I Refuse to Die

"I Refuse to Die is both the story of one gifted man who rose above the horrors of colonization, and an uncensored account of Kenya's blood-stained past. With determination born of suffering, Koigi wa Wamwere documents the brutality of the colonial years. He describes the physical and emotional abuse visited on his parents and others by the plundering British.

Tracing the roots of the Mau Mau rebellion and the strict curfews and violence of the colonial government, wa Wamwere follows the evolution and degeneration of Jomo Kenyatta and the rise of Daniel arap Moi. During those years, wa Wamwere began to speak out and fight for human rights. In 1979 he won a seat in the parliament, where he represented the economically depressed Nakuru district for three years. His history is infused with freedom songs of his people and revealing allegories born out of the Kenyan storytelling tradition.

As an activist, a journalist, and a member of the Kenyan parliament, wa Wamwere was framed and detained on three separate instances, spending thirteen years in prison, where he was tortured but not broken. His mother and other mothers led a hunger strike to free him and fellow political prisoners. Their efforts brought about a show trial where wa Wamwere was sentenced to four more years in prison and six strokes of the cane. Under such a sentence, others had died from abuse to body and spirit. But, buoyed by a growing chorus of international support, wa Wamwere refused his fate.

And lived not only to tell, but to fight on."--BOOK JACKET.