as he believed he was right. He had opened my eyes to the exciting world of blogging. He would put enything he wrote in his blogs, and while most of it presented readers with interesting readings, others made for labourious reads.
Soon he opened another blog on poetry, and he did justice to it seeing as he was the secretary of Kenya Poets Association. Courtesy of www.writethatstory.com Amisi made a first when he launched a poetry e-book Back to the Future during the 2007 Nairobi International Book Fair, which was celebrating its tenth anniversary.
Then it was qiute clear that he was really ailing. After a lengthy hospitalisation at Kenyatta National Hospital – he included his hospital experiences in his blog – he lost use of his right hand and it was permanently in a sling. If anything, his ill-health served to drive him even harder. I remember seeing him hand-in-sling make his way through treacherous and slippery rocky gorges, during a trip organised for writers, by Kwani? Trust, to Hell’s Gate in Naivasha, in early 2007. Amisi also rarely missed the monthly poetry Open Mic organised by Kwani? at Club Soundd in Nairobi. And he almost always had a new poem to recite.
When Tony Mochama aka Smitta Smitten launched his poetry book – What if I am a Literary Gangster – in November 2007, there was no way Amisi would have missed out in the action. I reviewed the book in my blog and it generated quite a debate. To date, it is the most popular post on my blog.
On December 10 2007, Amisi called on me and gave me his review of Mochama’s book, and insisted that I publish it in my blog. I saw it an honour that Amisi would consider blog worthy of his review. Whenever we met he used to tell me a lot of nice things about my blog, which was naturally flattering. Amisi’s review, which I titled Gangster Poetry: Otieno Amisi’s Verdict was to be my last post for 2007, and that was the last day I saw him alive.
In the meantime, the political scene was getting heated up with politicians, making a nuisance of themselves, campaigning for the 2007 General Election. The violence that greeted the presidential poll results left many, including bloggers, shell-shocked. Come the bloody new year, the country is in ruins, and people are preoccupied with their safety. That is when I heard that Amisi had passed away. It also emerged that he did not even vote, which is as well, as he did not partcipate in the process that has almost reduced our dear country into a hell hole.
With Amisi’s death, Kenya’s writing fraternity has lost a committed journalist and a dedicated poet.
RIP Amisi, you lived the full life.

Categories
Issues

Letter to a friend

This is my first post this year. What happened after the General Election left me thoroughly disillusioned. How could we descend to such barbarity. Is politics really that important that I have to kill my neighbour? Are our political leader’s worth dying for? Do we have to hate so much? I tried asking myself these and more questions, and everytime I drew a blank.
Today, my e-mail inbox popped and a childhood friend (who by accident of birth is a Luo) wrote telling me how this fighting is ovyo (full of rubbish). He reminded me that in Nakuru (Rongai), where we were born, we co-existed with so many tribes that some of us are multi-lingual. My friend is called Chege, but his real name is Ouma. He got his name after that famous footballer Ouma Chege. The subject of his message was Amani (Peace).
As I write this my family back at home lives in constant fear of being attacked.
I thought I might share my reply to him, with you. In a way, it captures what has been going through my mind:
“We need peace my brother. This tribal hate thing does not help one single minute. You and I were brought in a society where you only spoke your mother tongue in the house. Out there Kiswahili was the lingua franca. Even today I consider Kiswahili to be my first language, because I think in Kiswahili. I never knew tribe, I only saw friends. Many were the days I came to your place, and even though I did not understand much of Luo, I felt quite comfortable and safe. I really looked forward to having a meal at your place. You on the other hand knew so much Kikuyu, that you could tell when one was being rude to an elder. All that didn’t matter. What mattered was that we were friends.
“Remember the days we used to sit outside Kaguchia’s bathroom, watching the sun set on Kandutura Hills (sadly that is where they started burning houses in Rongai), telling stories and laughing at our silly mchongoano (kutoana magear). Remember how I would go to our house and find you gone, and had to find you at your place.
When we were growing up, it did not matter what tribe one came from, what mattered was who would beat the other in our games, or who would play football better. With our dogs, we went hunting together, swam together, stole fruits at Nyamu’s together, and chased girls together. We engaged in mischief together, and our parents, it did not matter whose child it was, punished us together.
Why can’t Kenya go back to those old days? It is said that people wise up as they grow older, does it mean that as Kenyans we’ve grown foolish as as the years go?”
Peace my dear readers

