Satire and the theme of victims and culprits in Miradi Bubu ya Wazalendo

Abstract

Gabriel Ruhumbika’s Miradi Bubu ya Wazalendo is one of the most significant Kiswahili novels to be published in the 1990s. It is an historical work which explores the lives of various classes of Tanzanians before and after uhuru. The author effectively uses satire to expose and attack the shortcomings of the socio-economic and political systems of both eras. Apart from showing that both the colonial regime and that of the new independent nation failed to uphold the rights of the poor, it pinpoints those who were responsible for the suffering of the downtrodden. This paper examines the use of satirical elements such as ridicule, sarcasm, hyperbole and irony as weapons for fighting various culprits. During colonial rule, the culprits were often the white masters while the victims were their African servants. After independence, the culprits were the powerful but corrupt government officials while the victims were the workers who served under them. In analyzing the novel we shall examine how members of these classes related.