The Rustle of Leaves by Sylvester Wauye

Celebrating Friendship among Women is a book about the power of women connections. A close look at the subject in Kenya reveals that genuine friendship cuts across ethnic, age, class and religious divides. This book, which is also an autobiography, a cultural account, a historical and a do-it-yourself didactic material, is a must-read. In it, you find yourself looking in a mirror while getting surprised about a topic that is so simple, so taken for granted, so under-explored. At a time when Kenya is being ripped apart by negative ethnic, religious and class sentiments, Margery Kabuya’s book goes against the grain.

Bone, Bomu, Bafu, Ngeta and Rock find themselves in Ngando slums having fled the ethic-based violence in Molo. With little to do, they engage in all maner of trade to eke out a living. The entry of Nancy - stylish sophisticated and shrewd - catapults them into a nightmare that leads to destitution, betrayal, desperation, revenge, friendship and lasting love. This is a story of a new generation that rises above the confines of hatred and retribution and reasserts the inherent goodness in man. Told against the background of the 1992 'tribal' clashes in Kenya, The Last Villains of Molo is one of the most critically acclaimed modern stories. It has been studied in five universities in Kenya and Germany, and is currently being scripted for film.

As a child during the Mau Mau Emergency, Peter Kuguru personally witnessed scenes of horrific brutality. He and his family experienced great hardship and upheaval as the British colonial regime acted ruthlessly to crush the freedom movement. As Peter made his way slowly through school at this terrible time, he must have despaired about his future prospects in life. But the euphoria of Independence and the promise it held, coupled with the values of hard work and education insistently drilled into him by his father, encouraged him to dream big. From a young schoolboy paparazzo snapping pictures of his schoolmates for a few cents, to the courageous and far-sighted industrialist who dared to tackle Coca Cola head-on, Peter Kuguru has travelled a trailblazing journey. At the same time he has never forsaken a fundamental, heartfelt personal commitment to improving the welfare of the people of Mathira. It was this dedication that led him to follow his father, a powerful oak of a man, into politics. Now, in this book, for the first time, a candidate in a Kenyan Parliamentary Election discloses the tricks, deceit and skullduggery that tragically characterize campaigns at the grassroots. These corrupt, dirty, evil and underhand maneuvers have transformed our electoral process into a mere travesty of democracy, destroying the credibility of many politicians in the eyes of the trusting wananchi. This fascinating and revealing book has much to teach our budding industrialists, while leaving our political class with a great deal both to be ashamed of and to change radically and immediately.