Categories
Reviews

Gangster poetry: Otieno Amisi’s verdict

Tony Mochama’s book What If I am a Literary Gangster has kicked up such a literary storm it appears that people cannot stop talking about it. Journalist Otieno Amisi insisted that Maisha Yetu must publish his review on the book. And who are we to say no to a good literary argument. Here you go:

Gangsters invade literary scene

Writing is suddenly becoming an attractive pastime in Kenya. Politicians, religious leaders and journalists are writing poems and biographies. A few are even venturing into the craft of poetry. With dire costs.

Last year, there was Kiraitu Murungi’s Song of My Beloved (Oakland Books, 2007). Then Raila Odinga followed with An Enigma in Kenyan Politics. And Kalembe Ndile has recently come with My Squatters, My Struggles, My Dream. Now journalist Tony Mochama has joined the fray.

But Mochama is a different sort of literary gangster. A journalist with something of a reputation for experimentation, Mochama is synonymous with what has become known as teen journalism, a medium obsessed with a footloose urban lingo called sheng and local heroes or ‘celebs’ as these one line, on line musicians are called. Last month, he launched his collection of poems under the title, What if I am a Literary Gangster? at the Goethe Institute, Nairobi.

The effect of Mochama’s book has been to divide critics down in the middle. There are those who think this kind of new, underground writing should be encouraged, especially considering that publishing even a line of poetry is so difficult in our part of the world.

Then there are those who argue that the book is not serious enough that its lighthearted broaching on what should be serious international issues like global trade imbalances and freedom is intolerable.

Sympathetic reviewers like Joseph Ngunjiri have been at pains to defend Mochama. Ngunjiri identifies what he calls “the soft side of the gangster. “ But old school critics like Egara Kabaji argue that his verses are “decidedly defiant,’ and are “neither poetic nor artistic.”

These are not the conventional neatly trimmed lines, as in rich in meaning and social concern as Okot p’Bitek or Jared Angira. Because Mochama the journalist is always on the run, his scribblings and musings are no more than snippets from his fleeting encounters with the world, with a world on the run.

According to the sympathizers, Mochama’s brand of poetry is ‘from another planet.’
Lumping his apparent ‘success’ in journalism of the gossip and rumour type, they see Mochama as a rising star in Kenya’s literary scene. But pulse journalism and poetry are worlds apart.

Ngunjiri argues that Mochama’s poems are ‘refreshingly real, and could only come from someone who has been through so much.’ He goes ahead to identify what he calls the ‘softer side’ of the poet, which he claims comes out especially in a piece titled, ‘Whispers’ and which is dedicated to the late word juggler Wahome Mutahi. The poem goes:

Laughter and your stories, lingers,
Like a silver cobweb clings
On a broken wall
lit by silver moonlight

But the ‘gangster’ leaves the reader breathless not for its lack of style or bland creativity, but for the sheer absence of beautiful language. The persona rushes, in one breath, between airports and seaports and rhythms and rhymes that are at once alarmist and drunken, then rushes back again to a gasp of short lived reality.

According to the author, the title was provoked by one Egara Kabaji, a former don at Kenyatta University lecturer at Masinde Muliro University who once dismissed Mochama as a “Literary Gangster, whose godfather is Binyavanga Wainaina.” In revenge, Mochama deliberately misspells the don’s name, calling him “Egaji Kabira, a lecturer at some minor college in Western Kenya.”

