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.
