AWALKTHROUGHTHECRIMINALSCITY:JOHNKIRIAMITISMYLIFEINCRIMEANDMYLIFEINPRISON

JenniferBeatriceMSANGI,

Supervisedby

Dr.DanOjwang

AresearchreportsubmittedtotheFacultyofArts,UniversityoftheWitwatersrand,Johannesburg,inpartialfulfilmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeofMasterofArts.

Johannesburg,2008

i

ABSTRACT

AWalkthroughtheCriminalsCity:JohnKiriamitisMyLifeinCrimeandMyLife

inPrison is an examinationofKiriamitisuseof the criminal figure to represent the

urban space and its discourses.Among the variousways throughwhich this study

achievesitsaimisbyundertakinganoverviewofthecrimegenreintermsofitshistory

anddevelopment,particularly themostpopularofwhich is thedetective crime sub

genre.Secondly,thestudyexaminesKiriamitis(re)constructionofthefictionalcriminal

figure as a hero through the principles of the crime thriller. In the examination of

Kiriamitisrepresentationoftheurbanspace,thisstudydigs intothevariouszones in

whichthecriminalundertakeshisdailyactivities likethebar,certainneighbourhoods

andtheprison.Finally,thestudyexaminestheuseofstereotypes,asformingpartofthe

discoursesthatordertheurbanspace,inKiriamitiscrimewriting.

Keywords:Criminal,Crime,City,Interpellation,Reader.

ii

DECLARATION

__________________________________________________________

Ideclare that this research report ismyownunaidedwork. It issubmitted for thedegreeofMasterofArtsintheUniversityoftheWitwatersrand,Johannesburg.Ithasnotbeensubmittedbeforeforanyotherdegreeorexaminationatanyotheruniversity.

___________________________________

JenniferBeatriceMSANGI

______dayof_______________,2008.

iii

DEDICATION

To the Late NathanMnve Ktonga (aka Klomba d. January, 2007) Everyonecalledyouthevillagemadman;butnotuntilmadnessisredefinedandcontextualized(andconvincinglyso),willIgobythispopularopinion.Ifyouwerehere,IwouldaskyouwhyyouoptedtocallmeProfessorwhensuchtitleswerereservedforthechosenfewbutsinceyouarenot,theburdenlieswithme.Komamwendwa,komenavoo!

To you Granny Dorcas Ngithi NgkSoon you might be clocking a century and togetherweve come fromworldafarand stillare travelling lifespathway.Youhaveprovedover theyears thata fewuneducated (soundsdemeaning!)geniusescanhaveapassionfortheeducationofothers.I.O.U!Andtoallthebodies,livinganddead,throughwhomabullethaspassed;firedfromarifle in thehands of aperpetrator of crimeYes, institutionalized crime inKenyas2007postelectionviolence,thisisforyouBadomapambano!

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Sayingitwasalongacademicwalkisastatementoftheobviousbutperhapsifitwas

notsolongIwouldhaveconvincedmyself(erroneouslythough)thatIcouldmakeiton

myown.Thepresence andvaluable assistanceof severalpeoplemade thewalk less

painfulandevenshorter.IappreciateallthehelpthatIgotfromallofyoubothinbig

andsmallways.AlthoughImaynotmentioneveryonebynameIappreciatewhatever

whoeverdidformewhereverandwhenever,muchofwhichperhapsIdidnotdeserve.Dr.

DanOjwang,JapuonjIknowyouhaveheardthisenoughtimesandperhapsitdoesnot

meananything toyouanymore.Sincerelyyouwerenotonlya supervisor tomebut

alsoamentor,asourceof inspirationandaspringofpatience.Thankyouforpicking

meupwhenIwasdownandfornotgivinguponmewhenIliterallycrawledatalmost

0km/hr.

To my former lecturers at Egerton University Kenya, Dishon Kweya and Adrian

Onyando, thank you for teaching me literature beyond the written word and for

believing I could. To Dr. Tom Odhiambo all the brainstorming sessions and your

commentson thatvery firstessayarehighlyappreciated, erokamanokabisa.ToMrs.

Merle Govind, at the African Literature Department, thank you so much for your

encouragementandthankyoutooforthehotwaterwheneverIcaughtflu(inthissafari

everylittlethingcounts).IwouldalsoliketothanktheUniversityoftheWitwatersrand

Financial Aid and Scholarships committee for awarding me a Postgraduate Merit

Awardwithoutwhichperhaps Iwouldnothavemanagedmy finances.Howeverall

blameliesonmeforanyfaultsinthisreport.

Dina, Grace, Maina, Chris, Senayon, Busuyi and the entire African Literature

Departmentfraternity,mazeasantenisanaforthatcrucialquestion,Howisyourwork

v

going?,forittrulydidkeepmyworkgoing.ToMim,Ukpong,Gerald,Jude,Olivier,

Thabiso,NomapheloandallmyfriendsatCampusLodgethankyouforsimplybeing

there.IkeptgoingbecauseIknewIwasnotalone.Sheppy,thankslotsforeverything

(includingeverything).CharlesNyuykonge,thankyousomuchforallthefightsover

timemanagement and your unfailing encouragement, they really didwork,Dankie!

Ngiyabonga! Tomy comrades in the struggle towards the completion of our degree

program: Jendele,Violet,Nomsa,Khwezi andCarolyn,guys thosedebates andyour

valuableinsightscannotbetakenforgranted.Carolyn,girlthankyoufortellingmeto

packandgohomewhenIkeptwhiningoverthingsIhadnocontroloverItwassuch

achallenge,kongoilakwani.

Tomy family, saying thank youmay not be enough but I hope that it conveys the

messageofmyheart.Mum,forthesacrifice,thesupportbothfinancialandemotionalI

lacktheproperwordsAsantemama,niwewetu!TomysisterKats,kidyouknowIknow

thatmyeducationthrewyourcomfortoffbalancebutyounevercomplained;thanksfor

thesacrificeandall thecomicalphonecallsandSMSs. ToUncleKivindu,whatcanI

say?Sisemikitu!Grandma,allmyaunts,cousinsandtheentireNgkfamily,Icannot

repayyou foryourprayers,kindness and supportbutGodknows theprayerofmy

heartforyouall.

Finally, I thankGod (perhaps this iswhere I should have begun) forprovision and

protectionthroughoutmystudy;Iowecompletelynothingtomyself.

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

TitlePage

Abstracti

Declarationii

Dedicationiii

Acknowledgementiv

ListofContentsvi

CHAPTERONE:Introduction1

CHAPTERTWO:RobberywithoutCrime:Whenthecriminal

BecomesafigureofAdmiration28

CHAPTERTHREE:ThisisNairobi:UnravelingtheCitysUnderbelly49

CHAPTERFOUR:ImagineanIndianSupplyingYouwithFreeLunch:

StereotypicalRepresentationoftheCity77

CHAPTERFIVE:Conclusion101

Bibliography107

1

CHAPTERONE

INTRODUCTION

This study aims to examine John Kiriamitis use of the criminal figure in the

representation of the city and thediscourses that order theurban space.The central

argumentinthisstudyisthatKiriamitiasawriterusesnarrativetoreconstructboththe

city and the criminal in a way that interpellates and accommodates his readers

(imagined or real).This study therefore seeks to identify the variousways inwhich

KiriamitiasanartistreorganisesthecriminalsrealityinthecityintotextinMyLifein

Crime(1984)andMyLifeinPrison(2004).

Thestudy, in itsattempt toachieve thestatedaim,answerscertainspecificquestions

aboutthecriminal,thecityandthenarrativethatlinksthetwo,thatis,thecrimestory

ingeneral.Thesequestions include:HowareKiriamitis textspresented to thereader

for consumption?Whatdoes the criminalknow about the city that theordinary city

dwellerdoesnot?Or ratherwhatalternative truthsabout theurban spacedoes the

crimestoryunravelthatareotherwiseinaccessibletothereader?Whatandhowdothe

crimestoryandthecriminalappropriateparticularpopulardiscourseswithintheurban

space?

2

Myinquiryismotivatedbyamongothersthreemajorfactors.Firstly,theemergenceof

recentscholarshipinpopularartsinAfricaingeneralandparticularlythestudyofthe

popularnovel inKenya isan important influence in thisstudy.Therehasbeen in the

recentpast (from the late1970s todate)analternative focus in literarystudieswitha

shiftofattention from themonopolyof thesocalled seriousworksofart to thoseof

thepopular subgenre.1 InKenya,worksofwriters suchasDavidG.Maillu,Charles

Mangua,CarolyneAdalla,andOmondiMakOlooamongothershavebeenappreciated

in and incorporated into literary circles unlike in the past when such works were

judged asmere deflation of literary value (Lindfors 1991: 51).Clearly there is an

emerging need and interest in studying the popular as the popular novel base

continuestobroaden.Itisthisarousalofinterestintheurbanpopularnovelthatleads

me into studying theworks of JohnKiriamitiwhich I believe belong to thepopular

category.2Itisimportantformetopointout,however,thatIdonotintend,inanyway,

toidealizepopularliteratureovercanonicalliteraturebecauseIbelievebothliteratures

areimportantinliterarystudiesneitherofwhichshouldbediscardedinpreferencefor

theother.

Secondly,JohnKiriamitisstyleofwritingisofparticularinterestinthisresearch.The

choiceofKiriamitifromamongotherpopularKenyanauthorscouldbeattributedtohis

popularityasKiriamititheman(therobber)andasKiriamititheliteraryauthor.What

perhapsmakesKiriamitiandhisworks sopopular inKenya ishisadaptationof the1SeeFabian (1978),Barber (1987& 1997),Lindfors (1991),Frederiksen (1991),Kurtz (1998),Granqvist(2004&2006),Ogude&Nyairo(2006),amongothers.2Kiriamitisworksareconsideredpopularowingnotonlytotheirsubjectmatterandaestheticsbutalsoto the influence of the readers in their composition. Son of Fate (1994) for examplewaswritten afterreceivinghundredsoflettersfromfansandagoodnumberoffriendswhoinclude[d]threeauthorsadvising[Kiriamiti]totry[his]handinfiction(Preface,SonofFate).Similarly,thesequeltoSonofFate,TheSinisterTrophy(1999),waswrittenonrequestbyreadersandreviewersofSonofFateintheKenyannewspapers,TheDailyNationandThePeopleDaily(Preface,TheSinisterTrophy).

3

tenetsof thecrime thriller. It is interesting that inallhisworksKiriamitimanages to

makehis fictionalized self so likeable that insteadofbeing thevillain that crimehas

turnedhiminto,hebecomesthereadershero.AlthoughIamnotsayingthatKiriamiti

istheonlyKenyanwriterwhohasdonethis,clearlythethrillingeffectthathebestows

crime isbeyonddisputeandcouldbeargued tobeprimarily themainreasonbehind

his popularity amongst Kenyan readers. In fact Kiriamitis My Life in Crime, in

particular,wassopopular in the1980sand1990s thatalongsideotherpopularworks

likeDavidMaillusAfter4:30andMwangiGicherusAcrosstheBridge,studentsreadit

under theirdesks orunder blanketswith flashlights for fear of beingdiscovered by

schoolauthorities.3 Inothercasescertainpageswouldbe foldedor recommendedon

thefirstpagewithacatchyphraselike,Gotopage121orMynameisMillymeet

meonpage39andsoon.Suchpageswouldcertainlycontaingraphicallydetailedsex

scenariosornaughtyphraseswhichthenanystudentwouldwanttoread.4

Thirdly, although perhaps he is not the first novelist to write on crime in Kenya,5

KiriamitisMyLife inCrime(1984)hasbeenrecordedasKenyasbestsellingnovelof

the early 1980s and the first in the urban crime craze (Danysh, 2001). Kiriamitis

groundbreaking crimenovel spawned suchworksas JohnKiggiaKimanisLifeand

Times of a Bank Robber (1988), Frank Saisis The Bhang Syndicate (1984), and

3Owingtowhatschoolauthoritiesconsideredexplicitsexualcontent,studentswerenotallowedtoreadortobeinpossessionofmostofthenovelsbelongingtothepopularcategoryprimarilywritteninthelate1970sandearly1980s.SuchnovelsincludedCharlesManguasSonofWomananditssequelSonofWoman inMombasa,DavidMaillusAfter4:30,and JohnKiriamitisMyLife inCrimeamongothers.Nevertheless,thedistribution,circulationandconsumptionoftheseliteraturescontinuedtorisedespitetheimposedrestrictions(Newell2002:5).4Personalmemory.Seealso,KamauMutunga,ReadingovertheYears.http://thevincentian.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=73&PN=0&TPN=9;andKurtz1998:98.

