BETRAYAL IN THE CITY NOVEL

 

Published by

East African Educational Publishers Ltd.

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Westlands, P.0. Box 45314

Nairobi - 00100

KENYA.

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East African Educational Publishers Ltd

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Kampala

UGANDA.

Ujuzi Books Ltd.

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Dar es Salaam

TANZANIA.

East African Publishers Rwanda Ltd.

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Opposite Kigali Institute of Education

P.0. Box 5151, Kigali

RWANDA.

© Francis Imbuga 1976

I All righs reserved

First published by East African Educational Pu

Reprinted eighteen times

. This impression 2012

Reprinted 2012 (twice), 2013 (twice), 2014

ISBN 978-9966-46-360-9

Printed in Kenya by

Printpoint Ltd

P.0. Box 30975

Nairobi

 

Act. One

Scene One

Early morning. A lonely grave surrounded by dry thorny

branches. A wooden bowl sits at the centre of the grave; in it,

a few silver coins. When the grave is fully lit, it will be seen

that a crack runs right across it. Birds, insects, frogs etc. join

in song. A drum beats, stops, beats again and stops. In the

distance, a male voice laments. Now the lament fills the air

as Doga enters immediately trailed by his wife, Nina, weeping

silently. Slowly, they move towards the grave. Suddenly the

song dies on 0090’s lips. He stands still, transfixed to the spot.

Nina peers forward, then nervously movesback step by step;

Doga turns and sees his retreating wife. ~

DOGA: Nina, stop where you are! What sort of mother are

you? Do you 'now fear to set eyes on this evil that

has been done on your own son’s grave? For hours

and hours you shook with grief. For days you wailed

over his still body as those who saw him die unfolded

the staiy. Will you now tremble at the mere sight of

the shadow of that evil? Come, come help me put

the thorns in place before the morning grows out of

our hands.

NINA: Who would have thought they would follow him

even to his grave? Only the final night, yet with it

the ceremony is gone.

DOGA: It is now clear that the man at whose hands

my son died lives among us even now. This is proof

enough. What we ignored as empty talk now begins to

take on grave meaning.

 

NINA:  But where was Jusper when they did this? We asked

him to keep watch, didn’t we? Where was he when

the murderers followed his brother beyond the

grave? Did they get at him?

DOGA:     Come, see for yourself. Smell Nina, smelL Does not

the smell of petrol penetrate your nose? Look, it

was no common earthquake that made this crack.

This is the work of a stray clansman, one who thinks

he has the strength to fight those who taught him

how to hold a spear. Thank heaven they did not get

at him.

NINA:  God be praised. But but where is Jusper? I do

not understand why he did not shout for help when

he saw them do this to his brother’s remains!

DOGA:  You forget the boys illness. We were not sure that

he would stay here all night. Besides, what with

last night’s downpour, they must have tried to

do it while he took shelter. When he returned, he

frightened them away.

NINA:   But where is he now? Doga, my heart fails me. This

is not our day. Let us get away from this place, We

shall return when we know where Jusper is. Look, it

seems there was a struggle here. .

DOGA:  Jusper is alright where he is.

NINA:  He is our only hope. If they should harm him, I will

hang myself and raise a curse upon the whole clan.

DOGA:    Hope? I am surprised that you still talk of hope.

Nina, we buried our hope the day Adika was gunned

, down. Come,,let us not waste any more time. Get me a.,

soil.

NINA:   But what do you ...?

2

DOGA:  Get me soil,  did you hear? Soil! We must fill this

Crack and  for a while disguise the evil that lives

among us. The ceremony must go on as planned.

I do not want the spirits of the dead to turn wild

with anger on account of a ceremony unperformed.

NINA:  It would be wrong for us to sit on this evil. We

cannot outwit our ancestors. Let us do what is

expected of us. Let us send word to the sub-chief

and …

DOGA: The sub-chief! Who is the sub-chief? A mouse does

not share a bowl with a cat.

NINA: It is the noise he makes that fear.

DOGA: The sub-chief! Who is the sub-chief? Have you so

soon forgotten the rumour that now bears the same

weight as noble truth? Nina, when dry thunder tears

the sky before our eyes, do we forget the storm

of yesterday? The sub-chief! The sub-chief! .Did he

not come from that same stomach that mothered

Chagaga?

NINA:   Nothing we do will bring Adika back. You know

how patiently we have waited for this day. A little

delay will do no harm, but if we hide the truth ,I

fear something will go wrong.

DOGA:  The ceremony shall go on as planned. I do not want

it delayed, A cloudy sky does not always cry rain.

NINA:   But if they should know what has happened, they

will whisper and say we ignored tradition. They will

boycott my son’s shaving ceremony. Please Doga ,

let us report this matter.

3

DOGA: Tradition condemns the shedding of a kinsman’s

blood. Nina, what will you teach me about tradition?

