THE SWAHILI NOVEL "UTENGANO" IS A CLASSIC PICTURE OF THE SOCIETY WE LIVE IN. BY DR.MOKAYA ONSASE

UTENGANO IS THE SOCIETY WE LIVE IN. By Dr.Mokaya Onsase

The Swahili novel Utengano 

'UTENGANO' is a novel that widely addresses social issues like divorce, plight of women in the society, male chauvinism, politics and forgiveness. Its uniqueness lies on how Said A. Mohamed uses language easily, simply and figuratively.

Kazija, a mistress to the rich politician and businessman, Bwana Maksuudi, plots to antagonize Maksuudi and his son, Mussa. She succeeds when she invites both father and son in the house. Maksuudi and Mussa fight, leading to their separation. Kazija does these to avenge her friend's daughter, Biti Sururu, Bi. Farashuu's daughter. Maksuudi had once married her daughter, battered and divorced her later, making her end up poor and helpless, drunkard and later dies.

Shoka and James, are two characters used to express how the poor folks work so hard to earn a living, but instead of using their income to make change in their lives, they indulge in drinking and sleeping with women, neglecting their families.

Maksuudi and Mr. Smith represents the cartels in the society, who milk government illegally.

Any FEMINIST should read this book, and look at the life of Bi. Tamima, Maksuudi's wife. She's a woman so oppressed, locked from the world, enslaved without a voice and cheated on, without respect from her husband. Maksuudi divorces her after beating her, a night after she gave birth –just because she allowed a  'Mkunga' in the house.

Also, in the novel, the tendency of other women exploiting others comes out. Mama Jeni owns a liquor place, and a brothel. She's got ladies  who do the sex business for her, exploiting both men (who come for sex) and the young girls, who do prostitution to be paid by Mama Jeni.

The main character, Maimuna, evolves from one stage to another, bringing out the themes in the novel. She is a girl who was caged. She gets a day to go out, and escapes from home. She ends up working for Mama Jeni in the brothel, and becomes a 'zogo' , a rot. Later, after her life is wasted, and she accepts that she doesn't deserve anything good in life, she ends up in Futoni, a quiet village at the shore of the ocean. She meets Kabi, a crippled fisherman who falls in love with her. The reader feels Kabi deserves a much decent woman, for he was a good man, lived upright and struggled with life to make a living, and so falling in love with a 'whore' like Maimuna is unfair. Nature forgives Maimuna, and she gets married to Kabi, a decent and down-to-earth man – a marriage that bridges forgiveness between Bi. Farashuu and Maksuudi, Mussa and Maksuudi.

On politics, the old politicians are captured in the novel, through the thoughts of Mzee Japu. Youth leadership is embraced, as the crowd rejects the old leaders like Maksuudi and Zanga, and endorses Siwa, a young man.

There is no NOVEL as widely handling human life as this one. It's so much twisted, and in the end, you realize that we all deserve forgiveness, and we should leave God to be the judge.

Author: Dr.Mokaya Onsase