5 Other crime novels before Kiriamitis include Meja Mwangis The Bushtrackers (1979), MwangiRuhenisTheMysterySmugglers(1975)andPaulKitololosShortcuttoHell(1982)amongothers.

4

Wamugunda Geterias Black Gold of Chepkube (1985) among others. Nevertheless,

Kiriamitiisthemostprolificauthorofthecrimesubgenrewithuptofivetitles6tohis

name among which three are quasiautobiographical and two fictional.7 Kiriamiti

introducesanaltogetherdifferentapproachtothewritingofthecity inKenya.This is

becauseunlikemostotherKenyannovelistswhoonlyusecrimeasatropewithinlarger

themes,Kiriamitiisapioneerinthecrimewritingsubgenre.Alsowhatstrikesoneas

interesting is the fact that unlike in most other Kenyan popular urban novels, for

example, thosebyMejaMwangi8andDavidMaillu,amongothers,Kiriamitis city is

notaplaceofdisillusionmentandeventualsufferingbutforthebetterpartofitaplace

of joy,material success and selfdefinition for the criminal.Thus Ibelievehisworks

present an altogether different approach to the writing of the city (particularly

postcolonial Nairobi) and are worth more scholarly attention than they have been

accordedinthepast.9

6KiriamitiisthemostpublishedpopularauthorintheSpearBookseriesoftheEastAfricanEducationalPublishers according to the EAEP Book Catalogue. He could also be argued to have established aconsistentpattern ofpublishing after every five years since thepublication of his first novel in 1984;otherswerepublishedin1989,1994,1999and2004inthatorder.7 The two texts with which this study is concerned (My Life in Crime and My Life in Prison) areautobiographical and the other two Son of Fate (1994) and The Sinister Trophy (1999) fictional. Inadditiontothetwoautobiographiesisthesequeltothefirst;MyLifewithaCriminal:MillysStory(1989)inwhichtheauthorappropriatesMillys(hisgirlfriend)voice.8MejaMwangi isoneof themost establishedurbannovelists inKenyawhose concernswith the city(particularlyNairobi) range from postindependencedisillusionment to everyday city life.Mwangi ispopular for hisNairobi trilogy (KillMeQuick,GoingDownRiverRoad andCockroachDance). SeeamongothersGraebner(1992)9Therearea fewworkswhich Imanaged tocomeacrossbeforeandduringmyresearchonKiriamiti.HoweverIrealizedthatmostcriticstendtoreadKiriamitialongsideotherKenyannovelistslikeCharlesManguaorMejaMwangibecausetheyaremostlyconcernedwitheither issuesofmodernityorsimplytheKenyanurbannovelandnot the criminalorevenKiriamitiasa crimewriter.Suchcritics includeamongothersRogerKurtz(1998),RaoulGranqvist(2004)andTomOdhiambo(2008).

5

JohnKiriamititheManandWriter:ABiography

John Baptista Wanjohi Kiriamiti was born on 14th February 1950 in Thuita Village,

KamachariaLocationofMurangaDistrict inCentralKenya.He is thesecondofnine

childrenborntoAlbertandAnneWanjiruKiriamiti,bothprimaryschoolteachers(now

retired) in Muranga. Kiriamiti studied for and passed his Certificate of Primary

Education(CPE)atthelocalprimaryschoolinhisThuitaVillage.Hewasprivilegedto

beamongthefirstnineAfricanstudentsto jointhedominantlywhitePrinceofWales

School (nowNairobiSchool)ata timewhenmostAfricanscouldnotafford theKsh.

1,080termfeethuspreferringtherelativelyaffordableAllianceHighSchoolwhoseterm

feewasKsh.100.AlthoughKiriamitireceivedbursariesasagiftedAfricanstudent,he

joinedPrinceofWalesschoolasadayscholarandstayedwithhisuncleinBahatiEstate

inNairobisEastlandswherehiselderbrotherSammystayedtoo.Hisacademiclifeat

thePrinceofWalesSchoolwasshort lived thoughbecause inhis last termasa form

onestudent,attheageoffifteen,hewasexpelledfromschoolafterbeingtheringleader

inastudentstrike.ThatmarkedtheendofKiriamitisformaleducationinspiteofpleas

fromhisparentstotakeupschoolelsewhere.

AsapunishmentforhismisconductKiriamitisparentsdecidedtodeporthimback

toMurangawhere theywanted toenrollhim inavillagesecondaryschool.Kiriamiti

couldnothearofanythingelsebesidesschooling inNairobianddeclinedhisparents

request to attend the local school.Eventuallyhedecided to sneakhiswayback into

NairobigettingawaywithhisfathersKsh.600.InNairobihehadnowheretostayas

his uncle refused to take him in. Subsequently, by the age of twenty,Kiriamitiwas

already a known robber and in thepolice V.I.P list, as he calls themostwanted

police list. As a criminal, Kiriamiti went by the names John Khamwene, Charles

6

Lukindo,RichardMwangi,AlbertNgure,AlbertWanjohiandJackZollo(anamewhich

heusesforhisfictionalizedselfinbothMyLifeinCrimeandMyLifeinPrison)among

others.

Aftera long chasewith thepolice,Kiriamitiwasarrestedand sent to jail in1971 for

twenty yearswith forty eight strokes of the cane. It is atKamitiMaximum Security

Prison and Naivasha Government Maximum Prison that his first novel My Life in

CrimewaswrittenandtheinitialideasofMyLifeinPrisonborn.Fivemonthsafterthe

publicationofMyLife inCrime (in1984),Kiriamitiwasreleasedongroundsofgood

conducthaving served thirteenoutofhis twentyyears sentence.Kiriamitis freedom

howeverdidnotlastlongfortwoyearsdowntheline(in1986)hewassentbacktojail

byPresidentDanielToroiticharapMoisregime forallegedlybeing involved inwhat

the government deemed a seditiousmovementmeant to overthrow the government

(Mwakenya).10 This time Kiriamiti found himself headon with the law after Benga

musicianturnedsoldier, Hajullas Ochieng Kabaselle, implicated him in crime.

Ochieng,onhisarrestwhileservingintheArmy,claimedthathehadlefthismachine

gunwithmetouseinbankrobberiesforthefundingofMwakenya,Kiriamitisaysin

aninterviewwithJoeOmbuor(ibid).

Having had interactedwithmost of the brains thought to be behind theMwakenya

movement like Onyango Oloo, Prof. Katama Mkangi, Mwandawiro Mgangha and

10SeeJoeOmbuor,FameandGloryfromWritingafterLong,SundayNation27/02/2005,http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/27022005/DailyMagazine/Lifestyle5.htmandExrobbersWaronCrime,SundayNation27/02/2005,http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/27022005/DailyMagazine/Lifestyle13.htm.

7

others, Kiriamiti was a natural suspect to the authorities.11 Resultantly, he earned

himselfasevenyearsentencefortheallegedinvolvementinaclandestinemovement.

However, hewas released after four years on February 11, 1990 (the same day that

SouthAfricas freedom icon,NelsonMandelawas released fromRobben Island).As

fatewouldhaveit,twodayslater,afterKiriamitisrelease,whatwasthoughttobethe

political assassination of the Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. John Robert Ouko on

February13,1990linkedhimtoyetanothersuspiciouslookfromKenyans,asrumour

haditthathewasreleasedtokillOuko(Ombuor2005:2).

Nevertheless, since his trading of the gun for a pen (to use the words of Kamau

Mutunga),andhissubsequentreleasefromKamitiMaximumSecurityPrison,Kiriamiti

has become a renowned philanthropist and social reformist rehabilitating street

childrenandthievesinhisruralMurangahome.Besideswritingnovels,Kiriamitialso

owns and edits a newspaper, The Sharpener which he established after the

governmentbanontheGikuyuversionInooroin1995.12

MyLife inCrime is the first novelwritten by JohnKiriamiti. Part of the novelwas

written at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison and the rest at Naivasha Government

MaximumPrisonbothprisons inwhichKiriamitiserved thirteenyears imprisonment

forrobberywithviolence.Thenovel,Kiriamititellsus,waspublishedonlyfivemonths11SeeWeLivedtoTell:TheNyayoHouseStory,

2003.

12Inooro(literallySharpener)wasacriticalCatholicmagazinewhosepast,presentandfutureissueswerebanned by the Moi government in February 1995 on grounds of unwarranted criticism against thegovernment. See Censorship in Kenya: Government Critics Face the Death Sentence,http://www.article19.org.

8

priortohisacquittanceandsubsequentreleasefromprison,thatis,inMay1984.Infact

when thenovelwas releasedandwasdiscoveredby theprisonauthorities,Kiriamiti

was sent into solitary confinement (aprisonwithinprison) for a hundreddays as a

punishmentforwritingwhileservingajailterm(MyLifeinPrison,197).

Inthisautobiographicalnovel,JohnKiriamitinarrateshowatonly15years,he(asJack

Zollo) is expelled from school, becomes an amateur pickpocket and eventually

graduatesintoaviolentbankrobber.Insimpleyetcandidlanguage,Kiriamititakesthe

reader into the criminalunderworldof JackZollowhich is denselypopulatedwith

prostitutes,robbers, forgers,carjackers,policeandothermenandwomenwithwhom

Zollo deals in his life of crime. With an interesting attention to detail, Kiriamiti

describescertainareasofNairobi(includingvarioussitesofconsumptionsuchasbars,

hotelrooms,andsoon)andZollospeculiarutilizationofsuchareas.

Inanactionpackedscenario (and language)Kiriamitidescribeshowatonepoint the

policearesearchingforZollointhewholeofNairobiandhehastofleetotheCongo.It

is only in the Congo that Zollo (as Albert Ngure) leads a life outside crime as a

chauffeurtoaGreekmillionaire(Stephano).13However,hehastofleebacktoNairobi

afterElizabethandHellene(hisbossssecretaryanddaughter,respectively)threatento

commit suicide because they are both pregnant by him. On his escape, he steals

Stephanos 1.5millionCongolese Francs an action that rekindles his cat andmouse

13By leading a straight lifeonce in theCongo,Kiriamiti is in a certainway saying that the criminaloperateswithin certain territories andnotothers.AlthoughZollo steals fromStephanoon thedayheescapes,heconfessestobothhisboss(Stephano)andtothereadersthatheregretshisdeeds.ThisissomuchunliketheZollowhohaspickedpockets,brokencarsandrobbedbanksinNairobibefore,withoutanytracesofguilt.

