Kintu



Kintu, by Jeniffer Nansubuga is now my favourite African book.
It's a superb, well told tale. Living in Uganda, it took on a special significance.
My favourite character is Isaac Newton, and he has one of the saddest stories in the
clan.
Miisi, the one, in my opinion, who pays highest price for the curse, is a writer for a local
newspaper and he wrote one of the best imageries about colonialism I have come across.

Ekisode
Buganda, unlike the rest of Africa, was sweet-talked onto the operating table with praises and
promises.Protectorate was the plastic surgery to set the sluggish African body on a faster
 route to maturity.
But once under chloroform, the surgeon was at liberty and did as he pleased.
First he severed the hands then cut off the legs and he put the black limbs into a bin bag and 

disposed of them.
Then he got European limbs and set upon grafting them on the black torso.
When the African woke up, the European had moved into his house.
Though the African was still too weak to get up,he still said to the European, 'I don't
like what you are doing, my friend. Please get out of my house'
But the European replied, 'I am only trying to help,brother. You are still too weak and 

drowsy to look after your house. I will take charge in the meantime.When you're fully recovered ,
I promise you will worn and run twice as fast as I do.'

But the African body rejected the body parts. Africa says they are incompatible.
The surgeons say Africa discharged itself too soon from the hospital that is why it is
haemorrhaging. It needs a lot more continual blood and water pumped intravenously.
Africa says the water and blood are too expensive .The surgeons say, 'Nonsense, we did the same 

to India, see how fast it's running.'
When Africa looked  in the mirror, it saw that it was hideous .Africa looked in others' eyes to 

see how they saw it:there was revulsion.
That gave Africa permission to self harm and self hate.
Sometimes, when the world is not looking , the surgeons poke Africa in the wounds.
When it falls down, the surgeons say,' You see, we told you they were not ready.'
We cannot go back to the operating table and ask for African limbs.

Africa must learn to walk on European legs and work with European arms .
As time goes by,children will be born with evolved bodies and in time, Africa

will evolve according to ekisode's nature and come to it's best form.
But it will be neither African nor European.
Then the pain will settle down.



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