Kabaji, like many grammar school graduates, has few kind words for Mochama’s writing, which is mere wordplay. Mochama simply splatters words on a page, without a major theme or driving force. He is more of a roving juggler with words than a serious poet. But perhaps he had no intentions to be a serious poet—and like his newspaper celebs, just wants to ride big on fame, with a miniature substance.
His scribblings are about nothing in particular and about everything all at once; snippets of his love life, his nightlife, his love for vodka and his travels to far away cities. His attempt to rhyme at all costs sometimes ends up like an echo of those ‘hip hop’ musicians who strangle meaning in their strings of rhyme, or poor imitations of Wole Soyinka. Who said poetry must rhyme?
Mochama’s poems are also full of strange references to Siberia, Russia, St. Petersburg, Stalin and other travel experiences. But who said poetry must be about distant journeys and privileged encounters?
Yet his skill with words sometimes emerges strongly. Sample this:
When I run out of poetic tricks
I shall commit syntax
Ferry my body in a verse
And bury me, in the symmetry
Mochama the wordsmith has a pulse that comes with a wicked, sometimes explosive, sometimes mischievous sense of humour, and, — let’s give it to him — a whiff of fresh air into the drab poetic scene.
Here’s another clip from Black Mischief a word play on Sissina, the victim of Naivasha farmer Chomondley’s gun wielding racism:

Sisina’s sin, it seems
Is that he had no idea
Where Naivasha ends,
And England begins.

Right from the cover, which shows a shattered glass window, complete with holes on the words of the title itself, what is contained between the covers of the book is quite unlike your ordinary, conventional book of poetry. It is unthinkable that such a book should find its way into the classroom; the good old chaps at the Kenya Institute of Education are unlikely to take a second look at it; but not everything must be written for the Orange book.

In ‘Trading Places’, the poet takes a mischievous shot at the social, political and economic differences between Africa and the West. He addresses the double standards employed by the West when dealing with Africa, and in typical poetic license, puts Africa at the top of the world.

When he is not tackling universal themes like freedom and love he takes a philosophical musing on life and death. But his tone is typically, even annoyingly, happy-go-lucky, full of mischief and appears fired off from a cannon loaded with irony.

Like Kabaji, Otieno Otieno, a journalist with the Nation Media group, is furious. He writes, “It is not so often that literary clowns like Mochama enjoy such unflattering reviews. But the intellectual freedom of the blogosphere propels this rebel from obscurity into a somewhat comfortable abode in the mainstream.

Another reviewer, Munene wa Mumbi, calls it ‘exhibitionist verse, which fits under the category of travelogue’ and relegates this writing to a Russian Tourism Board Newsletter, ‘if it is there.’ Mochama is merely fascinated with gangsterism. He is awestruck by overseas travel,’ Munene barks. “Clipping the lines of a short story does not render it a poem.”

By and large, the book remains a one man show, lacking the editorial edge that could have come with a bigger, local and more careful publisher.
Amisi rans a blog called Creative Ventures