9

gamewith thepolice.He isarrestedat theairport inRwandabutmanages toescape

throughUgandaintoKenya.

OncebackinNairobi,Zollodecidestoquitcrimeandgetajobforhimselfasadvisedby

Milly(hisgirlfriend)butthatfailsbecauseheistoobroketoquit.Hedecidestopullone

lastbutbig jobbeforehecanretire.He is involved in thebiggestbankrobberyof the

time inNaivasha (on 4thNovember, 1970) afterwhich two ofhisgangmembers are

gunneddownbypoliceandthreeothersarrested.Hedecidestogohidingathomefor

some timesincehe is theonlyoneat large. In themeantime,Millydiscloses toZollo

thatsheispregnantandshewantsnotonlymarriagebutalsoaweddingceremony.Itis

ontheeveoftheweddingthatZolloisarrested(14thDecember,1970)inhisvillagein

Thuita,Muranga.

It is interesting tonoteKiriamitiscreationofZolloasone indomitablecharacterwho

slips throughvirtuallyanything fromairportauthorities topolice.Bycreating sucha

mytharoundZolloasindispensable,Kiriamiticertainlypresentstohisimpliedreaders

a heroic villain. Zollo demonstrates the heroism of the criminal for example as he

escapesarrestthroughalmostunbelievablemeansinhisstruggleforsurvivalagainst

the forcesof law (MyLife inCrime:Blurb).For instance,Zolloescapes through the

tinywindowofa toiletat theAstridaAirportasguardswaitwithgunsat thedoor.

Again,afterthebiglootatNaivashasBarclaysBank,wheneverymemberofhisgang

iseitherkilledorarrestedbythepolice,Zollostillremains untouched:heistheonly

onewhomanages to escape. Zollo emerges at this point as a hero in the criminal

underworldwhooutdoeseventhelaw.Thereaderispersuadedthereforenotonlyto

10

sympathizewithZollowhenheisfinallyarrestedandsenttojailbutconverthimfrom

hispositionasasupposedvillain,intoahero.

MyLife inPrison is, indisputably,acontinuationofthefirstnovel(MyLife inCrime)

although published twenty years later by the popular wing of East African

EducationalPublishers,SpearBooks,in2004.ThenovelbeginswiththearrivalofJack

Zolloat theNairobiLawCourtswherehe isconvictedandsentencedtotwentyyears

imprisonment with forty eight strokes of the cane. Zollos prison term gets him

distraughtsomuchthatheatsomepointbecomesviolent(beatingupfellowprisoners

andwardens), feigns insanity,getsadmission intoanasylumandeventuallyescapes

from the Mathare Mental Hospital (where he is admitted after a major spell of

madness).However,hisfreedomlastsonlyafewhoursbeforeheisrearrested.

Back in prison, however,Zollo becomes strong in spirit and is ready to survive the

harsh conditions in jail, for instance, feeding on one potato a day.However,what

surfaces in thisnovel is theway inwhichZollonarrateshisconquests in thecityand

adventures as a criminal and how he is constantly atwarwith the state agents of

discipline.ForZollo,at thispoint,prison just like thecity is thecustodianofcertain

possibilitiesthatperhapshecannotgetelsewhere(say inthevillage).Although inthe

cityhehas to constantly flee from theagentsof lawandorder to survive, inprison

Zolloseems tobecelebrating a lifewellledandwhichhe isdetermined tocontinue

with inprisonagainstallodds. In factZollogainspopularity inprisonbothwith the

prison authorities and fellow inmates and equally maintains his heroic position

throughouthisprisonlife.

11

InthisnovelKiriamitinarratesvariousinstancesinwhichinmatesandprisonwarders

areengagedinkillingspreesthusheighteningenmitybetweenthetwomajoroccupants

ofprison.Being thehero thathe is,Zollomanages tobringbackpeace inprisonby

recruiting fellow inmates into a peaceseeking syndicate. Again, like in My Life in

Crime,ZolloistransformedbyKiriamitisnarrativefromthecrimeinclinedconvictthat

heisintoacelebratedhero.Nevertheless,Zolloisultimatelyreleasedfromprisonand

goesbacktothefreecitywherehehopestoputtheskillshehaslearnedintopractice.

After trying for some time, Zollo gives up on life in the city and goes back to his

Murangahome.

Likemostothercrimenovels, forexample JohnKiggiaKimanis LifeandTimesofa

BankRobber,bothMyLifeinCrimeandMyLifeinPrisonendatarathermoralizing

notewithwhatRogerKurtzcallsaconservativehegemonicmessage,theusualcrime

doesnotpayconclusion(1998:106).Forinstance,inMyLifeinCrime,Zollosays,...I

amareformedperson.Iamwhollydecidedtobeontherightsideofthelawaslongas

Ilive.ThemainreasonisthatIhavelearntthatcrimedoesnotpay...(215;myemphasis).

ThisconclusionisratherinterestingbecausealthoughZolloscrimemayappeartothe

reader to be a subversion ofmorality, Zollo emerges as a personwho has had his

privilegesinthecityandinprisonowingtohisreputationasasuccessfulcriminal.Itis

interesting to realizehoweasily theprisonbecomesacityof sorts forZollo for there

appearstobenostrongdemarcationbetweenthetwo(cityandprison).

12

LiteratureReviewandTheoreticalConsiderations

InthepagesthatfollowIattempttogiveabriefandhistoricalbackgroundtodiscourses

oflawandorderinKenya.Whatexactlyiscriminality?Whodefinescrime?Canthere

be formal and informal definitions and perceptions of crime in certain contexts? I

believe thisbackground informationprovidesan important theoretical framework for

thisdiscussionbecauseonlythencanwebegintounderstandthecriminalasaliterary

and social construct. Secondly, I attempt toprovide ageneral overviewof the crime

genreinordertobeabletosituateandcontextualizetheworkswithwhichthisstudyis

concernedwithinthisparticulargenre.Varioustypesofcrimestorieswillbediscussed

inanattempttocloselyexplorewhatexactlythecrimestoryentails.

Therelationshipbetweenpolitical/culturalnormsandwhatmaybeconsideredcriminal

activitiesprovidesanimportanthistoricalbackgroundforunderstandingissuesoflaw

and order in Kenya. Indeed, it is almost impossible to discuss Kenyas history,

particularly the evolution ofmodern discourses of law and order,without invoking

issuesof colonialismandhow the colonial situation (dis)ordered theKenyan society.

ThemajorissuewithwhichIamconcernedhereishowtheconceptofcriminalityhas

evolved over time and its subsequent ambiguities within Kenyas colonial and

postcolonialcontexts.

ChloeCampbell, inhisanalysisof juveniledelinquency incolonialKenya,arguesthat

amongstthemostdreadedissuesbythesettlercommunitywascrimeanddisorder.The

European minority, Campbell posits, was highly sensitive to the threat of crime

perpetrated by theAfricanmajority (2002: 129).Most of these crimes ofwhich the

13

settlercommunitywassoscaredweremostlyperceivedtobecommittedincitieswhere

the presence of unemployed youth posed a threat to the colonial order. Like in the

neighbouringTanzanian town ofDar es Salaam, for colonial officials inKenya, the

most disturbing aspect of urbanization amongst young Africans was the fear of

disorder(Burton2001:202).

Clearly,fortheBritishcolonialauthoritiesinKenya,juvenilecrimewasoftenregarded

asamanifestationof thesocialandeconomicchangesassociatedwithurbanization

which,Campbellargues,resonatedwithBritishdiscoursesabouturban juvenilecrime

and disorder (2002:130). But what order was there for the African youths to be

perceivedasdisorderingbycolonialauthoritieswhetherincitiesorinthevillages?Was

that colonial order considered as such byAfrican authorities and societies?Did the

conceptofcrimeinvokeasimilarsenseamongtheAfricansasitdidamongthewhite

settlerminority?

Among theMaasaiand theKalenjincommunitiesofKenya, forexample, in the1930s

stocktheftwasanacceptableformofaccumulationofwealthwhichbroughtwith ita

certainprestige for those involved and their families. In colonialKenya, thiskindof

theftbegantoraiseconcernwhenMaasaiandKalenjinyoungmenbegantoraidwhite

settler farms for cattle.However, the impositionof colonial legislationon criminality

couldnotwork in these cases because to the communities involvedwhat theywere

doing could not be considered crime.According toDavidAnderson, settler opinion

heldthatstocktheftcontinuedtothrivebecauseofthesocialprestigeattachedtothe

crimeinAfricancommunities.

14

Theunwillingness of theAfricanpublic to assist in theprevention anddetectionofstockthefthadlongbeeninterpretedasatacitsanctioningofsuchtheft,leadingtotheconclusionthatwithinthemoraleconomyofmanyAfricancommunities,stocktheftwasnotthoughtofasacrimeatall.(Anderson1986:399;emphasismine)

Thisambiguityinthedefinitionofcriminalitycouldbearguedtoemanatefromthefact

that, asRalphAusten has it, the norms againstwhich criminality [was] defined in

Westerntraditionthesanctityofprivatepropertyandtheterritorialsovereigntyofthe

state[had]amuchweaker resonance inAfrican cultures (1986:385).For theAfrican

communities,whatthecolonialauthoritiesperceivedascrimewasactuallyasportfor

youngmen.QuotingthethenRiftValley ProvincialCommissionerin1959,Anderson

reports,afterallstocktheftisthetraditionalsportoftheyoungmeninmanytribes

and the elders cannot be expected to act as killjoys and stamp it out unless they

themselvesareliabletosuffer(1986:399).

However, as Campbell (2002: 141) argues, since law and order had always been a

powerfulpoliticalissueforEuropeansettlers,thecolonialauthoritieshadtofindaway

ofpunishingcriminalsinordertorestoreorderwithintheBritishcolony.Owingtothe

belief thatstock theftwasnotacrimeamongst theMaasaiandKalenjincommunities,

the colonialadministrationhad toput forwarda formof legislation todealwith the

crime.Familiesandsometimescommunitiestowhichtheseraidersbelongedwouldbe

punished collectively to discourage members of the various communities from

perpetuating further raids (Anderson1986:399). TheMaasai and Kalenjin stock theft

case isonlyoneamongmanycases inwhichcriminalitycouldnotbeclearlydefined

thus remaining a fluid concept that depended on the moral economy (to quote

Anderson1986)ofthepeopledefiningcrimeandtheperpetratorsofsuchcrimes.The

15

factthatthecolonialauthoritieswereabletoeventuallycomeupwithlegislationonthis

crimeanditspunishmentshowshowmuchtheexecutionoflawandorderdependson

rulingandhegemonicpowers.

ThecoloniallegacyoflawandorderwasrocketedtoperfectionbypostcolonialKenyan

leadersintheyearssubsequenttothecountrysindependencein1963.Thepostcolonial

governing(whichalsodoubledupastheruling)classemphasizedtheneedforlawand

order in the newborn state. ThroughwhatAtienoOdhiambo calls the ideology of

orderthegoverning/rulingclassimposedorderonthepeoplewhiletheythemselves

wallowed inanauraof legal lawlessness.The ideologyoforder,Odhiambo (1987)

saysspellsout:theneedforobedienceamongthegovernedratherthananyprofound

acceptance of the rulers so that the newly acquired expectations and the levels of

activityoftheruledaresuccessfully loweredbythepoliticalelite(189).Order,forthe

Kenyanrulingclass,becameatoolofsilencingdissidentssothatpeopleperceivedto

beadangertothatorderhadtobedealtwithbythestate.Thesedissidentswerethose

whoinsistedontheneedforaccountabilityinsociety(Odhiambo1987:189).

