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ALERT - KENYA

5 September 2003

Catholic Church lobbies to have three novels withdrawn from school
curriculum

SOURCE: Network for the Defence of Independent Media in Africa (NDIMA),
Nairobi

(NDIMA/IFEX) - A lobby group operating under the wing of the Catholic Church
in Kenya wants three books withdrawn from the school syllabus, saying they
are "morally objectionable."

The lobby group, Parent's Caucus, claims that sections of Nigerian novelist
Chinua Achebe's "A Man of the People" and S. A Mohammed's "Kiu" and
"Kitumbua Kimeingia Mchanga" - all set-books for the Kenya Certificate of
Secondary Education Examinations (KCSE) - are sexually explicit and contain
pornographic material.

The lobby group has collected over 2,000 signatures from parents in the
Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and the neighbouring district of Kiambu. The
signatures are to be presented to the Ministry of Education. Parent's
Caucus, in conjunction with the Catholic Church, is urging parents to append
signatures to a protest note entitled, "Help Kick Pornography Out of the
Classroom", to be sent to the government.

Education Minister George Saitoti said the government was not to blame and
promised a review of the books.

Achebe is a revered literary icon who is widely acknowledged as one of the
greatest writers ever to come out of Africa. His book "A Man of the People"
was published in 1966 and, until now, no objection has ever been raised on
account of any alleged sexual content.

"A Man of the People" describes a fictional post-colonial African state. It
tackles the issues of political representation in a corrupt state and the
problems of an ethnically diverse, economically stratified nation. It also
deals with the corruption, immorality, exploitation, hunger for power and
ever-present threat of political instability that define the
newly-independent African state.

The other two books targeted for alleged sexually explicit material are in
Kiswahili, the Kenyan national language. Mohammed's works may not be as well
known as Achebe's, but all three titles are noted principally for their
socially redeeming themes, which is why they were chosen as literary
set-books.

If it succeeds, the campaign to strike the three novels off the school's
reading lists could throw next month's national secondary school
examinations into disarray.

The call by the lobby group and the church for the banning of the set-books
has met with stiff opposition from literary critics and thespians. They have
been quick to point out that two of the books have been taught in secondary
schools before, and students were not negatively affected. "A Man of the
People" was taught in the 1970s without protest, as was "Kiu" in the
mid-1980s. A top thespian, Albert Wandago, said the call by the Catholic
Church has no basis. In a statement, Wandago said such a move sets a
dangerous precedent, arguing the books were used in secular institutions. He
added that unlike the Islamic "madrassas", where only religions material was
allowed, secular schools cannot avoid such literature.

Emmanuel Ngugi, of the Holy Family Basilica-Nairobi, where the appeal for
signatures was made in the presence of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and the
education minister on 31 August 2003, says the church is "the conscience of
society and must stand up to be counted." He objects to the language used in
the books, saying it is obscene and immoral. "There is nothing morally
redeeming in the female characters in the book, who are merely portrayed as
sex objects," he says of "A Man of the People".

Those pushing for the ban on the books have selected excerpts from "A Man of
the People" that they say are clearly explicit and are likely to excite the
students' imaginations and stir their sexual desires. One parent said, "It
is astounding the kind of literature we are exposing our children to in
classrooms. In fact, it is quite demeaning to women for a man to think that
they can only be recognised or are at their best only in a sexual
relationship."

Educators, on the other hand, take the opposite view and are accusing the
church of overstepping its mandate. Professor Henry Indangasi, a senior
lecturer from the University of Nairobi's Literature Department, said he is
convinced that the critics of Achebe's book are wrong and are deliberately
misinterpreting certain sections in the book to suit their position. "Achebe
is not telling his readers to behave like the characters, but wants them to
learn from the book. People who treat women as sexual objects and then gloat
about it exist in society. It is the failure to teach girls that such men
exist, and that they should be on the lookout for them, that is the
problem," he said.

An author who sought anonymity said the church has no business trying to
comment on issues that should be left to academia. "The view that the books
are pornographic just because they mention sex is myopic and totally
uninformed. There are very many passages in the Bible mentioning and
describing sex, yet the church has never advocated for those sections to be
removed, or for the Bible to be banned," he said.

For further information, contact Sam Mbure or Emily Nyanjugu Njuguna at
NDIMA, P.O. Box 70147 - 00400, Nairobi, Kenya, tel: +254 665 1118, fax: +254
665 0836, e-mail: [email protected], Internet: http://www.ndima.org

The information contained in this alert is the sole responsibility of NDIMA.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit NDIMA.
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