Themes in Betrayal in the City by Francis Imbuga

Themes in Betrayal in the City by Francis Imbuga

Date : 31/12/2019

Author Information

Uploaded by : JEMA
Uploaded on : 31/12/2019
Subject : English

A theme is an idea that the playwright puts across. There are major and minor themes. A theme is not stated but the reader is supposed to infer from the characters, their actions and words, plot and the setting.

A)Betrayal

To betray is to be disloyal to someone, one's country, organization or ideology by acting in the interest of the enemy. The play is full of betrayal which range from cultural, interpersonal to political betrayal. The people who are hell bent on displaying disloyalty to the local culture are despicable state agents such as Mulili. Just before the ceremony begins, Jere and Mulili come up with a signed government order stopping the ceremony. This ceremony is cancelled in the interest of peace. Boss faces betrayal on the face in the play within a play. The play is incidentally titled "Betrayal in the City".Mulili clearly tells everybody who cares to listen that Boss has never been his cousin or he could be only a distant cousin. He says that there is absolutely no reason why Boss should not be killed. He then proceeds to enumerate Boss' ills such as high handedness, spoiling the economy, ruling for too long and killing Kabito. Mulili betrays Kabito. He says that Kabito has complained that Boss has robbed him of the milk tender, he has ruined the economy, he hides millions in foreign countries and that he tried to get Regina by force. By having Kabito killed, he betrays both men. First, he betrays Boss' trust as a trusted aide and secondly he betrays Kabito, a hardworking and loyal government official. Mulili betrays his colleague, Jere who gets arrested because he opposed the former's brutality towards Doga and Nina. Apart from his name calling and callous nature, he gets Jere into trouble when all he wanted was to assist the old couple. Tumbo betrays Regina's trust in him when he fails to tell her the exact intentions of Boss during her appointment to petition for Mosese's release. Her host (Boss) becomes so amorous that Regina is forced to jump out of a ten foot high window to escape. Boss' wife has had her trust in her husband betrayed when he intends to bring in another woman. (Regina) into their own house. Her complaints cause her to be bundled into a cell like a common criminal. Her feeling of betrayal must be overwhelming. Boss' regime despite being in place to serve the public well, betrays the very public who have given them the very powers. They instead use power to perpetuate themselves. Boss uses state resources to reward cronies with lucrative tenders and other goodies for helping him have stranglehold on power. Persecution of peasants like Doga and Nina, murder of citizens like Adika and Kabito is the betrayal of the public who expect to be protected by the government. The government has betrayed the people for not improving their welfare. The gravity of the government's betrayal to the people is succinctly captured by Mosese when he says: "For years we waited for the kingdom of heaven, then they said it had come. "Our kingdom had come at last but no it was all an illusion."(Pg27-28)It can be argued that the act of Regina trying to plead with the authorities to have Mosese released from jail is tantamount to betraying Mosese. This is because Mosese has made it clear that he cannot stand that kind of betrayal:"I saw betrayal in her eyes. Stood infront of me and said he wanted to go and plead for my release."

B)Corruption

Corruption is a vice that gradually gnaws at the society leading to suffering amongst the citizens. The theme of corruption manifests itself in different forms in the play. These forms include: nepotism, influence peddling, favoritism, culture of kickback, civil servants stealing from the public coffers and tribalism. We are told that Boss himself is a weak and corrupt ruler who uses his corrupt cronies to rule. To effectively use them, he rewards them with bribes. For instance, Mulili has been promised many acres of land and exotic cattle. In addition, Boss himself is alleged to have stashed lots of money in foreign countries. Boss puts Mulili, a cousin, in a senior government position so that he can inform him of every intricate detail in Kafira. The man is illiterate and a non-performer who is determined to amass wealth for himself. He is inconsiderate and will do anything to earn acres of farmland and cattle. On one occasion, he denies Doga and Nina the chance to carry out the shaving ceremony according to tradition despite their loss. On the contrary, he had helped Mustafa, a criminal to escape across the border but pretends to strictly abide by the rule of law as long as there is nothing he stands to lose. Tumbo fails to conduct a playwriting competition and instead chooses Jusper and pays him only a third of the money. He pockets the rest claiming that it is for setting records straight. He also plans to extend the entertainment committee's session in order to earn more sitting allowance. Jusper is a frustrated student who like all the rest, has no hope of finding a job in Kafira since most of them are taken by expatriates. He tells Tumbo that during the holiday he would sit in the house and vegetate since the state regards the youths as neither children nor adults but fence sitters. Boss' intention is to use expatriates as an opportunity to gain more foreign aid. Corruption among the public officials is seen in the meeting of the entertainment committee in Act Two Scene One where we see everyone is concerned first and foremost about the size of potato (take home pay) and not the services they will offer to the public. The talk that dominates the meeting session is about money and tender. Tumbo's advice to Jusper is, "Learn to fight for yourself first and then when your presence is felt, you can risk shouting for others". This casts him as a believer of capitalism ethos where one ought to make as much money through any means possible. Virtually, everyone is corrupt and the few who are clean like Mosese are hounded out. Corrupt methods have to be used to accomplish this. In the case of Mosese, drugs had to be planted on him so as to nail him. Although corruption is perpetuated by most people, Mulili is clearly the leading perpetrator and the face of corruption in Boss' regime. It is not surprising that he is the one who eventually gets killed while Boss is spared.

