At a Glance: Woza Albert and Matigari

Matigari and Woza Albert!
(Matigari by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Woza Albert! by Mbongeni Ngema, Percy Mtwa, Barney Simon)

Both Matigari and Woza Albert! use Christian motifs to highlight the political injustices against Black Kenyans and South Africans during the 1980s. Cobbling together elements of Gikuyu folklore with a distinctly satirical style, Matigari is technically set in a fictional country.  Yet, much of the content is reminiscent of postcolonial politics in Kenya at the time of its publication.  The protagonist, Matigari, takes on a Christ-like role in the novel with several illusions to the second coming. Similarly, Woza Albert! is a satirical play published and set-in apartheid South Africa that envisions Christ’s second coming to South Africa.  The play imagines what Christ would think of the segregated state and how the apartheid government would treat him in return. You can read the full post here.

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