Category: Releases

Categories
Events Issues News Personalities Releases

Miguna’s book: Nothing new so let the readers decide

Miguna Miguna

This is what I wrote on June 6, 2012. I trust is makes sense…

When Raila Odinga advisor turned-bitter foe, Miguna Miguna announced that he would write a book, which among other things, would reveal the Prime Minister’s ‘dark secrets’, it generated a lot of debate among Kenyans.

Expectedly, and like anything mildly controversial about the prime minister, the reaction to the announcement was split down the middle. On the one side, there are the PM’s supporters who strongly feel that the book should not be published at all, as it would complicate his chances, seeing as we are headed to a crucial election, where he is contesting the presidency.

Then there is the other group made up mostly of the PM’s detractors – read enemies, as this is Kenyan politics – who are rubbing their hands almost in malicious glee, hoping that contents of the book will be ‘damaging’ enough to derail his quest for presidency.

Miguna Miguna

From the reaction alone, it is quite clear that Peeling Back the Mask – shouldn’t it be Peeling the Mask? – is one highly anticipated book, by Kenyans here and in the diaspora. Even foreigners will be itching to catch a glimpse of the book; such is the nature of international profile the prime minister has cultivated for himself.

I am sure even the people who are opposed to the idea of the book will be among the first people wanting to lay their hands on the book, if only to seek to counter the ‘bad things’ that have been written about their hero.

It is therefore quite clear, from the foregoing, that aside from the politics and personal differences between the PM and Miguna Miguna, what makes the book such an ‘attractive’ prospect is the seemingly larger-than-life status of Raila Odinga.

Though he might be loath to admit it, Miguna knows that even with Kenya’s notoriously poor ‘reading culture’, his book might get a ‘good’ reception just because it is on Raila Odinga. And he might get good returns out of it all.

Whether by design or by default, the prime minister is the most talked about politician in the country today -never mind that most of it might not be positive.

To be sure, the PM, is President Mwai Kibaki’s biggest nightmare; you only need to look back at troubled 2007 presidential election, and the enforced coalition to know this.

Retired president Moi does not exactly have warm thoughts about the PM, seeing as he joined his party Kanu, only to ‘wreck’ it from within. Yes, it is largely Odinga’s efforts that put paid Moi’s desires to have Uhuru Kenyatta succeed him as president in 2002.

And were it not for stakes involved in the forthcoming presidential elections the PM would be enjoying himself seeing all the ‘serious’ presidential candidates ganging up to deny him the much coveted seat. All this points to his potency and influence.

With such a background, now you see why the book is likely to be a ‘hit’.

Politics, controversies and intrigues aside, Miguna’s book begs to be looked at from a purely artistic point of view. Since its selling point is Raila Odinga we can safely say that it falls under the genre of an unauthorised biography. And whenever you talk about unauthorised biographies, Jerome Corsi’s The Obama Nation easily comes to mind.

Among other things, The Obama Nation was intended at derailing Barack Obama’s first attempt at the US presidency, like he did with his earlier book Unfit for Command, which is said to have contributed to the failure of John Kerry’s attempt to challenge George Bush in his last term as US president.

Yes, The Obama Nation, is the book Corsi attempted to sensationally launch in Nairobi, when the Kenya government unceremoniously sent him packing.

So to answer you, what Miguna is attempting is perfectly in order.

Still, on Obama, today, the American president is the subject of a lot of unauthorised biographies in the US, and they enjoy prominence of space alongside Obama’s autobiographical works, Dreams of My Father and The Audacity of Hope.

Closer Home, and in South Africa, David James Smith, in 2010, released a controversial book titled, Young Mandela: The Revolutionary Years, which was basically an unauthorised biography of South Africa’s first post-apartheid president. The book, among other things, detailed alleged sexual immorality and infidelity by Mandela. It also alleges that the South African icon had a child with his one-time secretary, and who is reported to have contributed to the breakdown of Mandela’s first marriage.