Categories
Events

KPA’s end of year party

Friday December 7 was a very special day for me and this blog. This is the day that Pulse, the increasingly popular youth/entertaining magazine that comes out every Friday in the Standard, reproduced a review I had ran on Tony Mochama’s poetry book What If I am a Literary Gangster. The piece was treated as Special Edition in the Scene at column.
This was also the day that Kenya Publishers Association (KPA), through Lillian Inziani, invited me to their end of year luncheon held at the posh Nairobi Club. I checked in some minutes past one sufficiently hungry for the spread the ever resourceful Lillian had in store for us.
The first person I saw at the venue was OUP’s PR chief Esther Kantai, in the company of their marketing director John Kiarie and Kiswahili editor Hassan Said, who was appropriately dressed in a Kanzu, being a Friday.
The place was still in the process of being laid out but KPA chair Mrs Nancy Karimi, looking regal, (JKF MD) was already there, so was Eve Obara of KLB, a KPA council member. This was going to be an open-air function, as opposed to the closed-door affairs of previous years. Lillian, the KPA executive officer could be seen running around, obviously making sure that everything was in order.
I took a seat at the far left corner, directly facing the buffet table, where else! Soon, and in quick succession, I was joined by Treza Kinoru, EAEP’s PR girl, Brenda Anjuri, OUP’s production manager and Mary Mbuthia Macmillan’s Marketing manager. Clearly, I was not doing badly, what with all those beauties surrounding me. There was also Henry Munene, an editor at EAEP. Munene in Kikuyu means big, and clearly he is not exactly small! Gabriel Maina, the cool Savanis’ Marketing manager completed the picture.
Much later we were joined by Musyoki Muli, the Sasa Sema boss at Longhorn. Muli also turned out to be the event’s emcee, and he really did a good job of it. Next table sat Kiarie Kamau (KK) the quiet but highly effective editorial manager at EAEP, looking sharp like a pin. (he introduced himself only as editor. Kwanini unacheza na madaraka KK?) Louisa Kadzo, an editor at EAEP and the indefatigable one-man publishing machine Malkiat Sighn himself.
Behind me sat two other very tough publishing gurus, Simon Sossion of Longhorn and Muthui Kiboi of Focus. I gather they were in KU together. They must have been reliving some nostalgic college days.
Lawrence Njagi, the MD of Mountain Top later stepped in majestically in the company of his lovely wife and planted themselves at the high table. June Wanjiru, the marketing manager at Kwani? Completed the picture at the high table, which also had Jimna Mbaru, the NSE boss, who was the chief guest.
On the other side I could see beautiful Beatrice Nugi of Longhorn, as well as Peter Nyoro of Longman. Murori Kiunga of Queenex Holdings was also in the house. The trio of Paul Karaimu, Anne Mutua and Catherine Muraguri, had ably represented WordAlive Publishers, I wonder where their boss David Waweru was.
Once everyone was settled Mrs Karimi gave her speech, which highlighted the achievements KPA had chalked up in the year, which included the holding of a successful tenth Nairobi International Book Fair, and challenged publishers to aim for bigger things in the coming year.
It was now the time for Jimnah Mbaru to give his keynote address, which went on well, save from the little hitch of his Powerpoint presentation which most of us could not see because of too much light. He explained to those gathered what the NSE is all about and the various ways people can make money there.
Touching on the sensitive issue of Kenya’s sorry reading culture, Mbaru explained this could be due to the unfortunate culture among Kenyans who claim to have “finished” school after attaining a certain level of education, thereby putting an end to reading. Giving his own example, where he enrolled for a Law degree at the University of Nairobi, when he was in his fifties, he stressed that reading is a life-long commitment.
He challenged publishers to get out of the cocoon of text book publishing and embrace general publishing. He gave the example of the West where publishers encourage well known public figures to write books, as they are guaranteed sales.
Was it an oversight that he forgot to mention that he has a book out published by EAEP? Well…
Finally Mbaru asked publishers to have themselves listed in the NSE, as they would raise their profiles that way. A publisher’s IPO anyone?
Too bad Mbaru had to leave before he could partake of what Lillian had on the buffet table for us. A busy man, he had to rush to another function – Things that billionaires do that we don’t. Hmm I guess I will be skipping lunches more often in order to emulate Mbaru… just kidding.
Anyway, the best part of the day was soon here with us and Muli invited members of the high table to sample that buffet delights before everyone. Apparently, Muli who kept using sayings and proverbs in his presentation, has never heard of this one: Charity begins at home! He should have started with our table, where he was also seated! He he
Anyway I digress. After putting away a plate full – I stress the word full – it was time for introductions, and I realised that people in the publishing industry do not know each other! Which is a shame really. Lillian should work at bringing the publishing fraternity together more often, possibly in the evenings, where people can mingle over a drink. It is only natural. As the function came to a close Kakai Karani, the MD of Longman cornered me and accused me of being biased against his company! He only let me go after extracting a promise from me that I would write a comprehensive review of their book Poems Aplently. In my other life I work as newspaper book reviewer. Now you understand why I was invited to a publishers’ bash.
As we were leaving, Njagi and his wife were kind enough to give me a ride in their cream Mercedes. But do I say?
UPDATE: I am reliably informed that KPA’s website was supposed to be launched during the lancheon. We never got to hear a word of it. Lillian what happened?