Go get me soiL (Exit Nina. Doga picks up the money

fiom the bowl) Cold, cold money. Three cold silver

coins. No warmth, no life. What a strange way to

appease the dead. Adika, my son, do not let them

deceive you with money.

When you came into this world to search for your

death, you found money here. Now you are silent,

but money is still here. Do not let them tempt you.

Follow them to the bitter end. Follow them up the

hills and down the valleys. (To audience.) What is in

money that is more precious than life? Only a handful

of coins cost us a son, killed in the city. People say

there were many of them, all marching in the same

manner. Suddenly, the shooting broke out. People

fled in all directions, but my son’s lonely body lay

in the middle of the street. Only four bullets were

fired that day. Adika had four bullet wounds in his

chest. Two weeks after we buried him, the sub-chief’s

brother was dismissed from his job. Rumour

has it that he later said he did it in self-defence.

(Prolonged laugh from off stage.) That is the voice

of the brother of the silent one. They were our only

children. When he heard of the death of his brother,

Jusper was never the same again. He became wild at

the funeral, singing songs of vengeance; then they

came and took him away. Said he was dangerous to

peace loving people and had to be cooled down.

When they brought him back after three months,

4

he was no longer the son we knew.(Second laugh.

This time it’s much nearer. Doga hides behind the

bush as Jusper enters, still laughing. He wears a red

gown. He suddenly stops, stares at the grave then

turns to the audience.)

JUSPER: People say I am mad. My own mother thinks I am

Out of my mind. My father calls me crazy. But that,

(Points to the grave.) that when I show them will

prove I have sense here. (Points his head.)

here is powerful; that is why Regina accepted me

for a boyfriend. That is why I know the difference

between the sun, Jupiter and Jusper. Hey, come to

think of it! You and I have never seen Jupiter, except

...? Except on paper. Jupiter! — Absent sir. Jusper!

Present sir. Justice! Absent Sir. Yes I've got it.

Jupiter and justice are one and the same.They

are neither here nor there. No. That is a debatable

point, a philosophical point. That is me, Jusper

Wendo, Esquire, almost B.A., Kafira University.(A

bird sings.) I like that bird for its bravery. Comes

to the wrong place and doesn’t even bother to

keep quiet about it. Coming to this ceremnony is

positively criminal except for close relatives like me.

(Strides to the grave.) Adika! Adika! Please come and

back me up. Come help me stop mother and father

from growing old. We’ll need them. We’ll need every

available person. You know what? We have even

accepted the contribution of birds. We need songs,

war songs …  Adika! Adika! … Alright you are

too late. (Begins to imitate his favourite cowboy.)

5

Brother or no brother you gonna join the struggle by

force. We gotta restore human dignity, right? Wake

up, man! Alright; you’re rioting in your grave and

you gonna pay for it. You gonna face the squad, and

this time it’s gonna be public. (Picks up two sticks

and holds them as if they were two pistoLs, one

in each hand.) Squad, attention! Aim! … one, two,

three, two, one, fire! Tutututututututu! Squad, at

ease! Hey, sergeant, why you lookin’ sad eeh? He

ya brother or somethin’? Don’ worry, don’ worry.

You were sen/in’ your bloody nation, right? (Enter

Nina with soil.)

NINA:     Jusper, where were you?

JUSPER:    Serving the nation.

NINA:      How could you desert your brother?

JUSPER:    It was an order.

NINA:        What order? You take off that thing and go and put

on something decent. The others will soon be here.

JUSPER:     Is Regina with them?

NINA:     Perhaps.

JUSPER:   Girlfriend Number One; she ought to come.

NINA:   She’s far away in the city. Where is your father?

DOGA:   (Whispering rather loudly.) Do not detain him. Let

him go.

JUSPER: He can’t go; he is dead.

NINA:   My son, please go and put on a clean shirt.

JUSPER:   A clean shirt? No. Not after the murder.

NINA:  What shall we do now? The illness creeps back on

him. Jusper, do you know what day today is?

DOGA:   Don’t remind him

6

JUSPER:  Come and see for yourself. (Points at the crack.) Do

you see this river, all this water? I threw him in

there. Don’t tell me he swam away, because he

didn’t. He was dead when I threw him there.

NINA:   He thinks he has killed you. Please do something

before he spoils the ceremony.

DOGA:  I told you to shut that mouth!

JUSPER:  Alright, I will shut up. Nobody need know I am a

murderer. (Throws the stick away.) After all, it was

great fun. Now I know how they feel when they do

it. Shall I go and confess I did it? .

NINA:  Yes my son, go and put on a clean shirt and then

you can confess.

JUSPER: Do you think they will harm me if I address the

rally? .

NINA:  No, they won’t. Just go and put on your shirt

first.

JUSPER:  Will they put him in a government coffin, do you

think?

NINA:  Good God! What shall we do?

JUSPER: I will go and recommend a government coffin with

many handles so that everybody will help lower

him into the grave. (He smiles, stands at attention,

salutes, then exits, military style.)

