Havoc of Choice: The Search for Kenya’s Heart and Soul
When the recent history of Kenya is told, 2007 occupies a big a place as the year when the country’s fledgling democracy and the nation’s delicate tribal balance, were tested to the limit. While a lot has been written on the events proceeding, during and after the disputed General Elections, never before had we read about how the upheavals of that period affected a family; tossing them all apart, then together.
Enter Wanjiru Koinange’s Havoc of Choice. This is the story of Ngugi and his family. When Ngugi decides to run for a parliamentary seat in a constituency that is unconventional, in Kenya real politics, but only possible because of entrenched corruption, this puts him in deep conflict with his wife, and as the election nears, she seeks to escape. The alienation extends to his driver, daughter, workers, parents in law; threatening to break the fabric of the family.
On Election Day, a close knit family that should have been together, all voting for Ngugi, is in disarray. Ngugi, his wife Kavata, daughter Wanja, Son Amani, Thuo his driver and Schola the house help, all wake up in different places, in new, unfamiliar environments. But the tension, the violence and the turmoil following the disputed elections touches them and shocks all of them to the core; and they soon start drawing towards one another, and finally, tragedy brings them all together, from where they begin their lives afresh.
Havoc of Choice is a book about Kenya’s national consciousness, about the manipulation of tribe for political benefit; about family and love, or the lack of; about the class differences and how we all go through the same experiences, the same challenges, the same emotions, regardless of out tribe, our economic status, our education level. It is a must read for everyone, young and old, seeking to understand Kenya, and to appreciate how the political events in the country affects the common, and no so common man, and what we can do to make Kenya better. Coming as we prepare for the next General Elections in 2022, and in light of the recently concluded US elections, Havoc of Choice is a stark reminded that we are not out of the woods yet, unless we make great amends to our national, economic, and ethnic fabric.
You can get Havoc of Choice at Text Book Centre or Rafu Books From Sh1,700, a great bargain