Categories
News

Maisha Yetu gets recognition

Barely two months after Maisha Yetu came into being we seem to have caused quite a stir in the literary scene. We first received a favourable mention on Kenyanpoet, a blog that deal in literary issues with specific focus on poetry. in the piece, Kenyanpoet, who appears to be well versed in matters IT (I am still learning the ropes) gives an overview of blogs in the country and how they have evolved over time. The illuminating story also tells of the edge blogs have over other journalistic medium. Kenyanpoet had some really flattering words about Maisha Yetu:
Amidst all these, one journalist has realized the future of media- the internet. He runs a literary blog, www.kenyanbooks.wordpress.com which focuses on Kenyan books, Kenyan writers as well as what is happening in the local literary scene. The Blog, which was not setup too long ago, has become a platform where thespians as well as readers of African literature can engage in discussion forums.
The blog allows visitors to post their comments without any admin moderation which gives a feeling of one being in room where thoughts and feedback given are in real time.
You can read the full story here.That is not all. The immensly popular youth/entertainment magazine Pulse, which appears every Friday in the Standard, on their December 7 edition (Their fourth anniversary edition), reproduced a story that appeared in Maisha Yetu; Literary Gangster: Smitta’s Poetry book. In the story, I had reviewed the book What If I am a Literary Gangster by Tony Mochama. Mochama also answers to the name Smitta Smitten, a star columnist in Pulse. Smitta thought that the review was quite good and that it deserved to be reproduced in his culumn Scene at under Special Edition tag. That way Maisha Yetu made history as the only guest columnist (we appeared under the pen name Joe Mondie) to have ever graced the paged in the four years that Pulse has been in existence! It is not for nothing that the story was carried in the Standard, Kenyan’s second largest circulating newspaper.The story has has generated a lot of debate in the comments section as you will see. These are some of the things that tell us that we are doing the right things and that we are headed in the right direction.

Categories
Issues

Ngugi’s book still relevant 42 years on

EAP's school edition of The River Between

More than 20 years after Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s book The River Between was unceremoniously bundled out of the Kenyan school system, it is now set to make a major comeback after the Ministry of Education approved it as a compulsory set book in literature studies in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
Many will be the questions asked as to whether Ngugi’s early works – The River Between included – are still relevant in today’s dispensation. A careful analysis of the book and the issues and themes it addresses reveals that they are still as relevant as they were those many years back.
Just like Chinua Achebe, Ngugi’s early writings dwelt at length with the clash of the white man’s culture with that of the Africans. Also addressed in those writings is the issue of oppression.
As far as oppression is concerned the author concerns himself with the methods the oppressor employs to achieve his ends and how the oppressed coped, and the means they employed to counter the oppression.
Colonialism, as was practised then might have come to an end, but the world we live in still remains an unjust place. The West, courtesy of their superior weaponry and improved economic status are still very much oppressing the poor nations particularly in Africa.
Closer home, oppression among ourselves – African against African – is even more pronounced than that of the West against Africans.
Kenya, as a country might have rid itself of colonialism more than 40 years ago, but the issues people used to moan about in the colonial days – poverty, landlessness, oppression, unequal distribution of resources, lack of education – are still burning issues today.
Thus it can be argued that when the white oppressors exited the scene they were replaced with more vicious black oppressors. Pupils studying the book would draw important lessons from how Africans today have coped with the Western Culture in relation to their own African cultures.
A casual look at the youth of today – who will be studying the book – reveals that many of them have completely abandoned their African roots and are busy trying to ape the Western culture, sometimes blindly. Evidence of this is in the way they dress, talk and how they relate with each other.
Thus the book will offer them an opportunity to examine themselves.
While The River Between, when it was written, mainly dwelt with the contact point of the two opposing cultures, the youth of today are the perfect examples of the after- effects of that culture clash. Today, most of them cannot construct a coherent sentence in their mother tongues.
It would be interesting for those studying the book to examine the rapidly emerging Sheng’ culture, which is today a much preferred means of expression by the youth. Simply put the Sheng’ generation in Kenya is a hybrid of Western and Kenyan/Swahili culture.
Looking at today’s youth some comparisons can be drawn between them and Waiyaki a leading character in The River Between, locally published by EAEP. Drawing from Mugo wa Kibiru’s prophecy, Waiyaki’s father, Chege, implored the young man to go the white man’s school and learn their ways. Chege knew the white man could only be countered by learning his ways.
Just as culture is dynamic, and is bound to change, Waiyaki is well aware that there are some aspects of the white man’s culture that are not as bad as they were made to appear, and therefore could be assimilated into the African culture. Thus Waiyaki is entrusted with the unenviable task of trying to harmonise the two cultures, unite the two opposing camps and come up with a model that would be acceptable to both, a task he utterly fails to accomplish.
Waiyaki might have failed in his gigantic task in the book, but evidence of the Sheng’ generation is enough testimony that Waiyaki’s efforts might not have been in vain after all. In his quest, Waiyaki was vilified by both sides. The same can be said of the Sheng’ generation. Aren’t they also being vilified by both sides of the divide, especially when it comes to matters of language?
Today Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a hot issue within government, religious and NGO circles. Sustained battles are being waged in communities that still cling to the ancient culture, with varying results.
The tragic character of Muthoni, in the book, and the tribulations she underwent as still are relevant today as they were when Ngugi wrote the novel. Muthoni, in spite of her parents having been converted to Christianity, had a burning ambition to undergo the rite, so as “to become a woman.”
She underwent the ritual, eventually dying as a result of the attendant complications. There still many Muthonis today as they were then. The issue of symbolism, as employed by Ngugi in the book, is one pupils studying the book will especially need to take into consideration. Such symbolism is brought into sharp focus with Muthoni’s death.
What did her death symbolise? The death of African traditions and customs? That is a debatable point.
Religion is another issue Ngugi never tires tackling in his works. In The River Between, he examines African traditional religions alongside Christianity, which was introduced by the white man. Today, roles appear to have changed. Christianity is on the rise in Africa, while diminishing in the West. Still in spite of their new-found faith, Africans will still revert to their traditional beliefs, whenever it suits them. I think The River Between is a valuable text for our children to study in schools. What is more, they will be interacting with ideas from one of their own.
You can order the book here