C) Bad Governance The way Boss runs his government defies logic and reason. The government does not defend the rule of law but issues decrees from the palace and passes them down through cronies. Tumbo's remark at the end of the play puts what ails the state in plain terms:" I am truly sorry, but I am not entirely to blame was trained but given the wrong job. (Pg. 74).This remark points an accusing finger at the appointing authority. The buck as it were, rests with Boss. The likes of Mulili should not be in government leave alone give anybody advice. The fact that Boss relies on the likes of Mulili, Tumbo, Kabito and Nicodemo to render good and sustainable opinion and advice to the government tells the extent of the rot in this system. Mulili is barely coherent and there are a lot of inconsistencies in his utterances. He is a pathological liar, a cheat and a fraud who any right thinking leader should distance himself from. Ordinary people cannot carry out their normal ceremonies without government interference. Note that Doga and Nina, two innocent and bereaved citizens cannot carry out a simple ceremony for their dead son. The government sends two soldiers, Jere and Mulili to bar them from doing so. They are even murdered as a result. The government restricts freedom of expression. For example, the rioting students of Kafira University are stopped violently by having their leaders shot dead. During the burial of the student leader, many restrictions are put in place. The service must not take more than ten minutes, the coffin should not be carried by students and weeping in public is illegal for the academic staff. (pg. 25) The development agenda is crowded with mediocrity as evidenced by the fact that Boss' change of Christian name is agenda item number one in the development plan. Apparently, mediocrity is celebrated in Kafira:" Blows were exchanged in the planning committee over whether the changing of names should be item number one or three in the development plan".(pg24) Boss presides over a murderous regime that abets extrajudicial killings of its citizens. Adika is murdered in cold blood just as it happens to Kabito after his bitter fall out with Mulili, Boss' most trusted advisor. We are told that it is Boss who authorized his execution over mere allegations. These gross crimes against citizens together with police brutality as seen where Regina was beaten up by police and Jusper was driven to near madness in prison (due to torture) casts this regime in bad light as one that presides over the rule of the jungle.

D)Hopelessness/Disillusionment A disillusioned person has lost trust and is disappointed because the person they admired or the idea they believed to be good and true now seems without value. Throughout the play, one cannot fail to discern the spectre of disillusionment that seems to haunt Kafira. Doga and Nina have lost hope in life after their son, Adika is shot dead during the university riots. Their other son, Jusper seems to have lost his mind after his brother's death and is currently considered as good as 'dead'. Nina concludes that the authorities have robbed them of all they had and blinded them. The collective sense of disillusionment is captured by Mosese when he says, "It was better while we waited. Now we have nothing to look forward to. We have killed our past and are busy killing the future". (pg. 28)He no longer believes in the Biblical promise of the poor inheriting the kingdom of heaven. It is all an illusion. Jere says that he has lost his faith in humanity and his carrying of the Bible to prison was to see if it might restore his faith in humanity. "Then, I said to myself, if they take you in, carry a Bible with youth might restore your faith in humanity."(pg23). He only got some fulfillment out of acting the Pilate's story. Jere argues with Askari over the issue of freedom. He tells him that the outside of his cell may as well be the inside of another which implies that there is no freedom in Kafira and even those who think they are free or not. It is unfortunate for Kafira that they risk having no future given that even the youth are not spared this disillusionment. Jusper says, "The younger generation can only be spectators at most. We'll never have the opportunity to join in that nation building."(pg41).When Regina tries to stop Jusper from wearing the red gown, which she says makes him look dangerous, he tells her that she has lost her fighting spirit like everyone else in the streets. This paints a general feeling of disillusionment that is in Kafira. When the students were marching in the streets, we are told that even the beggars leaning on street walls shouted at them that they were wasting time. After Kabito's murder, Tumbo and Nicodemo realize that their tenures as government officials hang in the balance. Tumbo says, "We have no choice, like caged animals, we move but only inside the cage."(pg62).He says the elimination of citizens has become so rampant that one is not so sure of seeing the next day.

E) Hypocrisy There are a number of hypocritical characters in the play. For instance, Boss' treatment of his wife Mercedes is extremely hypocritical. When his wife learns that he has brought Regina into the house she complains. He takes offence and locks her up in a palace cell. He also claims that she has been rude to him yet he does not consider the fact that she feels betrayed by his actions. Boss claims to understand truth and justice while infact he least does. He alleges that the rioting students and the dissenting lecturers have no idea what truth and justice is all about. This hypocrisy is self-serving in the sense that he intends to suppress their freedom of expression to create an opportunity to gain from foreign governments. Tumbo pretends to be doing Regina a favor by introducing her to Boss yet he knows his (Boss) ridiculous weakness for woman. When she gets into trouble and jumps out of a ten-foot high window, he belatedly says he will apologize to her. He pretends to be sorry for Regina while all along he had known what Boss was up to.

