Kovu Moyoni

Kovu Moyoni ('Scar in the Heart') is a fast moving story set in a fictional village of Siloko in a post-independent nation called Tandika. It is the story of one widow's struggle against an oppressive regime represented by a local militia group, 'Jeshi la Vijana' or the ''Youth Army', who attack and plunder her village of Siloko under the pretext of cleansing non-natives. The government to which Boke looks to protect her and her property fails in its primary responsibility and instead protects the criminally powerful cartel of land-grabbers and war-lords. This story is heart-breaking if shocking. But the author keeps tight reign on the narrative act: beautifully rendered the prose flows effortlessly painting the horrors and pathos of a community under siege. In this novel, Professor John Habwe displays a maturity that offers insight and depth into the psychology of violence and post-colonial oppression. It is a story that will disturb and prick your conscience. If this story is a depiction of Boke's various scars inflicted by a modern day corrupt state, it is also a statement about our own complicity. It is a story of love, loss, alienation and hope. It is a celebration of the human spirit that refuses to die in the face of untold suffering.