NINA:   He has never behaved like this before.

DOGA:  His eyes were full of sleep.

NINA:  Why did he think he had killed you?

DOGA:  It was his brother he thought he had killed. I saw

him address the grave as if Adika sat right on top of

it. It was both strange and frightening.

7

NINA:  I hope he will be calm at the ceremony. What shall

we do if he grows wild? We can’t lock him up during

his brother’s ceremony, can we?

DOGA:  It is his fate. They locked him up during the burial

NINA: Come, let us put this day in God's hands. The drummers will soon be here(They kneel in front of the grave and sing.)

When we walk with the Lord

In the light of his way

What a glory he sheds on

When we do his good will

He abides with us still

Unto all who will trust and obey

Trust and obey

For there is no other way

To be happy in Jesus

But to trust and obey

NINA:  (Praying.) Father, Maker of all that crawl and all that

fly, we are dry of words, but we put this day in your

hands. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Saviour

Amen. (Jere and Mulili enter, the latter carries a

bottle a beer, from which he will drink every now and then.)

JERE:  Old people, you waste your time. There is to be no

ceremony.

DOGA:  Is it to us you speak?

MULILI:  No ceremony! That the final.

DOGA:  A shaving ceremony is no child’s play.

MULILI:  Who you call child, eeh? Jere, you tell him. Tell him what I does with stubborn old mens.

8

JERE:  The ceremony is cancelled in the interest of

peace.

DOGA:  In the interest of peace? Whose peace?

MULILI:  We wants no anymore bloody bloodshed. We have

seen enough. Just who you wants to murder next?

DOGA:  Murder? Me? Young man, have you nothing to

do with your time that you come and throw your

weight about the grave of an innocent, harmless

dead? And you young man, is this a time to laugh?

JERE:  We are on duty. We serve the nation.

MULILI:  Repeat to them Jere, repeat. Tell them this grave

no longer belong them.

NINA:  You took our all, but you will not take the grave

from us. If you do not go now, I shall strip and

show you the poor naked bones you have left me.

Do you want to be blinded by the nakedness of your

grandmother’s agemate?

JERE:  No, we do not ask for blindness. You see, this

friend of mine does not belong here. He doesn’t

know our ways.

DOGA:  Then he should keep quiet instead of turning our

hearts over and over.

MULILI:  Big coward. Why you doesn’t let her get on with

it. How many naked body I have seen and I am still

Mulili with my two eyes, natural? Look, no glass

goggles.

DOGA:  Let us forget he ever was born. Young man, the

shape of your head even with that thing on is a

familiar shape. Tell me, are you not Kaleka's son?

JERE: I am.

9

DOGA: Then listen to me. Your father and I shared the same knife at circumcision. What devil makes you look me in the face?

JERE: I do not look you in the face. I know the bitterness

in your heart.

MULILI:  Big coward. Jere, you a woman! (They stare at him

briefly.)

JERE:  Old man, if I had the power, I would let you go

on. I would even take part in the ceremony. I knew

Adika well.

DOGA:  Do you know that even as we stand here, a stranger

who hardly knew him lies in prison because of him?

MULILI:  That no matter. He go against law and order. Tell us new thing or make clear out of here. You are

tresspasser.

DOGA: Empty words will be your downfall. May you die the way Adika did!

MULILI:  Hey Jere, did you heard that? You tell him me I am man with action, not words. Come on tell …

JERE:  Shut up! (Silence, then Mulili chuckles softly.) Old

man, do as I tell you for the moment. It’s safer. Look, this is the signed order.

NINA:  Do not show us letters when you know well what you did to our eyes. You have blinded us, left us in darkness, and then as if that is not enough, you show us letters. Look young man, that is where our eyes are — under that mound.

MULILI: Your people full of primitive. Instead going to find how the other is, they comes and get stuck with dead one.

10

DOGA:  What other one?

MULILI: You see now, he now being pretend. All they wants the bloody ceremony.

DOGA:  Kaleka's son, what is it he talks about? What pretence

does he mean?

JERE:   He talks of Jusper.

DOGA:  What about Jusper?

JERE:   I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you are in the dark.

NINA:  What has Jusper done?

JERE:  Have you seen him at all since last night?

NINA:  Yes he was even here this morning. We asked him to guard the grave last night, but when we arrived this morning, he was not here; then after a little while, he came. See they did while he was away! (Jere inspects the grave.)

JERE:  God, I can’t believe it.

MULILI:  What have happen? Have the guard eat the body?

(Laughs loudly.) .

JERE:  Be serious for once you devil .

MULILI:  I am professional soldier by profession.

JERE:  I didn't believe the rumour. It is good he is dead.

DOGA:  Who?

JERE:  Chagaga.

NINA:  The sub-chief’s brother?

JERE:   Yes. (Pause.) Jusper killed him.

DOGA:   Jusper!

NINA:   Jusper!

JERE:    Yes. last night.

11

NINA: This is a trick!

