The ‘Perplexing African in China’: A Reading of Black Ghosts by Ken Kamoche

Abstract

African countries and China have had contact since the late 15^th Century.  These ties have been strengthened with more studies interrogating what both sides stand to gain.  At the center of these ties lie misconceptions, intrigues, and full-blown propaganda, all aimed at some end.  This essay looks at how fiction intervenes in examining these ties more closely by focusing on the people-to-people relationships without sidelining the ongoing politico-economic debate.  The paper interrogates how the novel digs into the history of the Africa-China engagement and weighs in on the mystery and cover-ups that have clouded it.  We concluded that while China is often seen as positioning itself as Africa’s strongest political ally or even a sly colonial power, there is more going on from the exchange of perplexing cultures and secret political and personal deals that may undermine the interests of the ordinary citizens.