The Stolen Gift
by David Ssembajjo

Release Date: 28th Dec 2007
Publisher: Upfront Publishers
ISBN: 978 1 8442 6257 1
RRP: £8.99

A self-published and very personal view of life in an African village.

Kagaga is a newcomer to the small rural village of Bukuku. He arrives shortly after the local elections and initially finds the village a place of tranquillity and lushness. Unfortunately, the calmness of those days are soon long gone, in their place, a devastating draught that is slowly starving the populous and causing debilitating sickness and occasionally, death.

Mulili, the locally elected Councillor for the village, is failing to fulfil his electoral promises (why does this sound so familiar?) and the village begins to disintegrate. Where once there was a community, slowly an ugly fractious entity emerges – and everyone seems out for themselves... all, except Kagaga who is determined to try to restore peace.

It is difficult to appreciate the meaning of this book whilst there are so many contradictions and mixed up events (Mulili appears to die twice over at the hands of the villagers), but it is evident that there is something there. What that is, I’m not sure. But there is a very personal insight into village life in Africa – the helplessness, the lack of self-reliance, the hopelessness that tears apart a proud and once thriving village, the random savagery and injustice. And it is true that there simply aren’t enough books about the real Africa.

Ssembajjo is Ugandan and therefore some kudos has to be given to him for managing to write this novella in English. That said it is immediately and consistently apparent that English is not Ssembajjo’s native language and the story does suffer slightly due to this. However, if you can persuade yourself to see past the barriers in the language and the occasional confusion due to déjà vu, then you will perhaps allow yourself to be immersed into a culture that is so far removed from our modern western society, that at times the events are heart-breaking.

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