Tiger Woods, who underwent a rough patch after allegations of infidelity cost him his marriage, also became a ripe target of unauthorised biographies. His former coach Hank Haney, early this year released a ‘brutally candid’ account of Wood’s indiscretions in a book  titled The Big Miss. In his defense an unapologetic Haney said: “Tiger Woods didn’t have an exclusive on memories, so I wanted to share them. It’s an insight into Tiger that most people wouldn’t be able to enjoy.

“When you’re around greatness, like I was for six years, you’re asked about it and you want to talk about it. That’s what I have done.” No doubt, those are sentiments Miguna shares in private.

We also have Kenyan examples of unauthorised biographies on famous personalities. Journalist Ng’ang’a Mbugua wrote Mwai Kibaki: Economist for Kenya for Longhorn’s Junior Biographies. He followed it later with Catherine Ndereba: The Marathon Queen.

Early last year former Bahari MP, and who was Vice-president Kalonzo Musyoka’s confidant caused a ripple when he published Politics of Betrayal a book that painted the vice president as a selfish, scheming politician, who will not hesitate to undermine a friend when he stands to gain something.

And with the impending launch of Miguna’s book, the former advisor to the PM takes the cake in terms of controversy, not forgetting its sheer nuisance value.

Maybe its time Mbugua thought of upgrading his book on Kibaki…

UPDATE:

Interestingly, When John Githongo’s book, Its Our Time to Eat, written by Michela Wrong, came out, the man instantly became a hero to some and a traitor to others. Now that Miguna Miguna’s book Peeling back the Mask is soon to be launched, the people who considered Githongo a traitor now think Miguna is a hero. On the other hand the people who said Githongo was a hero now feel Miguna is a traitor. Still, each of these groups will point an accusing finger at the other calling them tribalists and anti-reformers…

Categories
Issues News Releases Reviews

Mbugua’s new book a fitting tribute to Wangari Maathai

It would appear that matters to do with environmental conservation occupy a special place in Ng’ang’a Mbugua’s world. Yet, it is these conservation matters that fire his creativity. His last two books have all focused on environmental conservation as their central theme.
And while these issues might appear boring and the least likely subject of a novel, Mbugua has nevertheless breathed life into these otherwise mundane issues and crafted interesting stories around them.
Call him an NGO novelist, an environmental crusader/activist, and any other such names but the fact of the matter is that Mbugua’s books are immensely readable. This is a refreshing departure in an environment where captivating Kenyan writers are few and far between.
Mbugua’s foray into ‘environmental writing’ started with his book Susana the Brave, a primary school reader that talked about a teacher, who after being posted to a school in an arid area, went ahead and transformed the place due to her dedicated campaign to plant trees.
His second book, Terrorists of the Aberdare, addressed the delicate issue of human wildlife conflict and by extent, forest conservation.
And for his troubles Terrorists won the third edition of the Wahome Mutahi Literary Prize. The book was also short listed for the 2011 edition of Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature.


