“Literature opens our eyes to the uplifting of human dignity,” were Nuruddin Farah’s opening remarks, as he prepared to read a passage from his latest novel, Knots, to a full house at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.

Nuruddin Farah, a Somali-born and internationally acclaimed novelist, began his literary career with his first book, From a Crooked Rib in 1970. He has written on various issues including a trilogy on the “Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship” (where he discusses the stripping of Africa by European colonialists and Africa’s current breed of political leaders). Knots is his ninth novel.

Mr. Farah read a passage, from his latest book Knots, where he vividly describes the protagonist, a Somali woman-Cambara, in a physical fight with her husband. She takes out her anger on him, a result of pent-up frustration, after she tastes blood on her lips when he strikes her. The story is a vivid narration of Cambara’s life when she returns, from Canada to Mogadishu in Somalia, to mourn the death of her son. n her war-ravaged homeland she finds succor among women peace activists, who, paradoxically, help her enlist mercenaries to reclaim her family home from a vicious warlord.

Like with most book readings, the audience was excited at the chance to ask Mr. Farah questions. However, what was meant to be a literary discussion on his work inevitably concentrated on the war in Somalia and the role of the Somalia Diaspora in ensuring peace is achieved.  

A Somali woman in the audience, in praise of Mr. Farah’s work was impressed that his books advocated for the rights of women. She wondered if Mr. Farah was disappointed in Somali men. 

“I am highly disappointed with Somali men, especially those in the Diaspora, and deeply critical of their role in the continued civil war in Somalia. Many Somalis in the Diaspora have worked hard as immigrants to establish themselves overcoming severe hardships and acquiring economic success. However, their interest in Somalia is limited to funding the war instead of working on ways to stop it. The Diaspora achieves political and social freedoms in their newfound homes, however, their fellow men, and their families, in Somalia, are constantly at war.”  

Mr. Farah was also critical of what he called the Islamization of Somalia where women are oppressed not only in their role as citizens of Somalia, but also in their dressing. He claimed that it is not in the Somali tradition for women to dress in the burqa (A loose, usually black or light blue robe that is worn by Muslim women, especially in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, and that covers the body from head to toe). A Somali woman urged Mr. Farah to refrain from condemning Islamic women who covered themselves, since for Somali women who have endured a lot during the war; the veil serves as a protection and preservative of self.  

Mr. Farah, who seems to have an equal number of critics, as well as fans, within the Somali community, continued to strike a raw nerve with his audience when he urged Somali men to get up from their sit-ins at coffee shops, where they discussed useless politics, and to move back to Somalia. A member of the audience said that perhaps the onus was with the young generation, since the older generation was still tied down to what little memory of the good Somalia that they had. 

A young lady in the audience was overwhelmed by meeting Mr. Farah who she considered a true leader of the Somali community, an honor which he politely declined. Neema, a seventeen year old Somali girl protested that she had never known a real home and was in constant strife to find an identity.  

Rashid Ali, a college freshman at Minneapolis Community College, wanted to know what Mr. Farah’s most rewarding moment about being an author was, and whence he found his aspiration. Mr. Farah is a professional writer, working from 9 to 5, so according to him he does seek inspiration to write. He has to work at it. His biggest accomplishment is the completion of a book.  

While the discussion on Somali politics was passionate and heated, filling the room with tension, a lot of Mr. Farah’s fans left the room disappointed as they had a lot to discuss with the author on his literary work.  

One Somali man who wishes to remain anonymous had this to say about the book reading, “Mr. Farah came across as arrogant. He is disconnected from the Somali community. It was a very disappointing and awful event.” 

Another one had this to say, “It is sad to see so many critics of Farah that is the saddest thing about Somalis, they never see the beauty about anything. I am an avid reader of Farah’s books. Other great African writers, such as Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka also admire Farah’s writing.” 

Mr. Farah also read from Sardines, a passage on the relationship between a mother and her child, reminding the young generation that one must never forget the hand that fed them. Sardines,one of his books that earned him the reputation of being a male-feminist, is a social commentary on life under a dictatorship with a compassionate exploration of African feminist issues. 

Mr. Farah was in Minnesota as a resident at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University where he worked with the English, political science, history and peace studies classes at both universities.

Ten o’clock on Saturday night at the Blue Nile in Minneapolis comes and goes.  Some of the band members of Jabali Afrika mill around like studs on a street corner–arms crossing their chests, hands tucked under their armpits. 

It’s bitterly cold outdoors and only an odd dozen or so people have taken seats in the Nile’s lounge. Waiting for the show to start, I pick up a conversation with band member, Justo Asikoye who favors the bass guitar among the many instruments he plays. 

He tells me the usual stuff about wanting to send out a message of positivity to the world via their music, but then I hear something new.  Whereas many African bands have remained in Africa or emigrated to Europe, Jabali Afrika chose to move to the United States, not to forsake their homeland, but to reach a bigger audience with an evangelical zest. 

