Moses Series: The school ultimate badass of our time!
When Moses Kibaya was expelled from school – for the sixth time – , even his guardians, Uncle Silasi and his wife did not think that there was a school out there that could admit such a boy, except, perhaps, a reformatory. But the risk of staying with the boy soon manifests itself when he almost burns down their house, after a cigarette falls out of his hand when he dozed while smoking!
A school was found for him and a week later, Moses is driven into Mukibi’s Institute for the Sons of African Gentlemen. To call is a school is an exaggeration. Everything, from the buildings to the general order, is run down, and even Uncle Silasi is thinking of going back home with Moses when Mukibi himself, the owner and Headmaster, says: “I refuse to pamper my pupils. This is not a tourist Hotel!”
Moses being Moses runs afoul of school rules on the very first day when he fights King Kong, a naughty boy. They strike out a friendship while serving their punishment and in just a few days, they unsuccessfully attempt to escape from school, to go to the US to chase their lofty teenage dreams.
It is against this backdrop that in Moses, Barbara Kimenye introduces us to Moses Kibaya, or Holy Moses, as he liked to call himself, a boy full of mischief, and who can only be accommodated at Mukibi’s Institute for the Sons of African Gentlemen, whose owner, Mukibi, exploits the opportunity that exists in serving delinquents who cannot be admitted in any school in Uganda, and who can’t even stay with their parents. But even Mukibi Institute was unprepared for the mischief that is Moses, especially once he teams up with King Kong.
Funny, witty and dramatic, Barbra weaves the story of a school boy who really doesn’t see the need for education or school, simply because he hasn’t been shown why. Moses, the protagonist, is so cheeky, unpredictable and full of drama that he gives Barbara content to write a series of books: Moses with Mildred, Moses in Trouble, Moses on the Move, Moses and Mildred. There is also Moses and the Penpal, Moses and the Raffle, Moses and the Kidnappers, Moses in a Mess etc. All these book rotate around Moses’s mischief at school
While Moses breaks so many school rules that would have him expelled or at least suspended in other schools, everything goes at Mukibi. And therein lies Barbara’s point: That the commercialization of education has made the new African societies throw away standards, as expelling Moses, or his friend King Kong, would have denied Mukibi revenues.
The use of the first person narrator, Moses, enables us to see and read the minds of the young ones: their thoughts, their fears, their aspirations, their outlook in life and their dreams, and how they see adults – parents and teaches – and rules, as an impediment to them achieving their not well thought out dreams.
The Moses series is a must read for every teen in school, and teachers, who will find inspiration in the manner in which Mr. Karanja, the Deputy Headmaster, tries to steer the boys in the right direction, unsuccessfully. And if you are a parent with teens, Moses series will help you understand your kids better, and will influence your choices in matters parenting and education. For the general reader, Moses series will captivate you, the simple and funny style will leave you laughing, and asking for more.
Moses is available in leading Bookshops in the country. From Sh 360, you can buy any of the series from Text Book Centre.
Mwalimu Andrew is the Deputy HM of Mwisho wa Lami Primary School. When he is not teaching, or visiting Hitler’s, you will find him husbanding Fiolina, the laugh his life, which includes taking care of his children, not all who are his.