Itisironicthatthosewhodemandedaccountability,transparencyanddemocraticrule

wereperceivedasinterferingwithlawandorderwhilethosewhoactuallyencouraged

lawlessness remained theguardiansoforder.For instance,Odhiambo (1987:195) tells

us,itisonrecordthatbytheyear1975thethenpresidentMzeeJomoKenyattaandhis

wifeMamaNginaKenyattaownedover1millionacresoflandalongtheKenyancoast;

landwhichsixyearslater,in1981,JaramogiOgingaOdingarevealedwasgrabbedfrom

wananchi(thecommonpeople).ThisresonateswithOdhiambosviewsthattheideology

oforder entailsthe entrustingof themanagementof the state toabureaucracy; the

16

need foraccumulationandconcentrationofpower in thehandsofpoliticalelite,and

notitsdispersionintosociety;andlegallawlessnessbytherulingclass(1987:189).Up

to thispoint then law and order remainvolatile conceptswhere it isnot clearwhat

exactlywould be termed as lawlessness since this depends largely onwho is doing

what.Itbecomesaconceptdependentonwhoisperpetuatinganactandnotwhatactis

beingperpetuated.

WiththepassingonofMzeeJomoKenyattaandthecommencementofDanielToroitich

arapMoisrule in1978, theconceptof lawandorderbecameaclearcutpath for the

rule of law, orwhat inOdhiamboswordsmay be termed as Party ofOrder, to

prevail(1987:190).WithhisNyayoPhilosophyofPeace,LoveandUnity,PresidentMoi

waskeenon silencingany individualswhoposeda threat to thisphilosophyand to

order. Such dissidents were detained without trial in Kenyan prisons or at the

(in)famousNyayoTortureChambers in theNairobiscitycentre inorder for lawand

order to bemaintained in the country. Suchpeople includedwriters andpoliticians

suchasNgugiwaThiongo,MainawaKinyatti,WahomeMutahi,RailaOdingaamong

others.14The stateat this timebecamemore concernedwithmaintenanceof lawand

ordermorethanitwasaboutdemocracyforherulesbest,andlastslongest,whocan

ensurethatlawandorder,inotherwordsinternalsecurity,isparamount(Odhiambo

1987:190).

In present postcolonial Kenya, the same ambiguities over issues of law, order and

criminality continue to exist with undeniable discrepancies between what may be14SeeMainaKiaiseditorialtoWeLivedtotell:TheNyayoHouseStory.(2003).

17

termedas formaland informaldefinitions.By formaldefinition, Iam referring to the

statecentricdefinitionofcrime,thatis,whataccordingtostatelawmaybedefinedas

crime. Informaldefinition,on theotherhand, entails thatwhich state lawdefines as

crime while the perpetrators of the crime fail to peg criminality to the activities

undertaken thereof. For example, in the JanuaryFebruary 2008 skirmishes inKenya

where people turned against and killed each other owing to the disputed 2007

presidentialelectionresultshowexactlywouldonedefinecriminality?Dowefocuson

thecriminalityofthepoliticalclassorthatoftheruled?Whoexactlyisinterferingwith

lawandorderandwho is responsible forpunishing the state if it is the state that is

perpetuating crime?Clearly, law and order arepolitical and social constructswhose

executiondependsonthegoverningclass(alsoknownasthestate)orauthority.

Despitethevariousissuesthatmakethedefinitionandidentification/labelingofcrime

andcriminals(asdiscussedabove)suchanelusivetask,inliterature,theredefinitelyis

a genre that dealswith crime.Regardless ofwhat the creators of the stories in this

literarygenre seem to identify as crime, in thepages that follow Iwillgrapplewith

issuesofwhatexactlymakesacrimestory.

TheCrimeStory

Whetherinfilm,truecrime,orfiction,crimewritinginallitsvariousformsisoneof

themost visible genres in literature today. In fact, crime itself seems to be amajor

preoccupationinpresentdaysociety.Crimeisoneoftheaspectsoflifewhichgetswhat

Michael Gilbert (publication date unavailable), in the editorial to Crime in Good

Company: Essays on Criminals and Crimewriting, calls good press all over the

world.Nexttopoliticsandsports,withwhich ithasstrongaffinities,Gilbertposits,

[crime]isthemostpermanentlyengrossingtopic(v).Inspiteofthefactthatcrime

18

is,initself,maybeconsideredasignofadiseasedsociety,allformsofcrimewriting

haveanundeniableappealandattractiontoparticularaudiences.Therearenumerous

artworksfocusingoncrimeinpresentdaysartworld.Forexamplecrimeseemstobe

gettingpopular inmovie theatres in form of crime films and also inbookshops and

bookstoresasvariousother fictionsofcrime.Resultantly,crime fictioncharactersand

film actors have become almost legendary in households.15 Whether focusing on

criminals, detectives or even crime victims, the crime genre allows the crimewriter

certainpossibilitieswhichperhapsotherwritersindifferentgenresdonothave,foritto

capture audiences and reading publics.This is not to state however that only crime

stories tend toget their audienceshookedbut rather that the crimegenre cannotbe

simplyignoredinpresentdayssociety,whichasJonThompsonputsit,isfascinatedby

crime(1993:1).

Like Gilbert (earlier mentioned), Thompson argues that contemporary societys

obsessionwithcrimeisnotonlyexhibitedthroughfilmsandotherfictionsofcrimebut

alsothroughwhathecallsideologicallycodedaccountsof reallifecrime,themost

obviousofwhich,Thompsonsays,istheeveningnewswhose

substantialportion...isdevotedtocoveringthemostsensationalcrimesoftheday.Similarlytelevisionnewsmagazinesspecializein,amongotherthings, lurid investigations of crimes, criminals, or criminal patternssupposedly sweeping the nation. Talk shows, likewise, seek to exploit[societys]fascinationwithcrimebyinterviewingcriminals,victims,orthepolicesometimessimultaneously.(1993:1)

15Ihave inmindsuchcharactersasJamesBond inIanFlemings007novel/movieseries(suchasFromRussiawithLove,NeverSayDieandCasinoRoyaleamongothers)andChuckNorrisinthe(in)famoustelevision series,WalkerTexasRanger.Others include Tsotsi in the SouthAfrican 2005Oscar awardwinningmovieadaptationofAtholFugardsnovel,Tsotsi,bythesametitle,amongothers.

19

Interestingly,Thompsoninhispostulationusesthetermsensationaltoqualifythecrime

storiesofwhichhe speaks.What is so thrillingandexciting incrimeornarrativesof

crime,tojustifytheuseoftheterm?Firstly,itisimperativethatthisstudybrieflygives

an overview of the crime genre in literature because it is only then that the

sensationalismofcrimewritingandcriminalsbyextensioncanbeclearlyunderstood.

Different categoriesof storiesmaybe classified as crime fiction or crimewriting16 in

literature.Foralongtimethedetectivecrimestoryhasbecomealmostsynonymousto

crimewriting in theworldwitha largenumberofcreativeworksandaconsiderable

degreeof critical attentionbeingdevoted to this subgenremore than to anyother.17

Usually, the detective crime story takes any form along the caper storypolice

procedural continuum. In a caper story, the criminal isknown to the reader andhe

commits crime (for instancemurder, theft and rape, all at once) in the view of the

reader.Thestorysfocusthen isonthecrimesequenceandthecriminalandalthough

therearedetectivesor thepolice in the story, theyarenever the centreof focus.The

story is characterized by elements of humour, adventure, or unusual cleverness or

audacityofthecriminal.Thistypeofstorycouldbearguedtobeclosetotheoriginally

Spanishpicaresque story only that the latter has as itsprotagonist a rogue of a low

socialclasswhosurvivesthroughhiswitswhichmaynotnecessarilyinvolvecrimeper

se.18

16Wherewritingisusedandnotfiction,itreferstoalltypesofwritingwhosefocusiscrimeincludingtheautobiography,truecrimeandsoon.17Forcriticalworksonthedetectivecrimesubgenreseeforinstance,PatriciaMaida,MurderSheWrote:AStudyofAgathaChristiesDetectiveFiction,(1982);andDennisPorter,ThePursuitofCrime;ArtandIdeologyinDetectiveFiction,(1981).18Forfurtherdiscussiononthepicaresqueseeforexample,EdwardRichards,TowardsaTheoryofthePicaresqueNovel,(1983)andRichardBjornson,ThePicaresqueHeroinEuropeanLiterature,(1977).

20

Thepoliceprocedural,ontheotherhand,revolvesaroundapersonorpeople,usually

law agents, at work, for example, police collecting evidence and other forensic

procedures.Usuallyboth the reader and thedetective orpoliceunravel themystery

together inapoliceprocedural.TheKenyanwriterFrankSaisisTheBhangSyndicate

(1984)issuchanexampleofapoliceproceduralinwhichaScotlandYardtrainedpolice

investigatorCaptainKipfollowsKenyasdrugtraffickersinthe1970s.

Thedetective crime subgenrewas firstpopularizedby19th centurywriters inBritain

andAmerica beginningwithEdgarAllanPoes short stories ofmystery andArthur

ConanDoylethroughwhathascometobeknownastheSherlockHolmesmyth,orthe

Sherlockian fascinationas JohnSimonshas it (1990:85). InDoyles fiction,Sherlock

Holmesissuchanexperiencedandperfectdetectivethatevenhisowncreator(author

Doyle),Thompson (1993)argues,hadproblems assassinatinghim in the short story

TheFinalProblem(60).Anotherpopularwriterinthiscategoryisthedetectivecrime

writerAgathaChristiewith her fictional 6070 yearold spinster detectiveMiss Jane

Marple (popularlyknownasMissMarple).MissMarplewas first createdbyAgatha

Christie inashortstorywhichwaspublished inTheRoyalMagazineasearlyas1927

butonlyappearedinafulllengthnovelinChristiesfirstcrimenovelTheMurderatthe

Vicarage (1930).Henceforth,MissMarplebecame thesolechiefdetective in twelveof

Christies novels.19 It is such characters as Holmes and Miss Marple, who like the

detectivecrimesubgenre inwhichtheyhavebeencreatedandestablished,havecome

todominatediscussionsoncrimefictionalmosttheworldover.

19Informationavailableathttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Marple.

21

Infact,itcouldbearguedthatmostfictionaldetectiveshavebecomeevenmorefamous

than their creatorswith some living long after their chief architects are dead. For

example, SherlockHolmesmay be better known thanConanDoyle everwas in his

entire lifetime. Some criticshave even argued that it isdifficult to think of Sherlock

Holmes as a fictional character since he is not only found in Doyles fiction but

continuestosolvemysteriesinvariousnovelsandfilmsbyotherauthors.20Interestingly

also, somepeoplebelieve thatSherlockHolmes isactuallya realdetectiveandoften

writelettersaskinghimtosolvetheirlifemysteries.InthewordsofJerryPalmer(1978),

Letters are still to this day addressed to SherlockHolmes, Esq., 221B Baker Street,

askinghimtofindmissingrelativesorcutinflationatastroke(1).

