Characters in Ebrahim N. Hussein’s Kinjeketile

The characters in Ebrahim N. Hussein’s Kinjeketile include Kinjeketile, Kitunda, Ngulumbaylo, Chausiku, Bibi Kitunda, and Mnyapala.

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Kinjeketile
The cover page of Kinjeketile.
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The characters in Ebrahim N. Hussein’s Kinjeketile include Kinjeketile, Kitunda, Ngulumbaylo, Chausiku, Bibi Kitunda, and Mnyapala. Each of these characters are instrumental to the plot development of the play, and represent, for instance, a vestige of colonially oppressed people.

Apart from these ones, other characters in Kinjeketile are Mkichi, Bibi Kinjeketile, Mngindo, The Representative of the Wazaramo, Askari, Kibasila, and German Officer.

Kinjeketile

Kinjeketile is the titular character of Ebrahim N. Hussein’s Kinjeketile. This character is modelled after the historical leader of the 1905–1907 Maji-Maji Rebellion in German East Africa, with the same name.

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He claims to have been possessed by the spirit of Hongo, a river deity, who entrusts him with a divine mission to lead his people in a rebellion against their white oppressors. This encounter with the river spirit changes him profoundly, as noted by his wife and others. His trance-like state and cryptic utterances reflect his role as a medium between the human and the divine but also alienate him from the community on a personal level.

His proclamation that magic water (maji) will protect warriors from bullets becomes the central rallying point for the resistance. The prophecy about the water’s invincibility galvanises the oppressed community into action. However, it also becomes a source of misplaced faith, as the warriors rely entirely on its power rather than practical strategies. Many of them, particularly figures like Ngulumbaylo, place unquestioning faith in the water’s power in a way characteristic of blind zealots, dismissing caution and practical strategies. This blind faith ultimately leads to significant casualties when the magic water fails to protect the warriors from German bullets.

Kinjeketile is aware of the risks and consequences of the rebellion. He understands that his prophecy has sparked hope but also placed immense pressure on him to deliver results. He admits that he feels “cheated by the spirits”, especially upon discovering that he had said, while possessed, that they will become the children of Seyyid Said after the rebellion.

Kinjeketile is portrayed as a symbol of unity. He calls for unity among the various tribes and factions in the region. He recognises that their strength lies in their ability to come together against a common enemy. His message transcends tribal boundaries, as he urges groups like the Wamatumbi, Wazaramo, and others to unite. This unity is critical, as colonial powers often exploited ethnic and tribal differences to maintain control. As a strategy to get this done, he initiates Nywiywila (The Whispering Campaign) to discreetly spread the message of rebellion to other tribes. In the end, there are tinctures of division and distrust among the assemblage of warriors from different tribes, as seen in Mkichi’s glaring accusations of the Wamatumbi as cowards and troublemakers but Kinjeketile’s efforts to unite them in the fight against colonial powers cannot be gainsaid or downplayed.

In private moments, Kinjeketile questions the intentions of the river spirit Hongo. He feels manipulated and cheated, especially when he foresees that the rebellion might only replace one form of oppression (German colonialism) with another (Seyyid Said’s rule). This is reflected in his hesitation to declare war. He is, however, not unaware that his prophecy has taken on a life of its own and grown beyond his control; that his words have enslaved him to the very movement he inspired. He captures this in his words, “A man gives birth to a word . . . the word grows bigger and bigger . . . and destroys the man who let it loose”. This realisation emphasises the paradox of leadership: the very vision that empowers a leader can also become their undoing.

His hesitations and doubts about the rebellion’s success highlight his pragmatic understanding of the limitations of his people’s resources and the overwhelming power of the German colonists. Kinjeketile frequently questions the extent of Hongo’s guidance. This duality—his faith in the divine and his skepticism about its promises—renders Kinjeketile a deeply human character. He is not a blind zealot but a thoughtful and introspective leader who grapples with the morality and practicality of his mission.

Kinjeketile’s story is ultimately one of tragedy. Despite his efforts to lead and inspire his people, the rebellion ends in failure, and he becomes a martyr for the cause. He is arrested, tortured, and ultimately executed by the German colonialists. His refusal to retract his prophecy, even under duress, cements his status as a martyr. His sacrifice ensures that the rebellion is remembered as a pivotal moment in the fight against colonial oppression. He predicts that future generations will continue the struggle for freedom. This prophetic vision transforms him from a failed leader into a symbol of hope and resilience. With the later vision, he foreshadows the eventual success of African independence movements in the mid-20th century.