JERE:   It is no trick. People saw him drag the body to the river, and when they sent a search team there they sure enough found the body.

NINA:  This is a trick!

JERE:   He even confessed it himself.

DOGA:  Confessed? When?

JERE:  A few minutes before they sent us here.He came dressed in a white shirt and confessed. Beat his chest in front of all the people and said he had done it.

At first people ran away from him, as if he suffered from some horrible infectious disease. After a while they picked up stones and started to stone him.The whole crowd was throwing stones. When he fell down, the people took to their heels, thinking him dead.

DOGA:  He is not dead then?

JERE:  No.

DOGA:  Where is he now?

MULILI:  All small murderers get arrest.

JERE: They took him away and asked us to come and guard the grave.

NINA:  It was all my fault. I sent him to them. I assured him that they would not harm him. I wish I knew what rally he said he wanted to address.

MULILI: You see. I says these too be murderers.

DOGA:  If Jusper killed Chagaga, then he is not mad. We

lack a name for his illness. But days have changed.

Kaleka’s son, I have nothing else to offer you;

(Handing him a pocket Bible.) take this. May God

open your eyes to the suffering of your people.

13

JERE:  Even if it means killing a friend?

MULILI:  These you call friend?

JERE:  Then I did wrong. I let you get away with it. I saved you.

MULILI:  Who, me you saved? How? When?

JERE: When you let Mustafa escape, did I open my mouth? Why should we not allow these two to perform a harmless ceremony for their dead in that same spirit?

MULILI:  Mustafa’s case be different . Nobody likely to know he go across border.

JERE:  Will you help me ?

MULILI:  No. Not this. It too dangerous.

JERE: Then I'll do it alone. I shall go to the village and announce that the ceremony is on.

MULILI:  You Jokes. You expects me to quiet about it?

JERE:  No I don’t, but I will go on. These are my people.They have done no wrong. Look at the grave. This is proof that their son was murdered. The man wanted to rid himself of the ghost by burning the body.

MULILI:  You still believes in ghost?

JERE: (Losing his temper.) Put that bottle down and listen to me. That boy there died for Kafira’s progress. He was slaughtered like a goat and sacrificed for a non-exrstent peace and harmony. Surely he deserves this ceremony!

MULILI: The fellow should ought have know best than incite

his fellow students to rioting. They should ought

have follow proper channels.

JERE: What do you know about proper channels?

MULILI:  This, that even although majority lecturers at Kafira University be expatriate, that not his business. He go there to learn, not criticise policy that he know nothing about.

JERE: Do you know they only acted referees in a match between our own sides? It was an empty battle

where we fought against ourselves.

JERE:  Who say that? Who say we fight each against ourself? They cross the river, go the other side

and call themself intellectual. They hurl abuse at our symbol of national securicor. A lot public fund and time go be wasted to bring the situation back to abnormal. They were retard progress, not for progress.

JERE:  I refuse to kneel down for theoretical progress.

MULILI:  Then become student now. (He looks at Jere, goes to the grave, scoops some soil and lets it fall between his fingers.) Dust to dust, ash to …

JERE:  Will you shut up you heartless brute! "

MULILI:  Brute? Where you get that from?

JERE:  Get out of my sight! (Aims a pistol at him.)

MULILI:  (Hands up.) Alright, I am sorrowful. I honest doesn’t know it will affect you.

JERE:    Get out of my sight now! (Mulili begins to walk off. Jere shoots as Mulili dives offstage.)

MULILI:  Hey you, what you thinks you do? You shall pays for it!

JERE:  Go shoot your mouth wherever you will. (Jere goes to the grave, takes a coin from his pocket and drops it into the bowl. He kneels down and bends over the grave in prayer. Lights fade out slowly.)

15

Scene Two

A prison cell equipped with the usual prison stuff: pail, mat

blanket, etc. At one of the comers, Mosese sits with his back to

the audience. Suddenly, the door is opened and Jere pushed in.

He falls just short of Mosese, but the latter is unmoved.

JERE: My friend, why ...

ASKARI: Next time you call me your friend, you will lose a tooth. What makes me think I am a better man than you? Do you think I live off answering such foolish questions? You are inside, I am out, now if that doesn’t make sense to you, something else will.

JERE: Alot of things don’t make sense to me, you included.

ASKARI:  My God, this is the wrong place for you. The place for lunatics is three doors down the corridor.

JERE:  You mean three doors up the corridor?

ASKARI: That could land you into more trouble. Three doors up the corridor is the office of the head of this institution.

JERE:  Is he in or out?

ASKARI:  In, and he won't be of much use to you when I start educating you.

JERE: Has it ever occurred to you that the outside of this cell may well be the inside of another?

ASKARI:  (Looking around to make quite sure that no mistake has been made.) Look, people don’t question things here. You make your own life more unbearable.

JERE:  I know, but do you know chameleons?

ASKARI:  I have had enough of you and your chameleons.

16

JERE: They are masters of environmental adaptation.