Similarly,AgathaChristiesfictionaldetectiveJaneMarple(MissMarple)hascontinued

to live long after the death of Christie, both on television and other media.21 This

apparent immortality and invincibility of crime fiction characters simply serves to

showtheneedforthecrimewritertoconvincehisorherreaderintobelievingthecrime

story, that is,asGilbertargues, thecrimestorymustbe true to itself.Closerhome, in

Africa, Rhodesianborn (now Zimbabwe) Alexander McCall Smiths Precious

Ramotswes(MmaRamotswe)detectiveendeavorsinBotswana,isanexampleofwhat

one would call amateurbutwitty detective stories that continue to dominate

discussionsondetectivecrimefictioninliteratureonAfrica.Havingsolvedmysteriesin

all eight ofMcCalls TheNo. 1 LadiesDetectiveAgency Series novels (TheNo. 1

20TogetherwithFreud, for instance,Holmessolvesamystery inNicholasMeyersTheSevenpercentSolution(1975).SeeJonThompson,Fiction,CrimeandEmpire:CluestoModernityandPostmodernism,(1993).21Overthreedecadesafterthedeathofhercreator(Christiediedin1976),MissMarplestillliveswithherlatestappearance beingon theBritish televisionchannel (ITV) third series,AgathaChristiesMarple(popularly known as Marple) in early 2007. Information available athttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Marple.

22

LadiesDetectiveAgency,1999;TearsoftheGiraffe,2000;MoralityforBeautifulGirls,

2001;TheKalahariTypingSchoolforMen,2002;TheFullCupboardofLife,2004;Inthe

Company ofCheerfulLadies, 2004;Blue Shoes andHappiness, 2006; andTheGood

HusbandofZebraDrive,2007),MmaRamotswehascertainlybecomeAfricasanswer

toEuropesMissMarple.

Itisimportanttonotehoweverthatalthoughthedetectivecrimesubgenreisthemost

popular of the crime subgenres, there are otherwriterswhowritewithin the same

genrebutwhohavenotreceivedasmuchcriticalattentionasthoseinthispopularsub

genre.22Nevertheless,itisworthmentioningherethatmattersofgenretendtoobscure

ratherthanrevealcertainpeculiarcharacteristicsofaparticularworknotonlyincrime

fictionbut in literature ingeneral.AccordingtoIanBellandGrahamDaldry(1990) in

thepreface toWatching theDetectives:EssaysonCrimeWriting,genrecriticismonly

concentrates upon representative featureswhich then tend to homogenizeworks of

literatureintocertaincategories.Genre,BellandDaldrysay,becomesakindofgrid

throughwhichindividualworksareappraised[and]inevitablysuchcriticismcovertly

devalues theworks itarticulates, turning them intoversionsofsome recurrent ideal

(x).Nevertheless, thisoverviewof thecrimegenre is important in thisstudybecause

althoughcrimestoriesmaybeasvariedastherearecrimefictionauthors,thereisneed

totakeintoconsiderationcertaindominantfeaturesofaparticularpieceofworkwhich

qualifiesittobeinaparticulargenrecategoryandnotanother.

22Forothertypesofcrimestoriesandtheoriginofcrimefiction,seeStephenKnight.FormandIdeologyinCrimeFiction.(1980);particularlyChapterOne.

23

Drawingon thischaptersdiscussionso far,ourmethodology isdesignedaround the

threemajorconceptswithwhichthisstudyisconcernednamely;theurbanspace/city,

crime,andwriting/readingstrategies.Firstly,thecityisreadinthisstudyasatextand

particularlyasrepresentedbyJohnKiriamitithroughZollo.Thecityspecificallyrefers

toNairobiasperceivedbythecriminalandastextualisedbyKiriamitiforasNieburg

(2006)argues,[t]he readingof [the] city isusually filtered through the lensofprior

knowledge that emanates from the experience of another: writer, artist,

photographer(1).Secondly,IamreadingZolloasacriminalwithreferencetopick

pocketing,carbreakingandrobbery.Inreading/writingstrategies,inthechaptersthat

follow,Iexaminethenarrativetechniqueswhichthecrimethrillerwriter(Kiriamiti in

specific)usesandhowthesetechniquesinfluencetheconsumptionofthosetextsbythe

impliedreader.

The focuson the criminal figure in theanalysisofMyLife inCrimeandMyLife in

Prison justifies importationof ideasand concepts from studieson crime fictionand

criminology.InsightsfromcriticsofthecrimegenrelikeIanBell(1990),GrahamDaldry

(1990), Jon Thompson (1993), and SimonDentith (1990), among others are useful in

highlighting and illustrating certain arguments in this study.Although none of the

criticsfromwhomthisstudyborrowsisdirectlyaddressingthecrimegenreinAfrican

orevenKenyan fiction, theirworksprovidesignificant insightswhich Ihaveused in

theanalysisofKiriamitisworks.Ihaveappropriatedtheirobservationsoncrimefiction

inanattempttounderstandboththeprotagonistinandtheauthoroftheprimarytexts

in this study.Dentith (1990) for example, inhis examinationof the representationof

Paris in the novels of William Mcllvanney posits that crime writing is a way of

contemplatingtherealitiesofurbanlifeandthroughthecrimestory,thenovelistseeks

tonarrate themysteriesof thecity (18).Thisappears tobeacompellingargument in

24

thisstudyespeciallyintheexaminationofKiriamitisrepresentationofJackZolloasan

urbanplannerandtherealitiesandmysteriesofthevariousterritoriesintowhichhe

(Zollo)takesthereaderwithintheurbanspace.

Thompson (1993)concurswithDentith inarguing thatcrimewritingoffersmythsof

theexperienceofmodernity(5).InthisstudyIassume,likeThompson,thatboththe

city and its inhabitants areproducts ofmodernization and through crime fiction the

author gives a detailed account of the disintegration, and renewal, of struggle and

contradiction,ofambiguityandanguishexperiencedby theurbanite (Berman,1972;

quotedinThompson1993:8).IparticularlyinterrogatewhetherthecitypromisesZollo

adventure,power and joy orwhether there is a loomingdestruction in the city that

throughouthiscriminallifeZollostruggleswith?Infact,Zolloissofascinatedwiththe

city thatwhenhisparents takehim to thevillage inMuranga, as apunishment for

being expelled from school, he sneaks back intoNairobiwhere he begins his life in

crime(MyLifeinCrime,3).Similarly,afterheisreleasedfromprison,Zollogoesback

toNairobi forif itwas theplacewhere [he]hadwasted [his] life, itwaswhere [he]

intendedtopickupthelostthreads(MyLifeinPrison,209).

Zollosfascinationwiththecitycallsforacloseexaminationofthecriminalsoperations

intheurbanspaceandhisperceptionofthesame.Worksofvariousscholarsandcritics

whoseinterestisinurbanizationandurbancultureinparticularhavebeenusedinthis

study.Ofparticularimportanceintheanalysisofthisstudysprimarytextsisthelarge

volumeofworkdonebyvariousscholarsonNairobiurbanliteratureandculture.Such

scholars includeBodilFrederiksen (2002),RaoulGranqvist (2006),NiciNelson (1996),

and Luise White (1990), among others. For instance, Nici Nelsons study on the

25

representation ofwomen,men, city and town inKenyan novels is important in this

studyinthatNelsonidentifiesacertaintrendamongstKenyannovelistsinwhichrural

womenarerepresentedas better inmoralsthanurbanwomen.This idea isuseful in

the analysis of Kiriamitis representation of such urban women as barmaids and

prostitutes.Forexample,inMyLifeinCrime,Kiriamiticonstantlyspeaksofalmostall

thewomenwithwhomhehas contact in the cityasprostituteswhether theyarehis

neighbours inWoodStreetorbarmaids (especiallySuzy)andother femalepatronsat

hisfavouriteKagondoBar.

Additionally, Luise Whites study of prostitution in colonial Nairobi has been

significantlyappropriatedinthisstudy.Althoughhersisastudyofprostitutionwithin

atemporalspacedifferentfromthecontextinwhichKiriamitistextsareset,herwork

is of particular importance in the present study of Kiriamitis novels especially in

examininghowKiriamitiuses themythof theprostitute figure to tell thestoryof the

criminalastheheroicvillainandhisconquests(whichincludesexualprowess).Whites

conceptofprostitutionasofferingcomfortsofhome,specifically,assistsinevaluating

Kiriamitis use of the popular myth of the Kenyan urban woman (especially the

barmaid) as a prostitute who offers sanctuary for the criminal as a fugitive. These

studiesonNairobianditsliteratureareimportantespeciallyinthechapteronpopular

discourses because these discourses form part of the larger Nairobi popular

imaginationandareamajorboosttothecriminalsheroism.

Itisworthmentioningthattheborrowingofideasandconceptsfromotherdisciplines

otherthanliteraturestemsfromtheinterdisciplinarynatureofpopularliteraturewhich

according toOdhiambo (2004)callson theresearcher toacknowledge thebenefitsof

26

crossreferencingtheprimaryliteraturewithmaterialfromthesocialsciencesandother

disciplinesinthehumanities(4).

Inanutshell, in this chapter, Ihaveprovidedabackground to the study in termsof

specific research aims, how the study has pursued them and a brief outline of the

research argument. I have also looked at the emergence and literary life of John

Kiriamitibygivingabriefbackgroundtohiscriminal lifeandhisworks.Thirdly,this

chapterhasprovidedageneral literature reviewof the twonovels,MyLife inCrime

andMyLife inPrisonwhich are theobjectsofmy studywhilehighlightingvarious

aspectsofthetwotextswhicharecrucialinthisstudy.OneotherimportantthingthatI

havedone in this chapter is toprovide a rather broad theoretical frameworkwithin

whichthestudyiscarriedoutaspertainsissuesoflawandorderinKenya.Also,Ihave

givenanoverviewofthecrimegenrewithparticularattentiontothemostpopularofall

the genres of crime writing, the detective crime story. Finally, several theoretical

considerationswhichhavebeenappropriatedintheentirestudyhavebeenhighlighted

inthisintroductorychapter.

InChapterTwo,IseektoanalyzethegeneralimageofthecriminalinKenyaasdefined

by issues of morality, law and order. Secondly in the same chapter I examine the

variousways inwhichKiriamitiasa literaryauthormanages topresent the criminal

figureinanimagethatiscontrarytothatofthecriminalvillainwhileatthesametime

presenting crimeasa subversionofmorality. Inotherwords,what I setout todo in

ChapterTwoistoexaminethevarioustechniquesthatKiriamitiusestointerpellatehis

readersothattothereader,thecriminalisnotavillainbutahero(heroicvillain).

27

Chapter Three majorly focuses on Nairobi as an urban space and the general

representationofthisurbanspaceinKenyanfiction.Also,inthischapterIinterrogate

the variousways inwhichKiriamitis representation ofNairobi differs from that of

otherKenyanauthorsowingtothecriminalspersonalizationofvariouscityspaces.In

Chapter Four, I look at the variousways inwhich the criminal figure appropriates

certain popular discourses (which I discuss under the rubric stereotypes) and how

Kiriamiti as a crimewriter seeks to interpellate his readers through the use of that

whichisfamiliartothem.Finally,ChapterFiveisthestudysconclusionchapterwhich

givesasummaryofthepreviousdiscussion.AdditionallyIusethischapterasaspace

to reflectonandelaborate the findingsof the study thushighlightingotherpotential

areasorapproaches to theKenyanpopularurbannovel ingeneralor to theworksof

JohnKiriamiti that surfaced in the course of the study. In this chapter also I have

attempted to identify thevariousways throughwhichKiriamitisworkscontribute to

thefieldofliteratureandwhatmakesthemworththekindofliteraryattentionwhichI

haveaccordedthem.

