A Grain of Wheat

This chapter is narrated in the first person plural. The voice of the village describes Mugo walking in the pouring rain, the only person not to seek shelter. This incident further distinguishes Mugo for the people of Thabai, who perceive his difference as the mark of heroism. Wambui believes that the only way to convince Mugo to participate in the Uhuru celebration is to have the women of the village talk to him. She gives the task to Mumbi.

Mumbi, since leaving Gikonyo’s home, had been very sad. Her parents do not welcome her back with open arms, believing Mumbi’s place is with her husband. She also grieves to learn that it was Karanja who had betrayed Kihika, and that Karanja—the father of her child—would be put to death. She begs Mugo to reconsider his participation in the ceremony. He tells her some of the horrors of physical abuse he witnessed in the detention centers, and she says that it is for this reason he must address the people.

Mugo, at his breaking point, tells Mumbi he killed Kihika by strangling him. Mumbi protests, saying that she saw Kihika’s body hanging from a tree. Mugo loses control and reaches for Mumbi’s throat, saying he will strangle her as well. Mumbi stops struggling and Mugo relaxes. Terrified, she asks what is wrong.

The narrative jumps backward in time. During the Emergency DO Thomas Robson was terrorizing the countryside, capturing villagers randomly and forcing them to dig their own graves. In May 1955, man on a road outside the village confronted Robson and shot him twice in the chest. Robson’s death—purportedly at the hands of Mau Mau thugs—caused a backlash of violence against the people of Thabai. Mugo had been staying inconspicuous while this occurred, so as not to be rounded up and taken to a detention center, as so many other men in the village had been. That night, as he sat in the dark in his hut, he heard soldiers going from home to home, the sounds of gunfire, and screaming. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Terrified, Mugo opened the door to Kihika, who said that he needed a place to hide because he had just killed Robson. Kihika was talking wildly, and Mugo was afraid that Kihika would bring attention to them. Kihika tried to persuade Mugo to join the Movement, insisting that Mugo meet him in the forest in a week’s time. After Kihika left, Mugo was angry to be dragged into the conflict. Mugo’s resentment grew. On the appointed day of their meeting, Mugo went to the government offices and reported Kihika’s location to the district officer, John Thompson. For his efforts, Mugo was beaten because Thompson claimed that numerous false reports about Kihika had been made.