ASKARI:   You waste your time. Now I see why you tried to make yourself champion of justice, bleeding meaningless words.

JERE: My experience during the last few weeks has made it necessary that I talk. It is as if I have been born again. I have never felt so confident in my life.

ASKARI: That is why you are best ignored. Here I am wasting time talking to you instead of helping the others to fill in forms for your rehabilitation.

JERE:  Rehabilitation? After only two days?

ASKARI:  Yes, you will need it. It’s the only way out of here, otherwise you will never be allowed to mix freely. You see, we have research stations dotted all over the countryside. Experiments at these research stations show that rehabilitation is invaluable for all who pass through here. You should be thankful that in spite of your contribution to the national headache, we still give your future some consideration.

JERE:  I am truly grateful now that I know what awaits me.I didn’t know you took such pains.

ASKARI: Experts had to be imported to give meaning to the data. It wasn’t the type of work any of these local pretenders would handle.

JERE:  I see your point. No previous experience, eeh?

ASKARI: Don't cut me short. You do the listening, I talk.

JERE:  You work like the meteorological department. No public questions into methods used, and no assurance.

17

ASKARI: I can see you have come to stay. What has the meteorological department got to do with what goes on here?

JERE: They advise people to spread their blankets out, then unexpected rain falls from the seemingly clear sky. By then, it is too late to fetch umbrellas.(Silence.) Who is he

ASKARI:  A more sensible man than you. Used to be a drug addict though. Hey you! What do you think you’re doing showing us your back?

MOSESE:  I have no front.

JERE:  Dead right. Shake my five, shake my five.

ASKARI: Shut up! You, can't you talk?

MOSESE: It is prudent to be silent. But it doesn’t prove I am dumb.

JERE:  Dead right once more. It’s amazing the people you bring here.

MOSESE: I said everything in mitigation. All I had to say,but it did not help. Words have lost meaning to me.Rehabilitation, nationalisation, africanisation. What do  these words mean? What is africanisation in your mother tongue?

ASKARI: (Visibly embarrassed.) I—I don’t answer such foolish questions. You answer him. What is africanisation in your mother tongue?

JERE:  Do you and I share a mother tongue?

ASKARI:   Correct! Now don’t you ask any other foolish questions. I am here to see that you ask

questions.

18

MOSESE: Then why were you so uneasy when I was silent a little while ago? Why do you now stop me from asking questions?

JERE: It’s a perfect example of what goes on outside. No one is sure of what should be done.

ASKARI:  You are wrong. Our assessment has never been wrong. Take this fellow, for example. When they brought him in last night, he was all questions. We calculated that two mature strokes would ease the tension.It worked perfectly. This is where the research stations come in. You see, like all liquids have different boiling points — incidentally I did pure physics up to and including ’0’ level — like all liquids have different boiling points, human beings have different breaking points. At your trial, there was enough evidence that your breaking point would be just before the end of your present jail

term.

MOSESE: At least you are honest.

ASKARI: Your friend here is two years weaker than you. Congratulations!

MOSESE: Thank you. (Silence) Sometimes I wonder why a man of your understanding should have accepted this job. I honestly think you are in the wrong place.

ASKARI:  Many prisoners say that to me, but that is just because they don’t understand Kafira. If they did, alot of them would not be prisoners. It doesn’t pay to have a hot mouth. Perhaps you were right when you said silence is the best ship home, only you realised it too late. It is now common knowledge that you are a great talker. If you decide to be silent, you will have to explain what it is you are keeping quiet about. That is how prisons work. You have to show a kind of consistency of character at the same time as you show a marked improvement.

MOSESE: In that case, there can be no hope.

ASKARI:  There is. Think about what I told you last night. It is the chance of your life. You can’t afford to stick to your principles. No. Not here. That is what I told that student from the mental hospital. He took my advice and will be discharged tomorrow.

MOSESE:  Do you mean the boy whose brother was killed?

ASKARI:   Yes; he has recovered, but he has nothing to go back to. His parents were found dead in their hut.

MOSESE:  His parents dead?

ASKARI:  Yes, dead. Perhaps that is why he has been pardoned.

MOSESE:  Will you do me a favour?

ASKARI:   What?

MOSESE:  Ask him to see me before he leaves. I have a message for him to take to my sister.

ASKARI:  Tell your sister to be careful. That boy’s head will never be straight.

MOSESE:  I like the boy. He is very like his brother, and like me.

ASKARI:  Think about last night’s suggestion. It’s the only way I can help you. That way you will see I am not blind to these things.

20

MOSESE:  I can't see myself doing it.

ASKARI: All the same, think about it. I am not asking for an answer now. And don’t listen to this fool. He poison your mind. (He turns to go.)

JERE:  Hey you, please return my book. The senior officer said I could keep it.

ASKARI:  The senior officer said so, did he? Tell him I said no. We do not want any more trouble from you. (Exit.)

MOSESE:  You came with books?