28

CHAPTERTWO

ROBBERYWITHOUTCRIME:WHENTHE

CRIMINALBECOMESAFIGUREOFADMIRATION

Tobeacceptable,acrimestorymustonlybetrueto itself.Itmustbetherightshape,itspremisesmustcarryitsconclusions,anditmustnotcheat.(Michael Gilbert, Crime in Good Company: Essays on Criminals andCrimeWriting)

ThefocusofthischapteristoexaminehowKiriamiticonstructsthecriminalasahero

rather thanavillain.Iamparticularly interested in themanner inwhich thereader is

drawnactivelyintothetextasanaccompliceintheprotagonistscrime.Iargue,inthis

chapter, thatKiriamitiasawriterpresents to thereaderwhatonewouldrefer toasa

heroicvillain,amovewhichthendrawsthereaderssympathytowardsthecriminal.It

would be a futile exercise to examine issues of the criminals transformation from

villainytoheroismiftheplaceofthecriminalinsocietyisnotdefined.Whyshouldthis

chapter assume that the criminal is obviously a villain? Why is Kiriamitis

representationofJackZolloasaheroa(re)constructionofthecriminalfigureorwhat

makesKiriamitisrepresentationof JackZollounusual? Inorder toexecute thestated

chapter objective, I seek to answer the following questions:who defines crime and

criminalsinsociety?Doesmoralityhavearoleindefiningcrimeandcriminals?Ifyes,

whosemoralityandwhat is theplaceof thatmorality in thedefinitionof crimeand

criminalsincrimetexts?Andfinally,doesthesodefinedcriminalsubvertorreinforce

thedominantmorality?Thisinterrogationofissuesofmoralityisimportantbecauseit

29

isonlyafteridentifyingthedefinitionofcrimeandthecriminalinthesocietythatone

canactuallyanalyzeKiriamitis(re)constructionofJackZollo.

Any considerations of the moral dimensions of the crime story inevitably raise

questionsonthemeaningofthewordmoralityitselfinthepresentcontextandexactly

whosemoralitywe are concernedwith. Is it themorality of the author, that of the

reader or themorality of theworld of the text? In this chapter Iwill focus on the

moralityof theworld inwhich JackZollo livesandoperates inMyLife inCrimeand

MyLife inPrison. Inotherwords thischapter isconcernedwith the (im)moralworld

inhabitedbyJackZolloandwhichKiriamitiexploresinthetextsunderstudy.Morality

inbothMyLifeinCrimeandMyLifeinPrisonisalmostinseparablefromimmorality,

for there seems tobenodividebetweengood and evil inZollosworld. In aworld

wherethesocietyingeneralisexpectedtobethecustodianofmoralvaluesbutwhich

insteadseemstobewallowinginvice,moralitybecomesanelusivetermandconceptto

define. The police and prisonwarders, for example,who are the agents of law and

orderandwhoinessenceareinahighercapacitytodefinecrimeseemtobesurviving

by the same principles of immorality as the socalled criminal. For instance at

NaivashaGovernmentMaximumPrison, theprisonwarders are terroristswho beat,

maim and even kill prisoners for no apparent reason.AsZollo puts it, once one is

behindthehighprisonwallsthereseemstobenodifferencebetweenprisonauthorities

andprisonersbecausetheyallusethesamecriminalmethodsofsurvival:Prisonand

prisoners.To tellyou the truth Idontknowwhich isworse. Inmyopinion theyare

equallybad(MyLifeinPrison,114).

30

Outsideprison,inthefreecityalmosteveryoneseemstobeinvolvedinsomesortof

crime. Interestingly some of the criminal activities that most people in society are

involvedin,donotseemtobecrimetothembecausetheyaredoingwhateveritisasa

meansofsurvival.Theyarepracticingsomeformoflegalizedcrime,acrimelegalized

by the society in which they live. For instance, Millys (Zollos girlfriend) mother,

SalomeWangariis,perhapsaccordingtostatelaw,acriminalwhoshouldbeinjailfor

operatinganillegalbusinessanduseofaweapon.ZollosaysofWangari:

[Millys]mother,SalomeWangari,hadrentedaroomforherandhertwoyoung sisters and two rooms forherself.One room sheused for sellingunlicensedbeer.AverynicewomanSalomewasbutifyouwantedtoknowthatshecarriedaSomaliknife,allyouhadtodowaspretendtobeveryintoxicatedandonyourwayout,gointhedirectionwhereherdaughtersslept!Ifyoudidnotgetastab intheback,sheadmiredyou,butat leastyouwouldhave foundyourselfgettingup from thegroundwhere shewouldhavethrownyou.(MyLifeinCrime,41;emphasismine)

Interestingly,WangariisnotinjailandinfactevenhercustomerslikeZolloandothers

donotperceiveherasacriminal;she is justahustler likemanyothers inNairobi.As

Zollotellsusmostofthecriminalsinsocietyarenotinjail.ForexampleafterZolloand

Rashidmanagetobreakoutofprison,theytravelallthewaytoMombasatogetmoney

andpreciousstonesthatRashidhadleftbehindatahotelonhisarrest.WhenZollogets

a share ofRashidsproperty (a third of themoney andprecious stones) he feels an

irresistible urge to go toMuranga to see his family.On reaching Muranga, Zollo

remembersthatheissupposedtoconveyamessagetoG.Gs(Zollosfriendinprison)

familyonhisbehalf.AsZollohimselfputsit,usingthesanepartofhisbrainhewritesa

lettertoG.Gsbrotherandusingthe insanepartofthebrainputsKsh.300(outofhis

shareofRashidsloot)inthesameenvelopetofacilitateG.Gsvisitinjailbyhisbrother.

Zollohumorouslycaptures the incidentwhenhesays:Ididntseehis [theperson to

31

delivertheletter]mouthwaterbutallIcantellyouisthattheletterstillhasntreached

GGsbrother,whichgoestoshowyouthatthemajorityofthievesarenoteven inprison

(MyLifeinPrison,56;emphasisadded).

If this is theworld inwhich JackZollooperates thenwhat is (im)moralityandwhat

makesZolloavillain?Ultimately,Zolloisas(im)moralaseveryoneelse,fromWangari

who ishustlingwithunlicensedbeer toMotaSinghmodifying stolencars.However,

Zollohasopenlytransgressedandcrossedacertainmoralordersetbytheauthorities

and he is what, debatably though, can be referred to as a conventional criminal.

Nevertheless,althoughhemaynotdeserve the readers sympathy,Zollomanages to

winadmirationfromnotonlythereaderbutalsoothercharactersinhisworld.Indeed

ZolloisasortofRobinHoodcriminalwhooperatesonakindofmoralitywhichdoes

not cohere with that of the authority but he is at the same time a lovable rogue.

According to JudithRhodes,around the trueRobinHood type thereexistsadistinct

auraof romance,althoughhis (and it isalmost invariablyahe)morality isgenerally

questionable and his code of conduct frequently bizarre (1999:388).Unlike in other

genres,politicalprisonliteratureforexample,wheretheprotagonistsalreadyhavethe

readerssympathyat theonsetof theirstory, in thecrimegenre (especiallywhen the

criminalisfacedwiththedutyoftellinghisownstory)thewriterhastofullyconvince

thereadertosympathizewiththecriminal.Butthenhowdoesthewriterexecutesuch

anexigenttask?

BeforeIcananswerthequestiononhowthewriterwinsthereaderssympathyforan

otherwiseundeservingcharacter,firstly,itiscrucialtomentionherethatmanyAfrican

writersinwhoseworkscrimecanbemarkedoutexplorewhatJulianSymons(1972)in

32

BloodyMurder: From theDetective Story to theCrimeNovel calls the borderland

between the crime story and the novel.Although itmay not be clearwhat exactly

Symonsmeanswhenhereferstoanovelasdifferentfromastory,hisargumentisthat

havingacrimestorywithinalargerthematicframeworkistotallydifferentfromhaving

astorywhosemajorthemeiscrime.Inotherwords,havingastrandofcrimeinanovel

doesnotandcannotqualifythatnovelascrimefiction.Forinstanceoneofthestrands

of South Africas acclaimed novel, Alan Patons Cry, the Beloved Country (1948),

followsthearrestandtrialofayoungblackman,AbsalomKumaloforthemurderof

ArthurJarvis.ButthenwouldthatmakePatonacrimeormysterywriter?Absolutely

not.IndeedasPalmer(1991)clearlyputsit,astoryislabelledacrimestorywhenitis

clear that the portrayal of criminal activity is absolutely central to the nature of the

story (131). Like Patons story, Bessie Heads The Collector of Treasures in The

CollectorofTreasuresandotherBotswanaVillageTales(1977),concernsthemurderof

aMotswanamanGaresego by hiswifeDikeledi.However, following Symons and

PalmersargumentthefactthatDikeledi isarrested,chargedand jailedasamurderer

would not make The Collector of Treasures a crime story because Heads major

concernhere isnotDikelediscrimebutGaresegosneglectofand irresponsibility for

hisfamilywhichthenpusheshiswifeintomurderinghim.InotherwordsHeadsisa

storyongenderimbalancesinruralBotswanaandnotcrime.

InKenyanliterature,thesamecrimestrandsareatypicalfacetbutstillcrimetendstobe

onlyasubthemewithinalargerthemeinmostoftheseliteraturesandisonlyusedto

put across an authors particular major concern. For example Marjorie Oludhe

Macgoyes Murder in Majengo (1972) and Victoria and Murder in Majengo (1993)

despite their crime titles are not crime stories but stories on urban prostitution in

Kisumusslumarea,Majengo.InmostoftheseKenyanworks,criminalsaredepictedas

33

societalmisfitswhoparadoxicallyarealmost justifiedtobecriminalsbecausetheyare

driven into crime by economic constraints. The issue at hand in these postcolonial

Kenyanworks therefore isnot crimeper sebutpostcolonialdisillusionment inwhich

people likeMeja andMaina inMejaMwangisKillMeQuick (1973), despite being

highlyeducated,cannotfindemploymentorZolloscriminalfriendCaptaininMyLife

inCrime,whosehighlevelofeducationcannotsecurehimaproperjob.Evenwhenhe

getsone,his jobsecurityisnotassured:withhiseducation,Zollosays,Youwould

nothavethoughthecouldbearobber.Hehadlostthreeresponsiblejobs.Thenhehad

thought itwise to try theother sideof the law (MyLife inCrime, 21).To save the

society from this menace of poor and disillusioned characters then, the supposed

criminalsendupinjail.

Similarly,likeMejaandMaina,DodgeKiunyuinthemostacclaimedKenyanpopular

novel, CharlesManguas Son ofWoman (1971) is so full of angst and fury that he

adoptsahellcareswhatattitudewithwhichhecruisesthroughthestreetsofNairobi.

Atonepointhe is imprisoned forsixmonths forabungledrobberyand forhittinga

policeman inaNanyukiBarwhich consequently costshimhis jobat theMinistryof

Labour and Social Services.23 When Kiunyu goes to jail, one would blame him for

defying a certain universal social and moral order since as Palmer (1991) asserts,

crimerepresents one of the frontiers of society [and] to step into crime involves

steppingbeyond theboundsofaparticularmoraluniverse (133).Howeveralthough

JackZollo, inKiriamitisMyLife inCrimeandMyLife inPrison, isacriminalandas

suchasocietalmenace,whoperhapswould,inreallife,benecklaced(lynchedbyuse

ofacar tyreround theneck)byaNairobimob,Kiriamitimakeshimso likeablesuch

thatevenwhenheisontheothersideofthelaw(MyLifeinCrime,blurb)thereader23,CharlesMangua,SonofWoman(1971).

