First published 1986
Mugo lives quietly in his village, carrying secrets from Kenya's fight for independence. The community prepares to celebrate Uhuru Day, but tensions simmer beneath the surface. Villagers still wonder who betrayed Kihika, the freedom fighter who died for the cause. Gikonyo struggles with his wife Mumbi's choices during his imprisonment. The approaching celebration forces buried truths into the open. Old wounds refuse to heal as people confront what they did and failed to do during the Emergency. Mugo finds himself at the center of expectations he never sought. The village wants him to speak at the ceremony, to represent their struggle and sacrifice. But Mugo knows the weight of his own choices during those dark years. As Uhuru Day arrives, the community must face the gap between their dreams of freedom and the reality they now inhabit. The celebration becomes a reckoning with the past and the price of independence.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, african-literature
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: community, found-family, secrets
Setting: Kenya
Period: Kenya's Fight for Independence
Paperback · Heinemann
Content warnings: violence