Categories
News

Meja Mwangi’s book honoured

Meja Mwangi’s book The Last Plague, published by Kenya’s East African Educational Publishers (EAEP) has been included in the current issue of African Writing (AW), a bi-monthly online journal, under the Books Worth Reading column. This is a column that makes a case for potential African classics. This is a major honour for the book that addresses the issue of HIV/Aids.
The honour is not misplaced though. The book, which was published in 2000, won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature, Kenya’s biggest and most prestigious literary prize, in 2001. AW pays glowing tribute to Mwangi’s book by comparing it with Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s latest masterpiece Wizard of the Crow.

In his 449-page novel, THE LAST PLAGUE, Kenyan writer, Meja Mwangi, achieved two things: he wrote a restrained AIDS novel that was true to the apocalyptic character of the pandemic, and he wrote a classic of delirious humour. It is this combination of tragedy (that never quite loses its grasp on hope), deft satire, and unexpected humour that bushwhacks the reader at the most sombre moments, that makes this book compelling rereading, even seven years after its first publication.

Read the complete review on AW here
Meja Mwangi’s other book Kill me Quick, also by EAEP won the inaugural edition of Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 1974. During this year’s edition of Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature, his book The Boy Gift, also by EAEP, took third position in the youth category. The second position was taken by Ken Walibora with his book Innocence Long Lost, Published by Sasa Sema. The Overall winner was Kingwa Kamencu’s book To Grasp at a Star (EAEP)

