Africa Kills Her Sun by Ken Saro-Wiwa
"Africa Kills Her Sun" by Ken Saro-Wiwa is a poignant and darkly satirical exploration of corruption and despair in Nigerian society, presented as a last letter from a condemned man, Bana, to his former girlfriend, Zole. The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of Nigeria's military dictatorship, which lasted from 1983 to 1999, and critiques the pervasive moral decay that corruption has inflicted on the continent. Bana reflects on his life choices, including his decision to become a robber as a means of rejecting the systemic graft he witnessed while working in government. He views his criminality as a more honest path compared to the deceitful practices of officials, asserting that even in crime, he maintains his integrity.
Throughout the letter, Bana expresses an existential awareness of the injustices faced by those who remain alive after his execution, emphasizing the tragic fate of a society entrenched in corruption. His relationship with Zole serves as a bittersweet reminder of the love he lost, while he imagines his legacy through a proposed statue and epitaph that captures his defiance against a corrupt system. Ultimately, the letter serves as a powerful indictment of how corruption "kills" the potential and spirit of the African continent, encapsulated in the poignant phrase, "Africa Kills Her Sun." This work invites readers to reflect on the profound consequences of systemic injustice and the struggle for dignity within a broken society.
On this Page
Africa Kills Her Sun by Ken Saro-Wiwa
First published: 1989
Type of plot: Satire, epistolary
Time of work: The late 1980's
Locale: A prison in Nigeria
Principal Characters:
Bana , one of the bosses of a gang of armed robbersSazan , andJimba , his co-bosses and cellmatesZole , childhood girlfriend of BanaThe prison guard , bribed to convey Bana's letter to ZoleThe high court judge , surprised at the plea of guilty by the three robbersA German prostitute , a role model for Bana
The Story
Written in the form of a condemned man's last letter to his former girlfriend, "Africa Kills Her Sun" constitutes a dark satire on the effects of all-encompassing corruption and pervasive graft in Nigerian society and Africa in general. In ironic form, it denounces the economic immorality that took hold in Nigeria under a continuous military dictatorship that began in 1983 and did not end until 1999. Democracy came too late to save the author. Saro-Wiwa was imprisoned first in 1993 and again in 1994 for his political activism on behalf of his native Ogoni people and was hanged on November 10, 1995, by the military regime.
In the story, Bana reveals himself to be somewhat of an existentialist. From the outset, he tells his girlfriend Zole that she and the others who remain after his death have the worse fate because they have to suffer the injustices of an uncaring world. Bana and his two companions, Sazan and Jimba, who are both sound asleep as he is writing on his last night on earth, will soon have nothing left to worry about. Bana reminds Zole of their unconsummated love, which ended ten years ago but still inspires him.
Bana and the others feel that they have outwitted their corrupt society. Caught and brought to trial, the three robbers agreed to plead guilty to all charges immediately and to demand capital punishment. They did this, Bana writes Zole, to deny the high court judge the power to choose their penalty. They prevented the judge from exercising his corrupt power by being more lenient to one or two of the three equally guilty robbers. For once, Bana insists, the judge had to pass an honest judgment in accordance with the law.
Next, Bana writes of why he became a robber. As a merchant marine, he met a prostitute in Germany. She told him that for her, women's professions—whether secretary, nurse, or prostitute—were all the same. Impressed by what he felt was the clarity of her convictions, Bana quit his job to work for the Ministry of Defense. There, he learned that every official was bent on robbing the country blind through corruption, so he decided to become an armed robber, which he viewed as a more honest alternative to being part of a corrupt society. At least, he writes, he stole openly.
Bana tells Zole that corruption is endemic in contemporary Africa, where corrupt regimes degrade society and bring misery to their people. He writes that he went to jail only because the corrupt superintendent of police botched their last robbery. He reveals that they always worked in collaboration with the police. However, during their last job, a police officer escorting a money transport shot at the robbers, who returned fire. Although the police wanted to punish some of Bana's minions, the three bosses decided to face the penalty instead of playing this corrupt game. Bana reveals that he considers himself a kind of Nigerian Robin Hood, who shares his loot with the poor of his gang.
As Bana envisions his upcoming execution in the sports stadium, his letter becomes a bitter reckoning with corruption, which robs the continent's people. He asks Zole to have a statue sculpted of him because his body will be dumped in an unmarked grave. As Sazan and Jimbo wake from their sleep, Bana implores Zole to have an epitaph inscribed at the base of this sculpture. As the bribed prison guard awakens, Bana finishes his letter, telling Zole his epitaph is to read "Africa Kills Her Sun," an allusion to the historical lines, "Africa kills her sons," spoken by an African leader over the grave of a favorite officer. Bana affirms his love for Zole and says good-bye as he is about to be shot.