JERE:        Only one book.

MOSESE:   A novel?

JERE:         No.

MOSESE:    A play?

JERE:         No. A bible. The New Testament. You see, I am a religious man.

MOSESE:    You?

JERE:          Yes. I am a believer. I believe in travelling light. That is why I carried the book. "

MOSESE:  The Bible is a curious thing to deny someone. Why

did they do it?

JERE:    You we, we were two men in the cell. Two strangers.We were very bored just sitting there and looking at each other, so we decided to do it, just to pass time.

MOSESE:   Don’t tell me you bent so low.

JERE:   You draw conclusions too soon.

MOSESE:   That is what prison does to a man, but I wasn't

always like this. There were times in my past when I never drew conclusions. There were indeed times when I never fetched my umbrella at the sight of clouds, however dark. Now that is only a thing of the past.

JERE: Yes, a thing of the past, like the game of last night. Do you remember Pilate?

MOSESE:  Pilate? Yes, Pilate is supposed to have humiliated Jesus.

JERE:   Yes, he actually caned him. Not many of us come by such an opportunity.

MOSESE:    Opportunity?

JERE:     Yes, opportunity. The opportunity of stripping a king and caning his buttocks. In a way it is a pity that it had to be Pilate. Can you imagine the sense it would have made if only a common man had done

the caning?

MOSESE:   I am not with you.

JERE:  No? It would have been positive. As positive as when a sick right eye is plucked out lest it infects the left one.

MOSESE:   You seem to be quite at home with the Bible.

JERE:    Yes I am. I taught religious knowledge for three years before I was drafted into the army.

MOSESE:   You are a soldier?

JERE:   I was until I came face to face with reality. They sent me to my own sub-location to restore peace and order. It took me only two days to change my mind. My friend, there is fire outside.

                                         22

MOSESE:  That is not new. That fire has always been there. Ever since the take-over. Mind you, things were worse before.

JERE:  I thought hard before I made up my mind. Then I said to myself, if they take you in, carry a bible with you. It might restore your faith in humanity. It hasn’t. You need first hand experience. You need to live the lives of those you fight for. That is why it is important not only to read that Pilate story, but to live it. Only then can you understand that situation and link it with ours. Perhaps that is why it was strangely fulfilling acting Pilate in a cell.

MOSESE:   Is that why they took the book from you?

JERE:     Yes. My co-actor cried out. I wonder he had the guts to go against the law. He was Jesus and I Pilate. That was unfortunate casting. I had wanted to be Christ but he would not hear of it. When it came to the caning, he couldn't stand it. He wailed like a woman in a death home. When the guards came, I

tried to explain to them that I was only faithfully following the script but they didn’t believe me. They stripped me naked, caned me and took the book away. That, to them, was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; but then they were wrong. They should have let him do it. (Silence.) Stranger I think you and I will get on well together. Fancy me talking to you, telling you all these things without even knowing who you are. I am Jere Kaleka.

MOSESE: I am Mosese wa Tonga.                 

23

JERE:   Mosese wa Tonga? Why did you take on a name like that? Oh, I am sorry. I am glad to meet you.

MOSESE:  Me too. (They shake hands.)

JERE:  It’s a curious name, Mosese wa Tonga.

MOSESE:   I know. It means "remember the past”. I took it the day after I was arrested. A strange way to be loyal. Do you remember the great row over the changing of names?

JERE:  Only vaguely.

MOSESE:   Blows were exchanged in the planning committee over whether the changing of names should be item number one or three in the development plan. Boss had just changed his name; hence the anxiety of some members to put it top. I changed mine for different reasons. I had no choice but to change it.

JERE:   How is that?

MOSESE:   You see, the day before they arrested me, I attended a funeral. One of my students had been murdered in cold blood. His brother has been here but he is to be discharged tomorrow.

JERE:   Is he the one the Askari was talking about?

MOSESE:    Yes.

JERE:  I see. I think I …

MOSESE:   You think what?

JERE:   Never mind.

MOSESE:  I have never seen anything like it before. The atmosphere was tense at the funeral. I thought for once that things would change in Kafira. But during the speeches, I learned the bitter truth. Kafira wasn’t going to change after all. No. Not because of the death of one small student. A handful of politicians tried to turn the funeral service into a political rally. The service must not take more than ten minutes. The coffin should not be carried by students. Weeping in public is illegal for the academic staff. I couldn’t bear it, so I told them my mind. The following day they came for me.

JERE:  What did they charge you with? Weeping in public?

MOSESE: No. Being in possession of an illegal drug. One kilogramme of opium. When they searched my car, they sure enough found the drug. I laughed. I had heard similar stories, but I never thought it would ever happen to me. The man who planted it on me was called Nicodemus. Nicodemus was my name too, but I dropped it the following day.

JERE:  I would have done the same. (Silence) You have been in for the last one year, haven’t you? "

MOSESE: Yes. How did you know?

JERE:  I have heard about you. I also know your sister.

