Weep not, Child

“Above all, Njoroge wanted to become educated like the son of the rich farmer, Jacobo, who had finished all the learning in Kenya and would now go to England. Ngotho, Njoroge’s father, worked for Mr Howlands, the white settler from England, and both, in their different ways, felt the same powerful love for the rich red earth they farmed. At school Njoroge was good at reading: education was the key to the future. When Jomo was arrested and a state of emergency declared, it made very little difference at first – everyone knew Jomo would win. But one day Ngotho was arrested and tortured. Njoroge’s brothers left to go to the big city or to join the freedom fighters in the forest. Gradually all the family was drawn into the struggle and the war became a day-to-day tragedy.”