F) Conflict Conflict can be defined as the state of disharmony or a clash between incompatible persons, ideas or interests. At the beginning of the play, we see the conflict that arises pitting the soldiers, Jere and Mulili sent by the authorities to guard the grave and the old couple. Just when the old couple is set to begin the shaving ceremony for their dead son, the two soldiers enter to stop the ceremony in the interest of peace. While Jere is of the opinion that the old couple should be allowed to continue with their ceremony, Mulili cannot hear any of that since his future depends on his executing the orders given to him. Finally it culminates in Jere shooting Mulili (pg15).There is clash between the people's culture on one hand and the imposed system of governance which does not take cognizance of traditions as it enforces its laws. Another conflict can be seen between Kabito and Mulili during the entertainment committee's meeting. Kabito is angry that Mulili bullied his way into getting the university milk tender which apparently Kabito was keen on getting. The two cannot see each other eye to eye and thus at the meeting their differences play out openly degenerating into names calling and swear words. Kabito says, "If he doesn't get me first I will get him."(pg52).In addition to that, Kabito tells of Mulili to his face,"You are the people who choke Kafira."(pg56).

G) Greed/Materialism A number of characters exhibit excessive greed for money and material things. This unbridled appetite for wealth unfortunately breeds a tendency for corruption amongst public officials. The officials in the entertainment committee led by Nicodemo and Kabito are clearly greedy for money. They are concerned with the size of the potato more than anything else. Kabito says, "The tree climber begins from the bottom, not the top. May we not be told our terms of services or are being good citizens?"(pg53).On the other hand, Nicodemo wants to know the "size of potato per hour", they will get. Such sentiments do not hide the greed for money these officials have. Greed can also be discerned where Tumbo says he will be left with a huge chunk of money meant for play writing competition while paying the playwright only a third of the entire amount. Boss talks glowingly about his blocks of buildings which he owned after returning from abroad two years ago. He tells Regina, "So you see, a block like this one cost me no less than one hundred and fifty thousand shillings."(pg46).This portrays him as a person with a classic materialistic mind which exalts material things and their price tags. Greed makes Mulili such a ruthless fellow while executing the government's order to keep law and order. He cannot withstand anything distracting him from executing the orders for his eyes are trained on the 'prize' which is a big farm and exotic cattle. "I doesn't want to lost that farm. Boss promises many acre of farm and grade cattle (pg13).This is even if it means harassing poor peasants the age of his parents.

H) The Role of Students and Educated Elite in Society The students are at the vanguard of the struggle to liberate Kafira from the yoke of dictatorship. We are told that Adika died "for the truth". His only crime was to ask if Kafira was in the right train. His death sows the seeds of determination in students such as Jusper to continue fighting for a just Kafira. The death sees Adika elevated from being just a mere hero to a martyr who sacrificed his life for the liberation of Kafira. They provide intellectual resources to the liberation of the country. The success of the bloodless coup that topples Boss' regime at the end of the play is the handiwork of Jusper's strategy which he formulates and executes with remarkable precision. Mosese is the patron of the struggle and his role in the liberation struggle cannot be belittled. One does not necessarily have to be at the forefront so as to say they participated. He is a classic example of intellectuals in the society. They do not want to participate in politics presumably because it is a dirty game. The otherwise noble calling of politics is left to the dumbest and illiterates like Mulili. The message that Imbuga seems to convey about the role of intellectuals and students as can be seen from the part each one plays is that they can collaborate for a purpose. They ought not to shy away from politics but they should participate towards bringing the desired changes in their country. The intellectual component is required in politics. Its absence has only been an unmitigated disaster with illiterates taking charge of government and spreading terror on innocent citizens.

I) Fear/Suspicion The people of Kafira live in great fear, they lack freedom of expression. They cannot understand why the likes of Jusper, Adika and Mosese talk too much and put themselves in unnecessary trouble. Regina warns Jusper against talking too much. She does not want him to end up dead like Adika or in prison like Mosese. Jusper's red academic gown is a source of constant fear for Regina. Askari warns Jere and Mosese that silence is all they need to stay out of trouble. Suspicion is created when prisoners either remain silent or talk too much. Tumbo comments that until people like Mulili are out of government, it would be dangerous to seem to do things differently in Kafira. When Nicodemo suggests that Kabito should report the issue of losing his tender, Kabito remarks that reporting Mulili to Boss is tantamount to digging one's own grave. When Kabito questions Mulili presence on the committee, Tumbo says that Kabito should know better than that and in any case, the question was not on the agenda. When Nicodemo comments that they are being too formal, Kabito says:" I agree with Nicodemo, let's drop the formality until Mulili comes."(pg53).