Siku Njema

Siku Njema is a popular Swahili novel written by the renowned Kenyan author, . The novel was published in 1996 and saw Walibora become an instant household name in Swahili fiction. Written in the first person, the book deals with the life of a young man, Msanifu Kombo who is born in Tanga, Tanzania and who faces family hardships with his single mother, who is a talented singer of taarab. Being a child born out of wedlock does not make life easier for him as he is chided by his schoolmates in a culture that frowns upon illegitimate children.

Overview[]

In Tanzania, the story dwells mostly on the struggles of Kombo after his mother, Zainabu Makame dies. He has to struggle with school and at the same time live through the maltreatment meted by his aunt and foster mother. His brilliance in writing however, bails him out and he becomes quite a successful student later nicknamed Kongowea Mswahili in reference to a prize-winning essay he had written.

Kongowea Mswahili after some struggles manages to move to Kenya in search of his father whom he had only seen in a snapshot in their house. Life is not easy for the humble Kongowea Mswahili. Often, he is looked down upon by the people he meets while in search of his father. However, his humility, kindness sets him to have a spot in the people's hearts. As the story emphasises, a bad deed can only be paid with a good deed. After other doses of trouble, he finds his father who happened to have been a known poet Juma Mukosi but who used the pen name of Amuj Isokum, a backward spelling of his real name. despite being a famous poet, Amuj Isokum who is terminally ill lives a desolate life and the whole neighbourhood looked down upon him. It takes a while for Kongowea to find out about his father, and he only does so when the man is already dead.

Ending[]

The book ends with the main protagonist, Kongowea Mswahili in his house, which he inherited from his father Juma Mukosi, early in the morning in the town of Kitale. He is writing a book, most possibly about his life, when his wife Vumilia binti Abdalla who was Kongowea's childhood friend comes from behind and gives him a bear hug. She notes that it is too late and he needs some night rest. He then looks through the window and sees the eastern horizon burning red, he had been writing for too long.

References[]

Ken Walibora: Siku njema. Longhorn Publ., 1996. ISBN 9966-49-744-7

This article about a Kenyan novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page.

This article about a 1990s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page.