His latest book, Different Colours, and which I think is his most ambitious so far, has taken the game a notch higher. Not only has he written on his pet subject, he has fused it with the sublime world of Art.
Different Colours revolves around an imaginary waterfall in an equally imaginary Banana County, which is threatened by an unscrupulous merchant who starts to mine building stones from around the waterfall. The hero of the book is Miguel, a dreadlocked artist – don’t they all sport dreadlocks? – who, after hearing of the beauty of the waterfall decides that he must immortalise it on canvas.
It is while on one of his surveying missions that he accidentally bumps into a group of men hard at work in a secret quarry. The story unfolds after the owner of the secret quarry is alerted of Miguel’s nosiness.
Not that Dik Teita (note the play on the word dictator) hadn’t had his fears as to the ‘real’ intentions of the newly arrived ‘rastaman’. The moment he got wind of Miguel’s mission of painting the waterfall – word travels fast in Banana – he feared it was a matter of time before his secret quarry was discovered.
To prevent this, Dik Teita comes up with what he thinks is a convenient smokescreen; make Miguel paint the local cattle dip – who, in their right minds assigns such jobs?
Seeing as the cattle dip ruse didn’t work, Dik Teita resorts to intimidation and threats of violence. And who better does this dirty work than Vu Tabangi (bhang smoker) the village thug. Sadly for Dik Teita, the threats have the opposite effect on Miguel: his resolve to save the waterfall from destruction hardens. Together with Angela, a widow who also happens to be his landlady, they mobilise the local community on the importance of conserving the waterfall, which is their lifeline. They also enlist the services of Derek, Miguel’s friend, who is also a tech geek. Derek also has contacts in media.
Meanwhile, the noose tightens on Dik Teita and his goons. It also emerges that Dik Teita was behind the death of Angela’s husband.
While the waterfall conservation saga is engrossing I found the parts dealing with Miguel’s art most appealing. It is either that the author is an accomplished art connoisseur or that he had done thorough research on all that entails art, paintings and other forms of visual art.
Whatever the case, the informed discourse on art really uplifts
Mbugua’s book.
In Different Colours, art meets nature, and it is in the appreciation of the beauty of nature that Miguel’s talent and eye for detail enriches the conservation narrative.
Due to their unconventional behaviour society tends to misunderstand artists. Most of the times artists are seen as misfits. And Miguel was no exception; in one classic moment, Miguel is told that people come to the waterfall to commit suicide. “It is a good place to die,” he says more to himself, probably after being overawed by the beauty of the falls.
Throughout the book, the author teases romantics with the probable love affair blossoming between Miguel and his widowed landlady. Even at the end of the novel, he only hints at what might come between the two.
This book, in my view, is a fitting tribute to the late Nobel Laureate, Prof Wangari Maathai. Your work, Mama Miti, was not in vain.

Categories
Issues News Personalities Releases Reviews

You can learn to dream again in spite of your failure

Most of us must have, at one point or the other, gone through a particularly traumatic experience; an
experience so painful that it leaves you thoroughly disillusioned and demoralised.
In most cases some of these experiences crush one’s spirit to the extent that if the person is not strong enough, they might give up on life altogether.
Take the case of the businessman who watches his life investments wiped out in a single tragic event.
Chances are that if this person did not have a fall back plan it is quite probable that he would find it really difficult getting back to where he was.
Or the person who, for one reason or the other, finds themselves unable to repay a loan they had taken, and the lending institution attaches the little property they had, in order to recover the loan.
And what about the politician who loses his seat in parliament and can ’t win back the seat in the
subsequent by -election? Examples of bad things happening to people abound. Well, the reality of life is such that these things happen, not only to the poor or the down trodden, but to the rich and successful. The question therefore is, how does one recover from such a setback and move on with life? In his new book; You can Dream Again, Pepe Minambo argues that success in life isn’ t just a matter of being the best; “Success is about handling the worst. It is being able to deal constructively with life ’s disappointments.”
Basically, what the book says is that no matter how difficult a position one finds themselves in, it is of no use dwelling on the past, as the painful past will only leave you feeling bitter and resentful. Yet the wheels of life keep turning, whether you are down or not.
Using research and personal experience, the author outlines steps through which a person, can follow with a view to overcoming a tragic
event, and leading a normal, even successful life.
Pepe, who is also a motivational speaker, says that the state of a person ’s mind has a lot to do with whether the person overcomes a tough situation or they remain destitute. He talks of people who ‘fall in love’ with their misfortunes and thus keep talking about them in the hope that empathise with them.
Pepe says that expressions of pity from people, though deceivingly comforting, do not help much. “The solution to your problem lies in
you,” he writes. “And the faster you realise this and start doing something about it the better. Remember when your dream goes up in smoke, do not sit back and start counting your losses; rather, stand up and start counting your blessings.”
The author says that one of the fastest ways overcoming a painful setback is to first of all accept the situation. Many people, he says, react to painful scenarios by going into denial. Take the example of the person who gets blinded after drinking an illicit brew.
If such a person goes into denial mode, he or she is setting themselves up for further heartbreak. Thus the faster such a person accepts their condition and starts learning how cope with the blindness, the better it will be for him to overcome that painful episode and move on with life.
Most of all Pepe tells people undergoing a painful patch that while it might be the first time it is happening to them, the reality is such
that it has happened to other people before. Thus it is not unique to them.
Pepe gives his own experience about how at some point in life he pumped his life’s saving into a diamond and gold business, in his home country of Congo. “At the time of getting into the business, I harboured dreams of turning into an overnight millionaire,” he
narrates. “Since I did not have any experience in that kind of
business it was clear from the
beginning was headed for failure.”
Instead of recognising failure when it first manifested itself, Pepe went into denial mode, and kept pumping money into the business in the
vain hope that the business would somehow turn around. “The more money I pumped into the business, the more of it went down the drain.”
Luckily for him he had the state of mind to accept the stark reality of failure. “I accepted the unacceptable and decided to mend the
broken pieces of my dream and start all over again. ”
Today, Pepe is a much sought after motivational speaker. With four motivational books to his name, Pepe gets invitations to give talks to
corporate organisations and schools around the country and abroad .
His other books are Be Inspired Before you Expire, Inspired for Greatness and a student’s handbook The Greatness Syndrome.
The beauty about Pepe’s book is that what he writes is grounded in reality and therefore easy to follow and
implement.

