A historical novel that takes place during the Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya during the early 1950’s. Relates the suffering of a Kikuyu girl, Mumbi, whose boyfriend is killed in the struggle. She is raped by a collaborationist chief and dies in…
Set on Ukerewe Island in Lake Victoria, this story relates the harsh and disillusioning aspects of the ujamaa villagization scheme. While the author acknowledges the positive aspects of the scheme, he nevertheless criticizes its abuses and…
It seems relevant in the context of Swahili language and politics to draw attention to Kamara Kusupa’s recently published prison memoir recounting his experience as political detainee in a Tanzanian prison.
Utenzi wa zinduko la ujamaa is one of several political poems written in the 1970’s following the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar under one government to form the Republic of Tanzania. The author describes the establishment of the socialist system…
This novel deals with the question of African identity in a rapidly changing world. Babu, the grandfather, who is both dead and alive, tries to point the way by transporting the main character into the past, yet pointing him to the future.
A seven-act play set in Tanzania at the time of the war with Uganda, which dramatically impoverished the country. The plot centers on a Tanzanian family attempting to deal with the reduced circumstances of life caused by the shortage of many…