Vitimbi as a Commentary of Kenya’s Socio-Political Experiences

Violet Nasambu Barasa; Miriam Musonye; Jeniffer Muchiri

doi:10.58256/njhs.v2i3.622

Authors

Violet Nasambu Barasa Department of Literature, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Miriam Musonye Department of Literature, University of Nairobi, Kenya
Jeniffer Muchiri Department of Literature, University of Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

The essay analyses Vitimbi (1975-2014), a theatre text aired on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. Using the family as its setting, the text wittingly accounts for the socio-political realities of everyday life in post-colonial Kenya. In the main, the essay interrogates how the producer of Vitimbi uses the family to image socio-political issues in post-independence Kenya. The focus is on how the producer uses the family conflicts and interactions as an allegory of the post-colonial nation-state. The artistic use of the family allows me to examine Mzee Ojwang’s family as a microcosm of the large society. The producer realizes this task by inextricably knitting familial and patriarchal structures on one hand with social, economic and political experiences on the other against a backdrop of Kenya’s history. The essay, therefore, problematizes characterisation within the domestic setting to establish how characters are used to address political nuances.

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