Categories
Events Issues News Releases

literary prize judges announced

In case you have forgotten Kenya still has a literary prize called the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature. I might also hasten to add that the Prize is administered by the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) every two years.
Come October, at the end of the Nairobi International Book Fair a creative Kenyan will go home with a cool Sh150,000, this being the prize money for the award. I am hearing whispers to the effect that the prize money could be increased.
That being the case KPA has announced a three -judge
panel for this year ’s, yes they do have judges.
The panel is headed by Prof Henry Indangasi, who teaches in the Literature
Department of University Nairobi . The other members are Dr Tom Odhiambo also of University of Nairobi and Prof Wangari Mwai , the Director of Kenyatta University Campus in Nyeri . Mr James Odhiambo , the executive officer of KPA says this year’s award has attracted 19
Kiswahili titles and 33 English titles. “The judges panel should be able to announce the shortlisted titles by September , ” he explains .
“Winners will announced on October 1 during the 14th edition of the Nairobi International Book Fair.” And we shall tell you who the nominated authors are, come September. Er, we’re that good.

Categories
Events Issues News Releases

Burt Prize to be launched on Wednesday

The National Book Development Council of Kenya (NBDCK) will on Wednesday, January 19, launch the William Burt Prize for African Literature at the Kenya National Library Services headquarters.
The award promises to be the most prestigious in the Kenyan literary scene, with the winner taking home Sh1 million (12,000 Canadian Dollars).


The Award is being administered in Kenya by the National Book Development Council of Kenya (NBDCK) with support from the Canadian Organisation for Development through Education (CODE). It is named after William Burt, a Canadian citizen who is a long time supporter of CODE.
According Ruth Odondi, the CEO of NBDCK, the Burt Award seeks to recognize excellence in young adult fiction, with the goal of increasing the literacy skills while at the same time nurturing a reading culture.
“As NBDCK, we are particularly concerned that school going children, particularly in the rural areas, do not have access to supplementary reading materials, which, in our view, has a negative impact on the quality of education,” she adds.
It is in pursuit of those goals that the Burt Award will consider works that target young readers between the ages of 12 and 18. She says that the Award committee will work closely with publishers for purposes of submission of manuscripts, which will then be assessed by a panel of judges who will then come up with the first three winners.
The second prize is worth Sh500,000 (6,000 Canadian Dollars) while the third prize is worth Sh250,000 (3,000 Canadian Dollars).
“We are inviting writers to come and get first hand, details of the competition,” says Mrs. Odondi.

Categories
Events Issues News Releases

You can win a cool one million shillings, if you write

Ruth Odondi, the CEO of NBDKC (right) with Sean Maddox, CODE's director for development

For a long time now there have been concerns that literary prizes in
the country do little to encourage writing. This was before the Jomo
Kenyatta Prize for Literature, the most prestigious literary award in
the country, tripled its prize money to Sh150,000.
Henry ole Kulet was the first recipient of this vastly improved prize
money, when his book Blossoms of the Savannah won the 2009 edition of
the Award. While this is a welcome move, some observers however
believe it is not enough as the Award comes after two years.
On the other hand, the Wahome Mutahi Literary Prize, also biannual,
still gives out Sh50,000 as its top prize, which is not commensurate
to the effort a writer puts in writing the book. Credit should however
go to the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) who administer the two
prizes, and which happen to be the only consistent literary prizes in
Kenya.
The situation is however set to change fundamentally with the
introduction of the William Burt Prize for African Literature. If for
nothing else, the prize money involved in this award will most
probably get writers rediscovering their muse and going back to
putting pen on paper; After all, it is not everyday that a Kenyan
writer gets a cool Sh1million!