MOSESE: Who -- Regina?

JERE:   Yes. Does she visit you?

MOSESE: He comes twice a month. They won’t allow her to come more often.

JERE: She must find it hard going without you.

MOSESE: She is too soft for a prisoner’s sister. Too soft. I saw it In her eyes when she came yesterday. I saw betrayal in her eyes. Stood in front of me and said she wanted to go and plead for my release. I nearly slapped her. What weakness!

JERE: Perhaps she knows you stand a chance. Is that why the Askari said there is some hope for you?

MOSESE:  No. That is different and more ridiculous. They would have me clown on stage before I am released. And that isn’t a certainty either.

JERE:    Clown on stage? Whatever for?

MOSESE:   A certain head of state is due to visit Kafira, in a few weeks’ time. Now, because of his love for the dramatic, Boss has decided that a play be performed. For the visiting head of state as part of his entertainment.The ludicrous part of it all is that he wants the play to be acted by prisoners. (Laughs.)

JERE:  That’s not funny. Why?

MOSESE:  It would symbolise national unity. That would show prisoners actively involved in nation building.

JERE:  What then has that to do with your release?

MOSESE:  If the exercise is a success, he has promised the release of six hundred prisoners.

JERE:  I see. In that case I feel we should volunteer even if we won’t be released.

MOSESE:  I will not bend so low.

JERE:  I don't see it as bending low. To me, that is sacrificing one’s dignity in order to rescue others from inevitable misery. Just think of those six hundred families that will be re-united

26

MOSESE: I cannot do it. Among my friends, that would be equivalent to kneeling in front of Boss and pleading for mercy. Same thing as my sister wanted to do. That would imply guilt, and I am not guilty of anything.(Enter Askari with a mug of tea.)

ASKARI:  Here, tea with milk, yet you don't even belong to my tribe. You need a tall relative to get anything these days. And you, because you think I am a junior officer, you can feed on your saliva. Do you know what we call it?

JERE:  Tea with milk.

ASKARI:  Nonsense. The term is selective breeding of …

JERE:  Progressive layers of humanity. It an epidemic of breaking points.

ASKARI: Unless you are careful, I will recommend that you be shifted to that other cell. I don’t believe they are any crazier than you are. (Sound of whistle; Askari rushes off.)

JERE:  What was that for?

MOSESE:  Trouble in one of the cells. Here, take a sip before he returns.

JERE: Thank you. It's the only way to beat selective breeding, by being firmly united against it.

MOSESE: That is why I don’t believe in such crap as the last shall be first, and blessed are the poor for they shall inherit the Kingdom of heaven! For years we waited for the Kingdom, then they said it had come. Our Kingdom had come at last, but no. It was all an illusion- How many of us have set eyes upon Kingdom? What colour is it?

 JERE: I wouldn’t know, but I guess it’s blood red.

MOSESE: It was better while we waited. Now we have nothing to look forward to. We have killed our past and are busy killing the future. Sometimes I sit here and look far into the past. There I see my mother slaughtering the biggest family cock. Once every  year she slaughtered a senior cock to mark the birth of Christ. Our children will never have such memories. Now there is blood everywhere. Cocks are slaughtered any day, many times a week.

JERE:  Things will change.

MOSESE:  Perhaps. That is why I prefer to wait and see. I  will stay here and remain loyal to my principles.

JERE:  Change will never come that way. You have to make up your mind to take part in that play. That way you will have an opportunity to meet face to face with Boss . That way, you will have given him something to feel ashamed of.

MOSESE: You talk like that Askari. He sees me silent and thinks I am about to break, but he is wrong. He doesn't realise that silence is a weapon just like any other, I don't have to give legal public lectures to reveal what it is I sit on. We all know what should  know be done, but we dare not talk beyond whispers.We are dictators, of ourselves. Buying my release by acting in front of a visiting head of state would be to betray our course. Why do people sit and watch in silence as the disease spreads deep inside? I will never forgive them. They watched in silence as soldiers beat up my innocent sister, forcing her to give evidence against me.

JERE: You mean the …

MOSESE: Brutes! Murderers! Beat up my innocent sister until she lost hearing in one ear. Why beat a woman? Why didn't they beat me?

JERE: I am sorry.

MOSESE: What did you say? What did I hear you say? Now listen you! I hate people who say that to me! I hate people who sympathise with me!

JERE: You need some rest. (Mosese goes to a bundle of rags and lies down. He is still shaking with rage. Jere puts a blanket over him as Askari enters.)

ASKARI:  What was that noise? Fighting again? You senseless brute! You were in the other cell and there was trouble. Now you are here and there is more trouble. Do you know I have seen people hang for less serious offences?

JERE: I know? Innocence can be an Offence"

ASKARI: Next time you cause trouble here, you won't know when I climb on you.

JERE: Leave us alone. You don't understand our language.

