Oh, we were cool! At least from my end we were.  I chose to look the other way not because it was the easiest thing in world to do but because it was the only right thing to do then. Moral reasoning, ethics and critical thinking; I tucked them away. I was rubbed the wrong [read more…]

Is there more to just being free from discrimination based on race, tribe or origin? Can we really say for a fact that we are not under any colonial rule? Or did the rule just move gradually from territorial and dictatorial to emotional and psychological? As Africans we have become quite liberated in terms of development or technology but are our minds still free from mental slavery?

Sometimes, I share half of my seat with a random person and our skin touch, leaving a tacky sensation on me. Worse even, it is a smoker whose odour makes me want to grow my nose out of the window.

She remembers the sweet dreams. Those she had of their future or rather the plans that turned to be sweet dreams. The cool names they came up with of their children to be. The serene suburbs they planned to build their simple bungalow.

The woman in the next stall urinates loudly as Miriam squats over the toilet bowl. Nothing comes out – she is too anxious. A bespectacled man stares at her …

The two men stared at each other, sizing each other up for their impending dance. Who would lead, and to what music, what rhythm, would there be sore feet when the music stopped? At least the man had a sense of humour, The Man thought. The boy knows enough to come, the priest thought.

Even as the woman takes up greater responsibilities, often out of absolute socio-economic necessity, her maternal instinct seems not to be too adversely affected. In some cases it is enhanced. These women haven’t ceased being mothers; they’re smarter about it.