"We wanted a bigger view for our music; we wanted to reach a bigger spectrum.  To reach a lot of people, well, Africa has a lot of hardships, it’s a bigger risk to stay in Africa, so…" They relocated, pulling up roots from Kenya and Swaziland and setting themselves down on the east coast of the US. At age 37,  Justo now calls Baltimore his home.

The stage is set up with three sets of drums:  a quad of tall conga drums on the left side, another foursome of African drums that are smaller and arranged so that the player can sit down to use them, then standing at the back of the stage is the standard rock-n-roll snare drum set leaving me curious to hear this heavily percussive music.  In front of the elevated stage is a dance floor with an area of about 15 x 15 feet. 

Jabali Afrika starts off their first set with a smooth, lyrical number harmonizing in Lingala.  Pauline Harris, an immigrant from Kenya is seated in the audience with me.  It’s to my great advantage to have met her this evening as she provides me with words and history about the Kenyan music that Jabali Afrika plays. 

When I hear a thread of Jamaican Reggae running through the beat, I learn that the music is known as Benga, a musical genre of Kenyan popular music.  The touch of Reggae comes from the Cuban dance music that influenced Benga back in the 1940s. 

The lengthy piece ends with an empty dance floor and the second number starts up.  This one is strong in its polyrhythmic sound.  I find it nearly irresistible and want to jump out on the floor to dance.  Oddly, no one else seems to have trouble resisting the urgent call to dance that the drums all sound. 

After listening to the rich, percussive music, the third number begins with lead guitarist, Joe Laforte calling out, "…the people’s voice.  The government’s gotta respect the voice of the people.  That’s what it’s all about."  The voice inside of me says, "dance."

Pauline explains that traditional African dance affiliated with Lingala and Benga music involves the rotation of one’s hips.  "It’s sort of a half rotation with a sudden stop."  My hips won’t cooperate, but Pauline tells me that because I’m White I’m not expected to know how to dance African; I’ll be exempt from the expectation of proper, traditional dance. 

Armed with her assurance, I hop up with the dance floor all to myself and try to focus on one set of drums to lead me as I bounce around the floor.  When the next song starts, it’s back to Benga with its mesmerizing guitar playing.  The floor finally fills in with dancers in every available space and stays that way for the next several hours. 

Jabali Afrika plays right up until 2:00 in the morning.  The crowd, having swelled to nearly 150 people, has thinned by this late hour, but not by much.  Somehow the happy immigrants have influenced the rest of us with our Western step so that everyone is grooving and gyrating to Jabali Afrika’s authentic beat.

Visit the Photo Gallery for more pictures from Jabali Afrika’s concert in Minneapolis.

Hard hitting but captivating sound track captured by flickering clips well shot and edited of a fairly built muscular woman jogging across the crowded city of Nairobi.

From one corner of the street to another sweating a sign of commitment in her work is what welcomes the viewers – the TV series “CID Nairobi”.

A thrilling police detective television series based on crime commonly experienced in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi-the throbbing heart of East Africa-is in the making.

The series becomes the first of its kind in Kenya to focus on crime in the modern capital of Nairobi.  If aired in major Kenyan television stations, East Africans and the entire world would have a chance to watch the thrilling episodes captured in their soil by one of their own.

This is because two major television stations in Kenya-Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) Kenya’s state broadcaster and NTV, a private television owned by the Nation Media Group-are connected to DSTV, a South African firm that uses satellite to broadcast.

The series dubbed “C.I.D Nairobi” results from the screenwriting workshop conducted by Mr. Martin Thau, Drehbuch Werkstatt Munchen, and German Film makers in September 2004 and May 2005 sponsored by the Goethe-Institute.

Workshop attendees, Moraa Gitaa, Mildred Achoch, Jackson Atonya, Simiyu Barasa, Cajetan Boy, Moses Ivayo, Naomi Kamau, Steve Mugambi, Njoki Muhoho, Morrison Mwadulo and Steve Oyugi created the concept.

CID Nairobi shows the daily work and life of a scratch team of police officers who have to cope with capital crime and their often-incompatible ways to solve it.

While following them on the job, viewers will get to know every level of contemporary Kenyan society, from the places of the rich to the office world of a sparse middle class to the countless huts of the less fortunate.

Inspector T. Muti ­ Aimee Onguso finally always gets the viewers to see the whole truth. She is a tomboy in her mid-twenties who studied hard at police academy and is still full of enthusiasm.

Her partner Chief inspector Tumba-Jack Oyugi, approaching 50, has almost irrecoverably fallen into the dubious routines of long time police work.

Shifty Shime is the police station’s corporal, and superintendent Kamade-Paul Ramtu has the right connections to always rescue his officers, justified or not. Kabone, a young artist of all trades, is Muti’s boyfriend.

While launching the TV series at the Kenya National Theatre, in Nairobi on January 11, Kenya’s Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo termed the production as “a milestone in Kenya’s film industry”.

Addressing participants at the launch, Ndemo said Kenya is in the process of achieving great heights in the film industry.

He said the production of this series rekindles the past television series that had taken Kenyans by storm aired in the 80’s.

During this time, it was a common phenomenon in most Nairobi homes to find families their eyes glued to television screens watching Tahamaki, Vioja Mahakamani-a local court TV drama, Penzi Hatari among others.

