VISIONS OF CHRYSALIS by Franz Owano

From a humble beginning as a son of employees in white settlers' farms in the central Rift Valley, Dr Francis K. Sang overcame many odds to rise through the ranks of the Kenya Police and become the 4th Kenyan Director of the Criminal Investigation Department. He served in this position for 4 years before he was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after the changeover of government in Kenya at the end of 2002. He was tasked with the establishment of the Nairobi Secretariat to coordinate issues to do with small arms in the region. This he did and later helped transform the secretariat into the Regional Centre for Small Arms (RECSA), a regional inter-governmental body that coordinates activities aimed at controlling and reducing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the Eastern Africa, Great Lakes and Horn of Africa region and bordering states. In this autobiography, he relates his experiences, from the difficult circumstances surrounding his birth and childhood, his struggles to get an education in spite of the many obstacles that he faced and his experiences in the police force, particularly in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) during the tenure of the 2nd President of Kenya, Daniel Arap Moi. He also relates his experiences after the NARC Government took over in 2002 and sent most senior security officers in the former government packing, either on retirement or on transfer to other less prestigious positions. He further relates how, through determination, he has been able to achieve his academic dreams which had been deferred earlier in his life owing to financial constraints, culminating in the acquisition of a PhD late in life. He also speaks about the role his family has played in enabling him to achieve all he has in his life. Reflecting on his long journey that has brought him to the place where he is today, the author also gives a number of insights on his work and life. This autobiography should serve as interesting reading to the general public as well as to persons serving in the disciplined forces, considering that it is the first from amongst persons that have served in the police force and risen through the ranks to the very top.  

Renowned novelist, poet, playwright, and literary critic Ngugi wa Thiong’o was a student at a prestigious, British-run boarding school near Nairobi when the tumultuous Mau Mau Uprising for independence and Kenyan sovereignty gripped his country. While he enjoyed scouting trips and chess tournaments, his family home was razed to the ground and his brother, a member of the insurgency, was captured by the British and taken to a concentration camp. But Ngugi could not escape history, and eventually found himself jailed after a run in with the forces of colonialism. Ngugi richly and poignantly evokes the experiences that would transform him into a world-class writer and, as a political dissident, a moral compass to us all. A winning celebration of the implacable determination of youth and the power of hope, here is a searing account of the history of a man—and the story of a nation.