34

(perhaps the same person who would lynch such a criminal in the streets) is

exhilarated.Indeed,thisisoneofthedefiningfeaturesofthecrimethrillerbecauseitis

onlybyexhilarating the reader that thecrimewritercanwin the reader to theheros

side.Thisisbecausethereaderhas[to]believethat[thecriminalhero]isjustified[and

has to be] free to enjoy the sensation of suppressing the obstacles that confront [the

reader]andhim [thehero] (Palmer1978:20). Inotherwords the readerof the crime

thrillermust be an accomplice in the criminal activity becausewhat is good for the

criminalisgoodforthereaderandviceversa.Thereaderbecomesanaccompliceinthe

crimebymerelysympathizingoridentifyingwiththecriminal,accordingtoJohnLutz

(1999).Thisispossiblehoweveronlyiftheheroisbyandlargeadmirabletothereader

or in Palmerswords if he is the only onewith an exclusive right to our [readers]

admiration:

Itisonlyifheistheherointhisfullsensethattheactionofthethrillerwillproduce the excitement that the reader wants, for excitement andsuspensederivefromwholeheartedlywantingonepersontosucceedandfearingsetbackstotheirprojects.(1978:62)

For examplewhenZollo isadvisedbyhis criminal friendand fellow inmateStanley

Githenji(G.G)tofeignmadnessinprison(MyLifeinPrison,1516),thereadershould

beable to supporthim through thisproject.The reader is supposed tobelieve in the

criminalbecausehe is capableofanything:asa thrillerherohemust succeed.When

Zollo finallygetsadmission to theMathareMentalHospitalashewished, the reader

shouldbeexhilaratedbecausehisorherherohasaddedyetanotherescapade tohis

career.SimilarlywhenZollogoesout forarobbery,asaherohemustsucceedanda

slightsignoffailurenauseatesboththecriminalandthereader.Butthenwhatisitthat

issoattractiveinthefictionalcriminaltowarrantPalmerstotaladmiration?

35

Auseful startingpoint forunderstanding theways inwhichKiriamiti achieves this

(re)construction of the criminal figure would be to examine his style of writing.

AccordingtoSimonDentith(1990),styleisimportantincrimewritingbecauseitisat

thelevelofstylethattherhetoricalappealof[crime]writingbecomesmostapparent.

Quoting Althusserwho introduced the idea of interpellation in criticism Dentith

argues that style interpellates the reader and hails him or her in specificways (23).

Dentiths isa relevantargument for theexaminationofKiriamitis (re)constructionof

thecriminalfigurebecauseitisKiriamitisabilitytointerpellatethereaderthatmakes

Zolloahero.AmongthewaysthroughwhichKiriamitiinterpellateshisreadersinclude

the use of the first person narrator, humor, characterization and most importantly

addressivityorwhatStewart (1996)calls readerpersonification, just tomentionbuta

few.

BothMyLifeinCrimeandMyLifeinPrisonaretoldinthefirstpersonnarrativevoice.

LikeinmostotherKenyanpopularnovels,whenthereaderfirstmeetsJackZolloinMy

Life in Crime, Zollo introduces himself by giving brief background information on

himselfandhis family.HoweverunlikeEmilyKatango, theprostituteprotagonist, in

DavidMaillusAfter 4:30, andDodgeKiunyu inManguas Son ofWomanwho are

unapologeticaboutwhotheyare,Zolloapproachesthereaderinaratherconfessional

andpenitentway:

Beforemy life in crime, Ineverbelieved thatamanorgroupofpeoplecould sit together and conspire to rob, blackmail, kidnap, murder orcommitotheractsof felony.Butnow Iknowthe judgewhosentencedmeknewexactlywhathewasdoingIwasborntoarelativelywelltodo family.My father,AlbertKiriamiti, andmymother,AnneWanjiru,were teachers,and therefore inmyyouth, Iwaswellprovided for. (MyLifeinCrime,1)

36

InthisintroductionZollosetsouttofirstlyseekaudiencewiththereaderandperhaps

clear his name of his criminal past by admitting that he deserves his jail sentence.

Secondly,Zollostartsoffwithclaimingahighersocialstatusbylettingthereaderknow

that he was born to a proper and welloff family so poverty or socioeconomic

constraintsarenot thedrivebehindhiscriminal living.Thisencourages thereader to

followZollothroughthestoryinordertofindouthisreasonforbeinginthecriminal

world.

Clearly,theintroductionofIintheopeningparagraphofthestorysignalsfirstperson

narration.Unlikeinthedetectivecrimestoryinwhichthepointofviewwithwhichthe

reader is presented is that of the detective, police or a third person narrator, in

Kiriamitis quasiautobiographical crime stories the story is told from the criminals

pointofview.Ifthedetectivecrimestoryusesasecondorthirdpersonspointofview

in itsnarration therefore,whatwouldbe the impacton the readingpublicwhen the

storyisnarratedfromthecriminalspointofviewandwhosepointofviewiscountered

in this representation? Inotherwordswhatpossibilitiesdoes theuseof the criminal

narrator offer a writer that he otherwise would not have achieved in a different

narrativevoice?

According toGarrettStewart (1996), firstpersonnarrativevoice turns the reader into

thenovelsprotagonistandnomatterhowbadorgood theprotagonistsmaybe the

reader becomes them (10). Although the reader may not actually become the

protagonist as Stewart asserts, the readers judgment of the protagonist is greatly

altered by the voice of narration because s/he becomes a silent voice in adialogue

between the protagonist and him/herself (the reader). Immediately the protagonist

37

introduceshimselfasI,thereaderbecomestheimpliedyouoftheconversation(apoint

to which we shall return). In other words, the reader does not only underwrite

communicationinthetextbutisactuallyconscriptedbythenarrativeaswhatStewart

referstoasasilentpartner(1996:10).

Thereaderbecomes thesilentpartner throughanumberofwaysoneofwhich is the

earliernoteduseofyou.This in itself isamomentof interpellationbecauseKiriamiti

directlyspeakstothereadernotaspartofsome impliedor imaginedaudiencebutas

someonewhowillingly steps forward to identify himself/ herself as his reader. For

instancewhilehidinginCongoZollocomesacrossaKikuyufamilythatrunsashopin

Congosinterior:

ThenIheardhim[theKikuyuman]callthewoman,Wambuiindoniciaga.Thatistosay,Wambui,Icouldnotgettheitems.Well,youcanimaginemysurprise.PeoplespeakingKikuyuintheinteriorofCongo!(MyLifeinCrime,122;emphasismine)

Theuse of you in thepassage quoted abovedirectlyputs the reader in an audience

positionbecauseifZolloistheIofthestory,whoeverisreadinghisstoryistheyou.Itis

towardshimorherthattheaddressismade.However,besidesKiriamitisuseofyouto

refer to the reader, two assumptions arise from the passage quoted above. Firstly,

Kiriamiti iswriting forwhoever iswilling to read, thusalthoughhe isestablishinga

oneononerelationshipwiththereader,thelatterstillremainsdistantandunknown

tohim,a reason forwhichperhapshe translates theGikuyupart in thepassage into

English.Secondly,he isassumingthatthereaderisawarethatitwouldbestrange,in

whatonewouldrefer toasnormalcircumstances, to findGikuyuspeakersat least in

theinteriorofCongo.Inthiscase,thereaderisexpectedandassumedtoknowcertain

38

truthsaboutbothKikuyusandCongo.Otherwise if the readerwasnot expected to

knowthesetruthsheorshewouldnotimaginethecauseofsurprisewhenZollohears

someonespeakinGikuyuinCongo.Inotherwords,thereaderisputatahighlevelof

knowledgeorknowingnesswhich, according toDentith, isoneof theways through

whichcrimewritersinterpellatetheirreaders(1990:23).Oncethewriterhasinvitedthe

reader to adopt such a position of superior knowingness (in Dentiths words), the

reader feelsobliged tobeon theprotagonists (in this case the criminals) side.Since

both the reader and the criminal share some commonknowledge, the reader then is

invitedtofollowthecriminalthroughhisadventuresandconquests.

Additionally, Kiriamiti uses you to pull the reader to Zollos side by occasionally

making the former the good guy andZollo outrightly the bad guy. For example,

whenhe isat thedockat theNairobiLawCourts,Zollosmindwanders intohis life

and themockcourts thatheandotherremandeeshadhadat theremandprisonasa

rehearsalforhisjudgmentday.Zollogetssoabsorbedintohismockcourtsuchthathe

forgetsthatheisinarealcourtwithasimilarlyrealjudge:

Iwas lost in all thatmiserywhen I heard the judge say, If you havenothingtosayPutyourselfinmyplace,thoughyouhaveneverbeenarobber,andtellmewhatyouwouldhavesaid.Isaidnothing.IknewIwasguilty.(MyLifeinPrison,4;emphasismine)

ThisissuchamomentofinterpellationinwhichZolloadmitsthatheistheeviloneand

thereader is cleansedofanyevildoingbythecertaintywithwhichZollopositsthat

thereaderhasneverbeenarobber.ThereaderhaslimitedoptionsbesideslikingZollo

despitehisowninguptocrimebecauseofthelattersvalorizationoftheformer.

39

Besidestheuseofyou,Kiriamitisnarrativesoscillatebetweenreferringtothereaderas

brother and directly calling upon the reader not only by implication but by literally

referringtohimasreader.Forinstance,whenheescapesfromCongoforfearoffacing

the consequences of impregnating both his bosss daughter, Hellene and secretary,

Elizabeth,ZollotellsofhowmuchhewantstobeinKenyadespitethefact thathe is

still on the polices mostwanted list. The onlyway that Zollo can get toKenya,

however,isbyfirstgettingsomeKenyancurrencysinceheisnowstrandedinRwanda

with only Congolese francs which are of little help. It is in the narration of this

desperationforKenyancurrencythatheasks:

Doyou, the reader,pick anything there? Ifyoudont, thenyouhavenot beenfollowingmy story. Ibadlywanted to findmyselfback inKenyawhere Ihad runaway fromsomemonthsback,andwhere Iwaswantedby thepolice.(MyLifeinCrime,148;emphasismine)

Bydirectlymarkingorsinglingouthisaudienceasoneparticularreader,Kiriamitinot

only showshis conscious implicationofa readingpublicbutalsodemandsa certain

levelofreaderloyalty.ThereaderisexpectedandevenobligedbyZollo,thenarrator,

to follow him throughout his story. Failure for the reader to understand Zollos

predicament in the passage quotedwould be interpreted to be a sign of disloyalty.

Clearly,Kiriamitiisawarethattheconversationisnotonlybetweenhimasawriterand

his implied reader, but also between the reader and the chief protagonist, Zollo.

AccordingtoStewart(1996),thisnarrativizationofthereaderservestoremindhimthat

heisnotalistenertoastorybutratheranindividualisolatedwithatext.Thereaderis

displaced,insuchanarrativization,fromhisimmediatereadingto[a]depictedsiteof

narrativeconsumption(Stewart1996:15).Inthisway,thestoryisnotonlyevacuating

the readerbutalso itscharacters from the textandbothhave to relate inaparticular

wayoutsidethetext.Oncethisisdone,thenthewriterandthereadercanmovealong

40

togetherinfullconfidencewitheachother(Booth1978:206,quotedinStewart1996:15).

ThisimpliesacontradictioninKiriamitisnovelsinwhichthereappearstobetwotexts

withinasinglestory.First,thereisatextthatexistsbetweentheauthorandthereader

andasecond textbetween theprotagonistand thereader.Kiriamitiwins thereaders

confidence then by the mere recognition of the reader as just that (a reader) and

nominalizinghimorherinreadingZolloasahero.