Ruth Odondi, the CEO of NBDKC (right) with Sean Maddox, CODE's director for development

The prize is being administered in Kenya by the National Book
Development Council of Kenya (NBDCK) with support from the Canadian
Organisation for Development through Education (CODE).
The Award is named after William Burt, a Canadian citizen who is a
longtime supporter of CODE. According Ruth Odondi, the CEO of NBDCK,
the award seeks to recognize excellence in young adult fiction from
Africa, with the goal of increasing the literacy skills while at the
same time nurturing a reading culture.
“CODE and its partner organizations, which include NBDCK, have long
been involved in supporting the provision of a wide variety of reading
materials in various countries in African, Asia, the Caribbean and
Latin America, as a means of developing and supporting literacy skills
and opening up of new ideas, perspectives and awareness about social,
cultural and other relevant issues,” explains Mrs. Odondi.
She adds that the Burt Awards is therefore designed to build on the
strength of CODE’s literacy initiatives by supporting and motivating
the development of supplementary reading materials for a critical
stage of learning.
“As NBDCK, we are particularly concerned that school going children,
particularly in the rural areas, do not have access to supplementary
reading materials, which, in our view, has a negative impact on the
quality of education,” she adds.
It is in pursuit of those goals that the Burt Award will consider
works that target young readers between the ages of 12 and 15. She
says that the Award committee will work closely with publishers for
purposes of submission of manuscripts, which will then be assessed by
a panel of judges who will then come up with the first three winners.
The first, second and third prizes are valued at Canadian $ (CAN)
12,000, (Ksh945,600) 6,000 (Sh472,800) and 3,000 (Sh236,400)
respectively.
The fact that publishers will be involve in the process means that the
winning entries will be assured of getting published. It gets even
better for the writers; not only will they be published, they will be
assured of getting 3,000 to 5,000 copies of their books automatically
purchased by NBDCK.
“These copies will be distributed through CODE’s partner organizations
network of schools and libraries,” she adds.
Any author worth their salt will testify that getting to move 5,000
copies of a work of fiction that is not a set book, in Kenya, is a
tall order indeed.
“This project comes bearing goodies for the whole book chain right
from the writer, the publisher, printer to the booksellers,” explains
Mrs. Odondi.
Onduko bw’Atebe whose book Verdict of Death won the inaugural edition
of the Wahome Mutahi Literary Prize, in 2006, says the Burt Award will
be play a big role in developing writing in Kenya. “You see when the
prize money is big, the writing profession will get the respect it
deserves as opposed to now when it is seen as pass time for idle
people with nothing much else to do,” he says. “This is a massive step
if you consider that I only got Sh50,000 for the award.”
In 1997, Ngumi Kibera’s collection of short stories The Grapevine
Stories won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature and for his
troubles he got a measly Sh30,000. “A million shillings is definitely
good money for a struggling writer,” he says. “The writer is
definitely the winner as apart from the prize money, they are
guaranteed of having about 5,000 copies of their book sold, which
means more money in terms of royalties.”
On her part, Mrs. Nancy Karimi the chairperson of KPA says the Burt
Prize, with its enhanced prize money will encourage authorship. “It is
not just the writers who will benefit from the package, publishers too
will gain as they will as 5,000 copies will be bought at a go,” says
Mrs. Karimi who is also the managing director of Jomo Kenyatta
Foundation.
Mr. Muriuki Njeru, the managing director of Oxford University Press
says that small publishers also stand a chance to gain from the
arrangement, “When a small publisher has the opportunity of moving
5,000 copies at a go, the rest of the copies will not be difficult to
sell,” he explains.
Mr. Muriuki sees the Kenyan writing scene moving to the next level
once the Burt Prize comes to effect. “Our writing scene has really
come of age as evidenced by the fact that more and more Kenyans are
willing to buy books outside the school setting,” he adds.
Mrs. Odondi says that details about the rules and regulation of the
award will be announced during the launch, which will take place on
January 19. “Once we launch the prize, we are going to give writers a
nine-month grace period so as to prepare the manuscripts,” she says.