Kitunda

Kitunda is the Mmatumbi leader of the war against the Germans. He is entrusted by Kinjeketile to lead the tribes on a united front against the German colonialists. He is the father of Chausiku and the husband of Bibi Kitunda.

Before he became the leader of the resistance, he was like a typical dumpsite for the dirt and rubbish of colonialism. His story has always been one of humiliation and degradation inflicted through the machinery of German colonialism. First, in a way uncharacteristic of precolonial African patriarchs, he is forced, along other men in his village and beyond, to work as labourer on Bwana Kinoo’s cotton plantation, under very cruel working conditions. There is no hiding that he and his kind are working slaves on the plantation, especially with the whipping these fathers and husbands are subjected to. They are whipped and worked to total exhaustion. One woman even complained that when her “husband comes back, he is so tired that he can’t do a thing” (p. 10).

As if these indignities are not enough, his maiden daughter is forcefully removed from him to satisfy the inordinate wild sexual desires of the Askari. This happens in the face of frantic protest and seeming helplessness. It goes without saying that Kitunda’s family bears the brunt of colonial cruelty. His daughter is taken by colonial agents, and his wife replaces him in the plantation after he is severely beaten. These personal losses add a tinge of revenge to his leadership of the resistance movement.

This is why, when Kinjeketile chooses him as the one to lead the tribes to war, he takes up the responsibility with the perception that it is a means for him to get back at the Germans for the indignities he has suffered in their hands. This quest for revenge gets the better of his judgement and puts him at loggerheads with Kinjeketile when the latter calls for patience and caution before they proceed with the war. Kinjeketile emphatically calls for the bonding and uniting of the disparate tribes, but Kitunda is confident that the tribes are united enough to go all out on the Germans. He is too blind to see through the logicality of Kinjeketile’s skepticism, especially in relation to the power the water holds.

Later in the play, Kitunda appears to have inherited Kinjeketile’s skepticism. He consistently warns his soldiers against blind faith and advocates for strategic preparation and alliances. He reasons that his soldiers should proceed on their assault on the Germans with caution and logic. He is, in fact, the first to admit that some of their men have fallen to the destructive power of German bullets, in spite of Kinjeketile’s assurance of their immunity to bullets. However, his admission does not hold sway among his subordinates who are already fanatical about the spiritual protection they have been assured of. They, particularly Ngulumbalyo, excuse away the deaths of the soldiers as the consequence of flouting the rules attached to the water protection.

It is, in fact, the failure of his henchmen to listen to him that brings defeat too soon to their doorstep. Subsequently, he is arrested, along with others, following the quelling of the uprising. In the fort where they are held as prisoners, he tries to protect Kinjeketile when he realises that he is in the same cell with them, considering that the men now see Kinjeketile as a liar. Kitunda does this by immediately calling the Askari to intervene.

Finally, of all the characters in Ebrahim N. Hussein’s play, Kitunda is the closest to Kinjeketile, as demonstrated by the kind of discussions between the two which include Kinjeketile’s skepticism and Kitunda’s motivation.

Ngulumbaylo

Ngulumbaylo is zealous Mmatumbi soldier who personifies blind faith in the magic water. He is a vocal and impulsive member of the resistance. He wholeheartedly embraces Kinjeketile’s vision. He believes that the magic water will guarantee victory, even in the face of overwhelming odds. This unyielding belief often makes him clash with Kitunda’s logic and call for caution. At some point, he almost leads a mutiny successfully against Kitunda over the latter’s scepticism.

His impulsive nature and recklessness lead to disastrous consequences. It brings about their heavy defeat at the German fort. Against Kitunda’s strategic planning, he charges at the fort with his men without camouflage. His decision to lead an attack on a heavily armed fort with such recklessness results in the deaths of over a thousand warriors and the end of the resistance.

Noticeably, Ngulumbaylo’s unwavering faith in the prophecy is indicative of the community’s collective overconfidence, which contributes to the downfall of their resistance movement. The playwright uses his character to warn about the risks of placing faith above reason.


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