Afrowrite’s Weblog

By Muli wa Kyendo

If you are an publisher in Kenya – in deed in Africa generally – you must have a load of money. That’s one thing outside investors must understand. No matter what you publish, no government in Africa will be happy about it.

My Experience

When I started publishing in Kenya during the reign of President Daniel arap Moi, the most important decision was whether I was willing to take the risks involved. Friends and foes rang me up with one question: Are you really sure you want to be a publisher? My answer was naturally, yes. The next question was: Are you sure it is going to be safe for you? The answer to that one, frankly I didn’t know.

Journalistsand writers were harrassed

Every day journalists and writers were harrassed, beaten up or jailed. Those who could, like Kenya’s formorest writer, Ngugi wa Thiong’o,  had fled the torturous rule of Moi. And most journalists were naturally protected by their big-money publishing organisations who fought, negotiated or bribed for them to be released when they rubbed the Moi administration the wrong way.

God-fathers

So do you have a Godfather? was the next question I was asked. I didn’t. So the concern was worrying me. Those concerned didn’t know what i knew – I had to publish for reasons I keep silent here.

Faced with the situation, I dedcided to keep out of politics in my publishing activities. That however didn’t help. One day, I found my offices flattened out.

Big Brothers Suffer, too

I thought it happened because I was a “small” though reasonably successful publisher, until when I saw hooded policemen disable broadcasting equipment at Kenya’s leading TV station, KTN and burn newspapers at the the second largest publishing company, the Standard Newspapers. If the Standard Newspapers, who also own the KTN, didn’t have a large reserve of funds, they would be out of publishing. And President Mwai Kibaki, Kenya’s current president, would rule this country as he pleases.

The Surprise is ….

The surprise to me is that we have a well-educated president, but who is  just as dictatorial as those who were not. What is the value of education? We used to be told it made you more sensitive about your surroundings, more empathetic with you fellow humans, more democratic. Not in Kenya. Not in Africa.

Yet, it seems to me, only the African publisher, journalit and writer can bright light to the “dark continent”.  We must continue to publish, continue to bring light where there is darkness.