Reply
Forward
Categories
Issues News Personalities Releases Reviews

Writing the story of Henry Wanyoike

Henry Wanyoike (left) and yours truly at the Lake Naivasha Country Club where we did the bulk of the interviews

This story first appeared in the premier edition (July – September 2010) of The Kenyan Runner, the one that had David Rudisha on the cover – ha, I had to say that – It has since changed names to Runners Magazine.

When he got blinded in 1993, Henry Wanyoike had no idea which direction his life would take. Not that he had much of a life anyway. He had just finished his Form Four studies, and not having performed well, he had taken up a job as a lowly village cobbler.

Well, he had an ace up his sleeve; he sure could put his legs to good use, and boy could he run? Sadly, with his sight gone there was no way he could run, right? Wrong. Wanyoike is today one of the most celebrated blind athletes in the world. Not only is he a multiple Olympic gold medalist, he has also shattered a number of world records in long distance running.

The best part of it however, is that through his efforts he has helped restore the sight of close to 20 million people worldwide, who would have otherwise been blinded by preventable cataracts.

Through the Greatest Race on Earth, sponsored by the Standard Chartered Bank worldwide, Wanyoike participates in all their charity runs and raises funds to help rehabilitate those with cataracts. Not to mention the numerous charity efforts his Henry Wanyoike Foundation does for the less fortunate in the Kenyan society.

Well, for someone with such a massive profile, it was only natural that the story of his life be told in book form. Well, it all started with a conversation with a friend of mine, who had gone to high school with Wanyoike. That was around the time he made history by winning his first Olympic gold medal at the Sydney Paralympic Games, in 2002.

Then, I was a journalist with the Sunday Standard, where I penned his first ever full-length profile. Naturally after that our friendship grew, just as his achievements on the track. When in 2007, I suggested the idea of me writing a book about his life, there was not much objection.

And being in good terms with most publishers in the country, I had no problem getting one who would publish the manuscript. Not only did the publisher agree to the proposal, the also agreed to fund a four-day retreat in an exclusive resort in the Rift Valley, where the bulk of the interviews were done.

Henry Wanyoike (left) and yours truly at the Lake Naivasha Country Club where we did the bulk of the interviews

The release of the book coincided with the 2009 edition of the Nairobi Standard Chartered Marathon, where we sold a decent number of copies, to readers who also had the good fortune of having the book signed by Wanyoike and his guide.

Plans are underway to sell rights for the book internationally as well as making it available online. Next stop: Doing a movie out of the book, and suggestions here are welcome. Royalties realised from the sale of the book go towards the Henry Wanyoike Foundation.

Categories
Events Issues News Personalities Releases

Ngugi wa Thiong’o on Kenyan writing, Kwani? and other stories

Ngugi (centre) with his wife Njeeri (Right) and PLO Lumumba (left) during the book launch at the National Museums of Kenya

When Ngugi wa Thiong’o was in the country for the launch of his latest book Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir, yours truly had a chance to talk with him, and the interview touched on a number of issues. Among other issues he urged young writers not to shy away from self-publishing their works. For a long time the self-publishing route was taken as a last resort, after publishers shut their doors on a writer.

Ngugi (centre) with his wife Njeeri (Right) and PLO Lumumba (left) during the book launch at the National Museums of Kenya

While self publishing is fraught with risks, I think it is time writers gave it a shot. Why am I saying this? Well, as far as Kenyan publishers are concerned, creative works are nothing more than engaging Corporate Social Responsibility. Let me explain: after they have made tonnes of money from publishing textbooks, their conscience pricks them and they decide to do one or two consumer books, as a way of giving back to the society.