Categories
Reviews

Literary Gangster: Smitta’s poetry book

Saturday, November 10 was a big day for Tony Mochama. He was launching his book What if I am a Literary Gangster? – a collection of poetry – at the Goethe Institute in Nairobi.
With such a defiant title, you almost guessed what is contained between the covers of the book. Well, one thing you are assured of is that this is not going to be your ordinary goody goody conventional poetry. You also know that such a book will not find its way to a classroom, as a school text – the guys at the Kenya Institute of Education (KIE) would have recurring nightmares would such a thing happen (but I am sure they would love to read it in private.)
Having said that, let us now examine the logic behind the title. Apparently, the title was inspired by Dr Egara Kabaji, who teaches at the Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, in Western Kenya. Writing in the Literary Discourse section, in the Sunday Standard, Dr Kabaji dismissed Tony Mochama as a “Literary Gangster, whose godfather is Binyavanga Wainaina.”
smitta.jpg
To some extent I agree with Dr Kabaji, but without the Binyavanga rider. To me Mochama is a literary gangster of a different type. The product of his “crime” is one that really appeals to my literary buds. And for sure he shoots from the hip.
Sample this:
When I run out of poetic tricks
I shall commit syntax
Ferry my body in a verse
And bury me, in the symmetry
Witness how he effortlessly plays around with the words syntax/sin, verse/hearse and symmetry/cemetery. That verse is picked from the poem titled The Poetry Police.
Now, Tony Mochama is not your everyday writer. To me, he is the very exemplification of the title wordsmith. At the Standard, where he writes, Mochama has about four columns, the most celebrated being Scene at, in the Pulse Magazine, which comes out every Friday.
As a journalist, I will tell you that maintaining just one column is hard enough. Writing four columns week in week out is a different thing altogether. And he still spares time to write poetry, and drink some Vodka, lots of Vodka!
Speaking of Pulse, I think I will not be contradicted when I say Mochama, who writes under the name Smitta Smitten, is the very pulse of that magazine. It is not very difficult to see his wicked and wacky sense of humour, in most sections of the magazine, even without seeing his byline.
I came to know Mochama in the late nineties. Then he had a terrible afro hairstyle and still he was a poet. His fans called him The Mad Poet – what else did you expect?
Later he would be a contributor in the earlier edition of Expression Today (ET), published by the Media Institute. He later wrote the arts for Daily Nation, but it was not until his former boss at ET David Makali dragged him to Standard, that his star really shone. At the Standard, Pulse to be precise, he was given the freedom, nay latitude, to bring his latent talent to the fore, and it has shone ever since.
Pulse in itself has been a revelation in Kenyan journalism. It dispensed with the status quo kind of journalism long practiced in the country and brought out an explosive mix of bold and exciting entertainment reporting that really appeals to the targetted audience, the youth.
Simply put, it has been a breath of fresh air.
And did I mention that Mochama was once denied entry into Russia? Perhaps the first African to enjoy that rare “honour”. What crime did you commit against the Russians Smitta?
Back to gangster poetry. Well, a lot has been said about poetry being difficult, elitist and that kind of stuff, but Mochama in his book brings it down to the level that it can be enjoyed by every person.
The topics are as varying as the world is big. In the poem titled Trading Places, the poet takes a mischievous shot at the social, political and economic differences between Africa and the West. It also addresses the double standards employed by the West when dealing with Africa.
But coming from Mochama, it has to be different. In his poem, the tables have been turned. Africa rules the world and the West comes begging for aid.
And Libya invaded America to
topple George Bush
“the tyrant,” and “restore
democracy and freedom to the long-suffering people of
United States of America!”
From war to freedom and love, to the philosophical musings of life and death, Tony Mochama addresses these topics with the same happy-go-lucky manner that is the hallmark of his writing. His poetry is full of mischief and is in many instances fired off from a cannon loaded with irony.
That the gangster is also capable of being soft, reveals another side of his pen not many are aware of, partculary in the piece, Whispers.
Laughter and your stories, lingers,
Like a silver cobweb clings
On a broken wall lit by silver moonlight
The poem is dedicated to the late Wahome Mutahi, another wordsmith, of the humour variety.
I was especially intrigued by his pieces on love and heartbreak. They are refreshingly real and could only come from someone who has been through such emotions and trust the Smitta to have gone through all those.
However, careful editing of the book would have taken care of some annoying typos occasionally appearing in the book. Maybe that has to do with the fact that it was published in Russia.
Well, a literary gangster? The “celebs” who are always on the receiving end of his pen every Friday would rather use the word terrorist.
The book is Published Brown Bear Insignia
What if I am a Literary Gangster is distributed by Suba Books and Periodicals based at Hazina Towers