Book Review
Nov 09, 2003
Kosiya Kifefe, a novel by Arthur Gakwandi, has been made a set book for ‘A’ Level Literature. This makes it the first book written by a Ugandan author to be put on a list of set books for A’ level Literature students.
Kosiya Kifefe, a novel by Arthur Gakwandi, has been made a set book for ‘A’ Level Literature. This makes it the first book written by a Ugandan author to be put on a list of set books for A’ level Literature students.
Kosiya Kifefe is the story of Uganda’s contemporary political history. It represents and captures the time and political epoch of the waning power of British colonialism and the post-colonial political turmoil in Uganda.
And yet it is a story of the confluence of European values and the traditional African setting that defines the ambiguous socio-cultural and political psyche that informed post-colonial elitism.
Kosiya Kifefe, is the son of a hapless fishmonger in Western Uganda. He can not go to school because his father can not afford to pay his school fees.
That is until a local chief threatens to punish his father for failure to send him to. From there begins a journey that propels Kosiya Kifefe to become a Cabinet minister.
However, Kifefe lacks strength of character. His moral inadequacy and self-conceited social disposition haunt him from childhood on to the days of turmoil that characterised Idi Amin’s rule.
The book ends when Kosiya Kifefe dies shortly after being sworn-in as the Minister of State for Rural Development in a hastily formed government after the fall of Dictator Idi Amin Dada.
And yet the symbolism of
Mr. Kosiya Kifefe’s death before he even steps in his ministerial office can not pass without a gesture of literary approbation and import. With Kifefe’s death, Gakwandi captures the quest [immediately after Idi Amin’s fall] for a new kind of political leadership, free from opportunists.
However, since the book was written in a period that one would describe as Pax Ugandana [from 1986 to-date] and written by someone associated with the architects of Pax Ugandana, one would have expected some subtle reference to activities that led to the NRM struggle.
This would have enriched the novel and saved Gakwandi from accusations of escapism and self-modesty.
Like any African novel, Kosiya Kifefe is multi-thematic. However, Gakwandi uses a linear plot to cover Kifefe’s life span with a thematic superstructure running through the story. The events of the story are tailored to fit the chronology of Kifefe’s life.
Although students tend to use theme and subject interchangeably, they should know that ‘theme’ can be defined as what the novel implies while ‘subject’ is the story object.
Gakwandi uses symbols to make a thematic appreciation of objects, situations or characters, which are insignificant in natural life.
“He stopped at a junction and made a sweeping survey of the whole area within sight, looking for a secluded spot where he could withdraw and put on his shoes.
Then he would practise walking in the shoes on isolated roads or sports grounds until he attained a confident gait.â€
But Kifefe’s feet revolted because they were not conditioned to shoes. This symbolises the initial clash between European and traditional African culture.
“Although he viewed himself as being, in some way, very close to the English society, he was aware that his command of the English language would never equal that of a native speaker. He was dimly aware that it was his destiny, shared by his generation of educated Africans to be confined to the shallow end of both cultures.â€
This symbolises the hollow elitism lacking cultural heritage that was to become the hallmark of post-colonial academics and politicians.
Kifefe’s relation to exile is the very embodiment of opportunism.
His decision to denounce the government of Uganda is done out of selfishness and opportunism because he does not consider his family’s safety back home in Uganda.
It was the temptation of becoming a public celebrity that enticed Kifefe to take the risk of giving an interview to a BBC reporter.
Kifefe was an opportunist through and through. When the priest asked him to accept salvation through Jesus Christ, Kifefe’s casual nod as his response to the priest’s overtures was a mean gesture.
And since he died before he said ‘Amen’, it can be deduced that opportunism is not for all circumstances.
And that a casual nod is not the price for going to Heaven in the same way as defeating Idi Amin was not the end of Uganda’s political problems.
Whichever way you see it, Kosiya Kifefe remains the story of Uganda’s contemporary political history.
Kosiya Kifefe is the story of Uganda’s contemporary political history. It represents and captures the time and political epoch of the waning power of British colonialism and the post-colonial political turmoil in Uganda.
And yet it is a story of the confluence of European values and the traditional African setting that defines the ambiguous socio-cultural and political psyche that informed post-colonial elitism.
Kosiya Kifefe, is the son of a hapless fishmonger in Western Uganda. He can not go to school because his father can not afford to pay his school fees.
That is until a local chief threatens to punish his father for failure to send him to. From there begins a journey that propels Kosiya Kifefe to become a Cabinet minister.
However, Kifefe lacks strength of character. His moral inadequacy and self-conceited social disposition haunt him from childhood on to the days of turmoil that characterised Idi Amin’s rule.
The book ends when Kosiya Kifefe dies shortly after being sworn-in as the Minister of State for Rural Development in a hastily formed government after the fall of Dictator Idi Amin Dada.
And yet the symbolism of
Mr. Kosiya Kifefe’s death before he even steps in his ministerial office can not pass without a gesture of literary approbation and import. With Kifefe’s death, Gakwandi captures the quest [immediately after Idi Amin’s fall] for a new kind of political leadership, free from opportunists.
However, since the book was written in a period that one would describe as Pax Ugandana [from 1986 to-date] and written by someone associated with the architects of Pax Ugandana, one would have expected some subtle reference to activities that led to the NRM struggle.
This would have enriched the novel and saved Gakwandi from accusations of escapism and self-modesty.
Like any African novel, Kosiya Kifefe is multi-thematic. However, Gakwandi uses a linear plot to cover Kifefe’s life span with a thematic superstructure running through the story. The events of the story are tailored to fit the chronology of Kifefe’s life.
Although students tend to use theme and subject interchangeably, they should know that ‘theme’ can be defined as what the novel implies while ‘subject’ is the story object.
Gakwandi uses symbols to make a thematic appreciation of objects, situations or characters, which are insignificant in natural life.
“He stopped at a junction and made a sweeping survey of the whole area within sight, looking for a secluded spot where he could withdraw and put on his shoes.
Then he would practise walking in the shoes on isolated roads or sports grounds until he attained a confident gait.â€
But Kifefe’s feet revolted because they were not conditioned to shoes. This symbolises the initial clash between European and traditional African culture.
“Although he viewed himself as being, in some way, very close to the English society, he was aware that his command of the English language would never equal that of a native speaker. He was dimly aware that it was his destiny, shared by his generation of educated Africans to be confined to the shallow end of both cultures.â€
This symbolises the hollow elitism lacking cultural heritage that was to become the hallmark of post-colonial academics and politicians.
Kifefe’s relation to exile is the very embodiment of opportunism.
His decision to denounce the government of Uganda is done out of selfishness and opportunism because he does not consider his family’s safety back home in Uganda.
It was the temptation of becoming a public celebrity that enticed Kifefe to take the risk of giving an interview to a BBC reporter.
Kifefe was an opportunist through and through. When the priest asked him to accept salvation through Jesus Christ, Kifefe’s casual nod as his response to the priest’s overtures was a mean gesture.
And since he died before he said ‘Amen’, it can be deduced that opportunism is not for all circumstances.
And that a casual nod is not the price for going to Heaven in the same way as defeating Idi Amin was not the end of Uganda’s political problems.
Whichever way you see it, Kosiya Kifefe remains the story of Uganda’s contemporary political history.