A Grain of Wheat

A few days to Uhuru (Independence) Day, key political players in the vicinity of the village of Thabai pause to take stock of the recent history of Kenya and the struggle between Black and White. During the struggle to overthrow white rule two men emerged as heroes in the village, but for different reasons—Mugo and Kihika.

Mugo became a hero for his defense of a pregnant woman being assaulted by agents of the white oppressor, and his refusal to confess the oath in detention, bearing all torture, which in itself inspired other detainees to riot. Kihika became a hero for leading a rebel force from the forest which attacked the white oppressors and collaborators. The unfortunate thing was that Mugo’s actions weren’t due to any conscious desire to fight for freedom for his people, but more a personal rebellion against society. So when Kihika wanted to bring him into the fold of the rebel forces, he recoiled in fear. His subsequent betrayal of Kihika led to Kihika’s capture and murder by hanging, and harsh punishment for all the villagers as a deterrent to others that might be harboring rebels.

So as the Uhuru Day finally approached, Mugo felt the pains of his betrayal, which he actually regretted from the instant he carried out the act. He wouldn’t accept the leadership status he was being offered by the village elders. Kihika’s comrades that survived were out to expose the person that betrayed him, without knowing that it was Mugo, whom everyone had taken for a hero comparable to Kihika himself. To overcome the turmoil in his head, Mugo made the confession during the Uhuru Day celebration, rather than give the political speech everyone had come to hear. This confounded everyone and people left in disappointment. Kihika’s comrades and the village elders could not forgive him. He was secretly tried and killed to avenge the murder of Kihika.

May 4, 2015. Review initially written in 1998. Novel first published in 1967. Picture source: Yahoo (Images).