Besides thesingular readeralready identified inhis texts,Kiriamitisimilarlyuses the

plural readers. This serves the same evacuation mission in which the relationship

between the readerand thewriter isestablished through the text thatconnects them.

ForexamplewhenZolloisarrestedontheeveofhisweddingtoMilly,hesays:

Well, readerswhenyouhearme talkof theeleventhor the twentythirdhour,thatiswhatImean.Youhavenowseenit.ThenextdaywastohavebeenthebiggestdayIhadeverhad,thedaywhenIwastobeunited inchurchbyaCatholicfathertothegirlIreallyloved;thedaythatIwastohave remembered all my life with a touch of tenderness. Now at theeleventhhour,ithadturnedcontrarytothatandIwouldspendthedayinapolicecellwhereIwouldundergoahelloftortures.(MyLifeinCrime,209;myemphasis)

Theother importantfactor inKiriamitis interpellationofthereader iswhatwouldbe

referredtoastheindividualpersonificationofthereader.Individualpersonificationof

the readerhere isused to refer to theauthorsability toconcretize the readerso that

s/hebecomesknown(andattimesrelated)toboththenarratorandthewriter.Kiriamiti

personifies thereaderat threedifferent levels.Firstly, thereader ispersonifiedby the

mere fact thathe isreferred toasabrother to/by theprotagonist.Theuseofbrother to

refertoanimaginedreaderclearlyleadstocertaininferencesinKiriamitisworks.Once

41

hehasmovedfromaddressingjustanyonevolunteeringtobeareaderandresortedto

addressingabrother,Kiriamiti(andZollo)iscertainlyspeakingtoorwritingforamale

reader. This aspect of a male writer addressing a male reader is significant in the

reading and interpretation of the Kenyan urban novel in general. According to

Granqvist(2004;2006)theurbannovelinKenyaismasculinebecausethecityisinitself

a masculinizedspace.Thenovelassumesbothamasculineinhabitantofthecityand

thereforeamasculinereaderandwhenafemaleisintroduced,shecanonlybetheother

(Granqvist2004:95).Resultantlythereforeitisnotunusualforthemaleauthorcreating

amaleprotagonisttoassumeamalereadership.ForexamplewhenZolloandhisgang

robawhitemanonhisway to thebank,althoughZollocelebrates thesuccessof the

robbery,hehassomebrotherlyadviceforhisreader:

After a fewminutes Iwas back inmy apartment Shs. 21,000.00 richer.Brother,togetmoneyistough,buttospenditisquiteanotherstory.Robberyisveryrisky.Drinkingthewholedayanddoingotherbigthingsimmediatelyafteryouget the cash isanother riskbutmost criminalsdont realize itandneverwill.(MyLifeinCrime,55;myemphasis)

InfactwheneverZollocallsthereaderbrotherheestablishessomesortofmantalk(to

useOyungaPalas (in)famous column title)24 inwhichhegives fellowmenhintsnot

onlyoncrimebutalsoinothermattersoflifelikewhatthingsmenshouldknowabout

women.Although themale reader is at times only implied,Kiriamiti is undeniably

addressingamaleaudienceandwhateverhisprotagonistsaysismeantformaleears.

Forexample,inthispassage,Kiriamitiisclearlyassumingamalereadership:

One thing I had learned was that, if you wanted your wife or yourgirlfriend to be faithful to you always youhad to buy apresent, everynowand then,nomatterhowsmallprovided itwasapresent,and then

24OyungaPalaisaKenyancolumnistintheSaturdayeditionofthenewspaperDailyNationknownforhishumorous,butironic,masculinistideasaboutwomen,http://nationmedia/SaturdayMagazine.com.

42

youwouldcountonhertowishtobenearyoueveryminute.Shedloveyoumorethanherowneyes.(MyLifeinCrime,156)

Once the criminal has declared the reader his brother and positioned himself as his

brothers advisor, the reader then will find himself identifying with the criminal

becauseoftherelationshipestablishedthereof.

Similarly,Zolloattimespersonifiesthereaderasfriendwhichhasthesameeffectonthe

readeraswhen the reader iscalledabrother.This interlocutorydirectnessobliges the

readercumfriend to have confidence in the criminalprotagonist. For instanceZollo

meetsanoldcriminalfriendofhisinprison,RamadhaniMwangi(anoddcombination

ofnames,Zollo says, but aKikuyu alright)who onceworked for amotor vehicle

company.Mwangi,Zollotellsus,unfortunatelylosthisjobafterhestoleahugesumof

moneyfromhisemployer.AfterlosinghisjobMwangithenturnstocrimebecause

[F]romaplacelikethat,whereoneisusedtobigmoney,theusualplacetoturntowhenonerunsbrokeistheothersideofthelaw.Thisothersidehasplentyofquickmoneybut,mydearfriend,itishardearnedandcaneasilyleadtodeath!(MyLifeinPrison,146;emphasismine)

Whatdoesitmeanforthereadertobecalledmydearfriend?AccordingtoStewart

(1996) in dearing the reader thenovelist conscripts or interpolates the readerwith

cues toattention (137).The reader in this casebecomesnotonlya friendbutalsoan

accomplice in crime thus the criminal and himself (the reader) move together in

confidence.

43

However, thenarrative voice and thewriters address of the reader onlywouldnot

reallyappealto the lattersomuchastomakehimorherfollowZollothroughouthis

endeavors inNairobi,NaivashaandevenCongo ifKiriamitididnotmakeZollosuch

anentertainingcharacter.Thereareseveralwaysthroughwhichtheprotagonistinthe

crime thriller canwin admiration from the readerbesides the already identified first

person narrative voice and interlocutory directness.Otherways throughwhich the

criminal hero ismade admirable andwhich Iwill discuss in the pages that follow,

includehumour,ironyandtheherosprofessionalism.

Forthereadertobeentertainedbythestoryandtoactuallyadopttheperspectiveofthe

heroicprotagonist,Palmer(1978)says,s/hemustenjoythe(thriller)storyandhisorher

enjoyment of the storydepends on how it is told.Humor is among themanyways

throughwhichthecrimestoryorthrillercanbeenjoyed.Inadifferentcontext,Palmer

(1994)inhisparadoxicallyentitledbook,TakingHumourSeriouslydefineshumouras

everything that is actually or potentially funny, and the processes by which this

funniness occurs (3). In his definition of humour Palmer identifies two crucial

elements of humour: the object of laughter and what he calls the laugher or the

perceiver. It is only after these two have interacted that a situationmay be termed

humorous.Inotherwords,thelaughermusthavesomethingtolaughatdependingon

thesituationorcontextofthelaughter.

Theobjectof laughterorhumour,asAlisonRoss (1998)observes inTheLanguageof

Humour,couldbeaperson,aninstitutionorevenasetofbeliefs(7).Itcouldbeadded

here,however,thatasituationcouldalsobeatargetofhumourinthecrimethriller.As

grievousashiscriminalendeavorsinbothMyLifeinCrimeandMyLifeinPrisonmay

44

be,Zollomanages to tellhisstorywitha touchofhumourorcomicreliefwhich then

showshisheroic triumphoverhisotherwisedreadful situation(s).For instancewhen

Zollo and several other convicts are brought to the Nairobi Law Courts for the

mentioningandhearingof theircasesandput in remandprison,Zollodescribes this

ratherseriouspartofhisstoryquitehumorously:

In remand prison we were very poorly fed, but I could see from thewarders face thathis lifewasntapicniceither. I felt Iwould ratherbeemployedasagravediggerthanlookforajobasawarder.IvenevermetawarderwhoisproudofhisworkalltheseyearsIhavebeenwiththem.Every time Ihear them talkof retiring soon.Butwhen the time comes,eachonestartsprayingforanadditionaltwoorthreeyearsofservice,foronereasonor theother. Isuppose their job isasaddictiveascrime is tosomecriminals.(MyLifeinPrison,1)

AlthoughperhapsZollospointhereistomockhisgreatestenemies(stateagentsoflaw

and order) and their job, his humorous attitude cannot go unnoticed. In another

incidentwhileinprison,duringhisusualrehearsalsinpreparationtogainadmissionto

anasylum,Zollosays:

Atonecorner Inoticeda roundplasticbowl, thekind thatwasused inthisworldasatoilet,akindofcrudechamberpot.Iinstructedmyhandtogo tomyheadand findoutwhatwasgoingon there. I feltsomewaterflowingdownmycheekandtriedtoliftmyhandtoinvestigate.Myhanddidnotmove.Thetongueletmeknow,bythesaltytasteoftheliquidthatIwasweepingMywholebody seemed tohavebeenbeaten into softpulp.(MyLifeinPrison,8)

Perhaps thereaderwouldexpectZollo tobedistraughtaboutsuchanexperiencebut

instead Zollo decides to tell the truth laughingly (to borrow the words of John

Ruganda, 1992). According to Ross (1999), humour is a product of the ambiguous

45

relationshipbetweenwhat isexpectedandwhatactuallyhappens (7). It is thisuseof

humourthatactuallymakesZollosuchanadmirablecharacterwhoisnotbrokenbyhis

situationbutinsteadseemstocelebrateeverymoment.Resultantly,thereaderishardly

welcomeorallowedbyZollo tocondemnhim. Itshouldbenotedherehowever that

humor is a slippery subjectwhich is quite subjective and personal. Whatmight be

humorous to one person may not be considered as such by another. Nevertheless,

whichever definition and description thatmay be accorded humour in this chapter,

Kiriamitisuseofthesameinhisworksgoesalongwayin(re)constructingZolloasthe

readersheroicvillain.

Kiriamitisuseofhumourinthecrimethrillercouplesupwithalotofirony.According

toMartinEdwardsinhisanalysisofFinnishcrimefiction,ironytendstobeincidental

ratherthancentraltomostmoderncrimenovels.Nevertheless,whenevercrimewriters

useirony,Edwardsargues,theirworkscanstillbereadwithenjoyment,aswellasthe

occasional frisson of surprise.25 InKiriamitisworks however, although irony is not

centraltohiswork,itcannotbetermedasincidentalbecauseZollossituation,inmost

cases,canonlybedepictedironicallyforhimtobethereadershero.Forinstance,Zollo

narratesaconversationbetweeninmatesandtheprisonchief,Kagi,inwhichtheformer

launchcomplaintsoverpoorfeedinginprison.Thewholesituationiscapturedinsuch

blackhumourthatZollobordersonsarcasm.Zollosays:

Whenwe complained thatmany ofuswere losing our sight,he [Kagi]asked very politely, When you are eating your food, can you see thebowl?Notknowingwhathewasdrivingat,yougavea frankanswer,yes, Sir. Okay,what elsedoyouwant?Doyouwant to seeZambia

25MartinEdwards,TheIronyofMurder.Availableat

http://www.martinedwardsbooks.com/irony.htm.

46

fromhere?Anotherinmatesawhimnearthedrumwherethestewwasbeingserved.Takinghisshare,theinmatewentuptohimandsaid,ButSir,cantyouseethatthisstew isverywatery?Whatdoyoumean?Doyoupeoplewantrocks?(MyLifeinPrison,128129)

In the thriller,Palmer (1978)claims, ironyhas three functions.Firstly it ispartof the

worldlywisdom that enables thehero tobenobodys fool.Secondly, it increases the

density of thenovels texture and finally it is an indication ofmoral sensibility (80).

What Palmer actually means is that the ambiguity created by irony increases the

complexity of both the hero and the thriller. On irony as an indication of moral

sensibility,Palmer says that irony