“CID Nairobi presents the modern situation of crime and its impacts in Nairobi,” said Ndemo. He adds “Kenya has potential in terms of artistic and talent that really needs to be exploited to capacity.”

According to Moraa Gitaa the end of the 2004 workshop marked the beginning of the development of the TV crime series.
 
“Personally, I’ve never attended a TV Crime Writer’s Workshop before. Upon seeing the advert in the papers calling for scriptwriters, I applied and was thrilled upon being selected as one of the 10,” says Moraa.

Attendants at the workshop learned several steps on how to write a crime episode script.

The steps included Motivation, Temptation, Plan, Opportunity, Irreversible Step, Committing the murder, Cover up (creation of an alibi), False suspect, Necessity to remove tell-tale evidence.

“On my part it was a huge sacrifice coz I work in Mombasa and I was on a contractual basis, I had to travel to Nairobi every Thursday evening for our meetings every Friday morning, and this took all of one year,” she says.

Moraa had to meet to review the first drafts, second drafts and final drafts for very scriptwriter’s episode.

In 2006 the crew selected a PR & Marketing department that was headed by Mrs. Njoki Muhoho, who is one of the script writers and a Director of Tack International.

“Most TV stations requested and advised that we at least shoot 2 pilot episodes for promotional purposes,” she says.

Moraa, who recalls the ups and downs of the production, identified funding as a problem.

“This is because some of us were in between jobs and others were yet to secure jobs. Others were working on other projects, because we are all part time writers,” she says.

“Finally as we kept stumbling on snag after snag one of us, Cajetan Boy a prolific playwright got some friends together and shot the pilots”.

An example of a helping hand for the production was the Cinematography by Willy Owusu and the Editor Aleks Kamau.

All the actors were volunteers as there was no money to pay them.

The Launch of the pilot episodes was part of a Public Relations campaign to get funding and sponsorships from a number of foundations.

They include the International Ford Foundation, Kwani Trust and Kenyan TV stations such as KTN, NATION, KBC and CITIZEN.

Moraa also prepared a budget and proposal covering all the episodes, taking into consideration the final episode CRIME OF PASION, which is hers, to be shot on location in Malindi, an Indian Ocean resort town located 75 miles north of Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city.

According to Ingolo Wa Keya a Kenyan film producer, he applauds the efforts of the CID film makers.

“I liked the concept. It was a well thought concept that captures the viewers attention. The story development is good and brings out the concept of the movie,” Ingolo says.

He also adds that the shooting, way of acting and scripting of the films was amazing. The choice of actors was impressive as they act professionally.

He says that though local detective films are scarce in Kenya, CID was enticing and will attract local viewership.

“The film will Impart knowledge to Kenyans and there is need to have more workshops in order to make film industry better,” Ingolo said.

He believes that this could be an eye opener for the return of development of detective’s film productions. An area that Kenyans have shown they can develop. He however terms the current situation of film in Kenya as crawling losing out in profits compared to other African countries.

“We need to have get things happening every other time to be classified as nation with a developed film industry,” says Ingolo.

He however attributes the current situation of film industry in Kenya on environmental structures in terms of film expenses, artistic development among others. He says though the development of film expenses have slightly gone down with the entry of digital technology a lot needs to be done.

He says most Kenyans are not technically empowered. “Kenyan film makers lack exposure in the detective industry,” he adds. He says there have been persistent calls on the Kenya Film Commission a Government parastatal to improve the capacity of artistic content of those willing to join the industry.

Ingolo adds that Kenya’s Television capacity is limited. Very few stations are willing to develop this sector more so work done by individual filmmakers.

“For most film producers, where to screen their work has become the biggest challenge. With most cinemas screening foreign films they are left to with no alternative in terms of screening their work,” Ingolo says.

He views the TV capacity as being limited leaving young talented and upcoming artists not exposed or giving them chances.

Ingolo attributes the future of film industry in Kenya to film players themselves.
 
“Film players need an enabling environment that can only be created by the Film commission of Kenya. Proper policy network on films ought to be created to
enable the building of this industry,” he adds.

Ingolo adds that entrepreneurs need to open up and invest in this industry.  “With the young and ambitious film makers available exposure is needed if we are to take this industry to greater heights and this can only be available by investing in them,” he adds.

Albert Wandago a Film Producer famed for a successful film “Naliaka is going” says the future of the industry is bright.   He says “With proper policy frame work in Kenya the film industry in Kenya will improve. He further adds that most people in the country do not understand the functions of the commission.

“Most Kenyans do not know what the film commission does or even if it exists,” he says. He however adds that the fact that if piracy laws are not implemented it really affects income from production.

“The few film makers in the country can not prosper because most buyers would prefer having the pirated copies. This he says kills the morale of film makers,” he adds. Wandago is of the opinion that Kenyan film viewers do not have an interest on detective programs.

He however adds that any venture in this direction is encouraged but a film maker will have to work extra hard.

Kenya’s potential is big and if proper structure is put in place in the next five years its film industry will make great strides.