When I got a rare opportunity to review Haroun Risa's second book ‘The Pirates of Zanzibar: Darkest Saalam’ I jumped on the chance and delved right into it. This 2020 we are not dilly darling for no one! Despite the fact that he sent the draft mid in the festivities I tried to focus on the bigger picture.
'The Pirates of Zanzibar: Darkest Salaam' is a shorter version compared to 'Mombasa Raha my Foot'. When I started to grasp the idea of the book I quickly realized it was slowly unravelling mysteries from the first book and with a couple of more volumes yet to be released, to get the full story you have to follow through the entire sequel. Sleek, Risa!
This is not the type of book you breeze through or skip pages just to finish. No. The scriptwriting style Risa uses brings out vivid events of the story as it unfolds throwing you back to the past, into the future and back to the present. Mid-way use of poetry and intercepted facts eases you back to the story revealing yet a piece of the puzzle (story).
What I like about H. Risa is the story being told is lived realities interwoven with his personal fictitious stories. So, the main characters are inspired by real people which adds beautifully to the weight of the story. Risa dares to speak what few people have attempted to. Sex trade, child prostitution, pedophilia and human trafficking down the coast is real and is perpetrated by the same people we look up to for protection against this immoral vice. Whether the government is involved or it turns a blind eye to these operations it's definitely to blame!
Mind Shift Kenya is a company by Edwin Murira whose focus is to highlight the dangers of human trafficking, illegal migration, modern-day slavery and xenophobia (HIMX) in East Africa. They aim to cycle from Nairobi-Busia-Malaba through Burundi-Rwanda-Tanzania and back to Nairobi to raise awareness against these vices whose effects are felt across the globe. Although I wish more efforts were directed to the hot spot areas, along the coast where these vices are booming.
Reading through Risa's book it's evident he has well researched his topic giving the reader a lesson into Kenya’s history. When he sites events like the Day the Music stopped which mirrors the coup d'état in 1982, the day Kenya raised her flag on Independence Day. It's interesting how these real historic dates are woven with the story he wants to tell. Only a true writer can manage that.
Look out for the coming out of this book and more volumes to get the full story!