ASKARI: Rioting in a public cell is not a language. I give you just one more chance. If you cause any more

29

JERE: There is no trouble here. If you want to come face to face with trouble, look out there, not here. It’s out there where selective breeding blossoms.

ASKARI: You are not fit to live above the ground, you mole!And just in case you didn’t know, I have once killed a man in this very cell.

JERE:  Congratulations! How did you manage?

ASKARI:  I am now more convinced that you are insane. Give

me that mug and sleep. (Jere hands mug to him.)

Thank you, and remember what I have just told

you. Don’t disturb him. (He turns and goes off. Jere

begins to organise where to sleep. Suddenly Mosese

utters a terrible war-cry. He wriggles violently as if

in a fight and then stops suddenly. Now he stands

up slowly as if in a slow motion picture. His eyes

are wide open and unblinking. He walks round the

cell greeting old friends and relatives. Jere, now

frightened, edges against the wall. At some stage, they are so close to each other that when Moseses stretches his hand, Jere has no alternative but to shake it.)

MOSESE:  Yes I was. All of us were scared that it would go on and on. Pardon? No, I have no immediate plans …  Well, yes, I guess I will take up this job they are offering me … It is my conviction that the majority will have to go. No point in hiding what has got to be … Yes, in the hands of the people … Exactly, you’ve put it better than I could ever have … That is a difficult one. Let’s just say I got a certain amount of satisfaction from it. You see there is a kind of satisfaction you get out of knowing that you are honest with yourself and with the people … No, I don’t exactly mean that. I would find it difficult to take pride in whatI had not helped to build. Of course I am referring to those things we could have done ourselves. Yes,yes.

JERE:   Mosese, are you sick?

MOSESE:  Yes, that is why I am accepting the post … No, I will forgive, but I will always remember that I forgave them.

JERE:  Mosese, can you hear me?

MOSESE:   I don’t know about that. I suppose I will marry,yes That was inevitable. In such a struggle, sacrifice is necessary. Thank you. I am glad you think so … I wonder if you would have said the same thing last evening Yes, thank you. See you at the celebrations. (He shakes a few hands and waves to well-wishers, then enters a car; quietly goes back, lies down and covers himself as before. Jere tip-toes to where Mosese now lies, bends over him for a moment, then slowly moves down stage and looks intensely at the audience.)

JERE:    When the madness of an entire nation disturbs a solitary mind, it is not enough to say the man is mad. (Fade lights.)

31

Scene Three

A small room with main and kitchen doors. A bed is neatly spread along the back wall. By the left wall is a clothes stand on which a woman’s clothes hang. Regina enters by kitchen door, soap and towel in hand. She puts the two away and proceeds to wear shoes. Jusper enters by main door and tip—toes towards Regina. He wears his red academic gown.

JUSPER: Tututututututu! (Regina screams as Jusper laughs.)

REGINA: I have a mind to spit in your face. How dare you do that to me?

JUSPER: That is hardly a way to welcome a boyfriend Regina! It’s happening everywhere, you know. They come quietly when you are least expecting them and before you realise it, they have pounced on you like hungry leopards. It’s happening everywhere. It happened at my brother’s grave too, only this time I was a trifle quicker. Now, don't look at me with those worried eyes. I only wanted to see what you would do if it happened to you.

REGINA: Next time, knock! And you better take off that thing It makes you look more dangerous than you really are.

JUSPER: More mad you mean? Regina, look at me. Look at my eyes. Do you see madness in them?

REGINA:  Sit down and have some rest.

JUSPER:  What do you see in my eyes? (Silence) Regina, don’t be like the others. Don’t try to kill me. You and your brother are the only people I have in the world, but Mosese is in; that leaves you —you alone to build or destroy me.

32

REGINA : You need rest.

JUSPER: I don’t. I will never have rest. How can I ever rest

with the death of my entire family on my nfind?

Those brutes murdered my parents in exchange

for my release. Gave me good treatment knowing

well that I had nothing else to lean on except my

student status. I will get my revenge some day, even

if it means going it alone.

REGINA:  Jusper, you promised. You promised to be a good

boy. Do you now talk of revenge? Remember what my

brother told you before you left prison. What did he

say? What did he tell you to do?

JUSPER: To close my eyes, block my ears and pretend that

nothing is happening. But he was wrong. Madmen

don’t pretend. Regina, don't take sides with them.

They only use us as scapegoats, a kind of outlet for

their anger. It’s a shame.

REGINA: It's a shame to wear that thing in the streets, and

worse to have it on under my humble roof. Don’t

they teach you manners at th

I am a philosophy student, not a student of

rrmrrrrers. Regina, the street disease has caught

up with you. You have lost your fighting spirit like

everyone else in the street. As we marched up and

rluwn, some of them even shouted abusive words at

m. Beggars leaning on street walls told us we were

wasting time.

Hwy were right; you waste your time.

II 0-. .r year ago since we lost more than time. All

lire alrult'nts want is his photograph printed in the

lm M newspapers. We are prepared to pay for it

 

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