The tragedy is that they do not give these books too much thought and therefore do not really market these books. It is therefore not unusual to find good books lying in their warehouses, and they are not being taken to bookshops. Thus don’t be surprised if you walked into a bookstore to request for a Kenyan book only to be told that it is not available. Believe you me, I have been published and I know how it feels for a person to tell you they cannot find your book in a bookstore, including the main ones in Nairobi.

Even when the books are in bookstores, publishers do not bother to make noise about them. Tell me publishers, how do you expect readers – do not give me crap about Kenyans not reading – to know about a book you have published if you do not make them aware of its existence in the market? Is it too much to buy space in the media to shout about your new book?

You see the problem is such that you have become so reliant on the school market to move your textbooks, without breaking a sweat, that you have become complacent.

I recently had a talk with a motivational author who told me that he has moved more copies of a book he self published, than one that was done by a publisher, and in a relatively shorter time. Go figure.

During the interview I asked Ngugi for his opinion on why we are not seeing new novels – not short stories – from young Kenyan writers. Being the good person that he is, Ngugi told me that he did not want to pass “negative judgment” on young Kenyan writers. He urged patience saying that writing is a long process, and that we would eventually be shocked by what these young writers, particularly Kwani? might unleash on us in the future.

I don’t know what Ngugi told the Kwani? crew about our interview, when he later met them, because later that evening at the launch of his book, at the National Museums I was cornered by Billy Kahora, the Kwani? editor, who demanded to know why I had been asking Ngugi “leading questions.” It so happened that Binyanvanga Wainaina, Kwani’s founder, with dyed hair on his head, was nearby and he joined in on the ‘grilling’ . “I just laughed,” Binya sniggered. He was referring to his reaction to whatever Ngugi had told them.

With all due respect, I would love for someone to point out a novel – again not short story – that has been written by the Kwani? franternity, or better still, take a look at this year’s Wahome Mutahi Literary Prize nominees, here and show me a book written by a Kwani? person, and I will show you who is splitting hairs.

You can read the rest of the Ngugi story here.

Categories
Issues News Personalities Releases Reviews

Get rich quick, by Alfred Mutua, really?

Ever since I heard that Kenya’s government spokesman Alfred Mutua has written a book on, wait for it, How to be rich in Africa, I knew something was amiss somewhere. With all due respect Mutua was the last person I expected to write on such a topic. He must have hustled his way to a top position in government, but he is not the ideal example of a wealthy person, leave alone claiming to advice people on how to make money.

I firmly believe what he has achieved is largely due to his influential position in government and not as a result of any any business acumen. But that is not to say that he is not a brilliant man. I will however refrain from going any deeper into the book before reading it. My interest in his book was renewed after I read its review written by Evan Mwangi in the Business Daily today. This is one of the most interesting reviews I have read in a long time. The reviewer pulled no punches.

“I bought my copy of his (Alfred Mutua’s) How to be Rich in Africa and other Secrets of Survival in Africa in a fancy bookshop in Nairobi and got disappointed immediately for spending my Sh600 on such a book,” writes Mwangi. “My instinct was to throw the book in a trash can together with my used paper towels or return it to the bookstore without claiming my money back.”

That is harsh you might say, but then wait till you hear this; “My ultimate take away lesson is: never let any shilling from your grasp. If by mistake you happen to buy a useless book, don’t be tempted to throw it away in anger. Review it for the best-paying newspaper before selling it to recoup some of your losses.” – emphasis mine.

You can read the rest of Mwangi’s review here.

Unlike Mwangi, I am not willing to risk my sh600 – I have better use for my money – I don’t have much! A colleague has promised to lend me his copy. I will go through it and post my review here. so watch this space…

Categories
Personalities Releases Reviews

Dreams in a time of war

As a little boy growing up in Limuru, writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o was, one night, woken up by his mother to meet some ‘visitors’. Young Ngugi was pleasantly surprised to find that one of the visitors was his elder brother Wallace Mwangi, also known as good Wallace.
Years back, Good Wallace had escaped to the forest, under a hail of bullets, to become a Mau Mau freedom fighter. Now Ngugi was about to sit his toughest exam yet, the Kenya African Preliminary Exams (KAPE), and his brother had risked capture, even possible execution, in the hands of colonial soldiers or their local home guard collaborators, to come and wish him success in the exams.


The risk was pronounced by the fact that Kabae, one of Ngugi’s many step-brothers, was now working for the colonial forces as an intelligence officer. A few days after Good Wallace’s visit Kabae also visited to wish Ngugi success, or had he gotten wind of Good Wallace’s visit?
Young as he was Ngugi had to learn to live with the conflicting emotions and contradiction in their large family. After all, this was in 1954, two years after a state of emergency was declared in Central Kenya, thereby marking the darkest period in colonial Kenya.
Ngugi, Kenya’s foremost literary personality, captures these experiences in Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir. In this book, Ngugi once again asserts his reputation as a sublime story-teller.
With his creative power, Ngugi transports the reader into the mind of a young boy and lets them see things through the lenses of a child. Here, a child’s innocence and naiveté forms part of the narrative.
Only rarely does the grown-up and intellectually sophisticated Ngugi show his hand, in the narrative, often laced with subtle humour. Just as this is Ngugi-the-child’s show the author, as much as possible, lets Ngugi the child do the narration.
Just as a child’s universe is impressionable and full of imagination, so is this book.
Ngugi’s formative years coincided with the rise of African nationalism, which was informed by the participation of Africans the First and Second World Wars. This is where Africans realised that the white man, just like them, was mortal after all. This, in effect triggered the struggle for equal rights by demobilised African soldiers, who felt cheated after not getting land, like their white counterparts.
Then, Ngugi, in his childish imaginations, pictured the early nationalists in larger-than-life dimensions. To him, people like Harry Thuku, and later Jomo Kenyatta, and Mbiyu Koinange, were mythical, even magical characters.
He for example imagined the Germans, who at the defeat of the Second World War, surrendered to his step-brother Kabae, who had gone to fight, on the side of Britain in far off Burma, among other exotic sounding places.
As for Kenyatta, the author’s adoration for the mythical figure was to turn sour, when the man, as Kenya’s first president, consigned Ngugi to detention without trial, in 1977.
Much has been made about how Ngugi, in this book, has shed off some of his controversial views and opinions, but when you put into consideration that at that age Ngugi had not yet formed those opinions, then critics making those observations are jumping the gun.
By the time this book comes to an end, Ngugi has just stepped into Alliance High School for his secondary education, so you do not expect a person at that stage to know, let alone appreciate, ideologies like Marxism and other controversial ideas that make Ngugi what he is today.
Maybe critics, who have made careers attacking Ngugi’s every move, should practice some restraint and wait for that point when he tells how he came to embrace those controversial ideas, and why, only then can they take him on.
Apart from growing up under the horrors emergency rule, the author had other things to worry about. He for example had to go out in search of jobs in other people’s farms to supplement the little income his mother earned.
This was in addition to the fact that at a tender age Ngugi and his younger brother, Njinju, had to endure the ignominy of being chased away from home by their father to go and join their mother who had earlier escaped her matrimonial home to escape her husband’s beatings.
Maybe as a way of escaping from those difficulties young Ngugi sought refuge in books, and especially the Old Testament, which had the effect of transporting him to an enchanting world away from the reality of his suffering. Thus a long-life bond between him and the written word was formed.
And all this was as a result of a pact he made with his mother to go to school and do his best. “Was that the best you could do?” was the constant refrain from his mother whenever he brought home a result or the other from school. It also served to inspire him to work even harder.
By deciding to write his memoirs in instalments, Ngugi took the risk of turning off readers who might argue that there is nothing spectacular about a book dealing exclusively with one’s childhood.
His life was not much different from other children growing up at around the same time and under the same circumstances. But then, it takes a special writer to turn otherwise mundane details of growing up into a highly readable and entertaining book.
Most readers have a rough idea about Ngugi’s life story. They also know that the more interesting and controversial aspects of his life lie ahead of Dreams, which means that future instalments of his memoirs will be highly anticipated.
Maybe for future instalments, Ngugi’s Local publishers EAEP should consider releasing their local edition at around the same time as the American and British editions. That way, EAEP would take advantage of the international hype created on the book to move more copies.