18 pages • 36 minutes read
Betrayal in the City
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Act IChapter Summaries & Analyses
Act I, Scene 1 Summary
Nina and Doga visit their recently deceased son’s grave in preparation for a sacred hair shaving ceremony. Their son’s name was Adika, and the reader learns that he was killed by a police officer during a university demonstration. The hair shaving is typically done one week after the burial is complete. It is the ultimate show of respect to the dead, and not performing the ceremony for a loved one would be unthinkable. However, the mourning parents find that their son’s grave has been burnt. To burn a grave is to attempt to kill the spirit of the person who has died. For Nina and Doga, this is proof that whoever killed their son lives among them.
Their other son appears, a boy named Jusper. Based on some of his behaviors and mannerisms, Jusper is thought by other characters to be deranged, simpleminded, or deviant. He had been put in charge of guarding his brother’s grave. He tells his parents that a man came to burn the grave. Rather than allow it, Jusper says that he killed the man. It will be revealed later that he killed a man named Chachaga, the brother of a powerful sub-chief. At this point in the play, however, Jusper’s parents don’t believe him, thinking that his story is just another of his delusions. They tell him to go home and confess to the killing, just to get him to leave.
Soldiers named Jere and Mulili come to stop the hair shaving ceremony. They are there on the orders of a man named Boss, who is the President of the country. They tell Nina and Doga that Jusper has confessed to Chachaga’s murder, and that his confession almost resulted in his being lynched by a mob. The police were able to intervene and save him, putting him in jail for his own protection. Mulili is not from a tribe that participates in the shaving ceremony, and the nature of it disturbs him. Nina threatens him, saying that if he does not leave, she will strip herself naked. This is a curse among her people, and she believes it will harm him grievously. After an argument, Jere allows her to continue the ceremony, defying Boss’s command. However, Mulili is enmeshed in a corrupt deal with Boss. In exchange for his loyalty, Boss has promised him a substantial piece of land. Jere and Mulili fight, and Mulili shoots at Jere.
Act I, Scene 2 Summary
Scene 2 opens in a jail cell where Jere is a prisoner. Apparently, his altercation with Mulili has led to his arrest. Also in the jail is a professor named Mosese. Mosese was arrested in the aftermath of a lecture he gave that took place after Adika’s death. Mosese’s story, which he tells to Jere, is tragic. A government cannot be reformed without people speaking out against its practices, but doing precisely that is precisely what got Mosese in trouble. After being assigned to bury one of his students, he was told that no one would be allowed to speak during the funeral. He ignored the order and broke the ban. Because of his public dissent, a man named Nicodemus planted opium in Mosese’s car, leading to an accusation against him, and to his arrest. Mosese tells Jere of a peculiar plan: during the upcoming visit from a head of state, prisoners will be acting in a play to entertain this guest dignitary.
Jere tells his story as well, and Mosese sympathizes. A man named Askari enters and brings Mosese a specific type of tea. He and Mosese belong to the same tribe. This seems a small detail, but it indicates the level to which nepotism has infected the mindset of Kafira’s people. It appears that the only way that anyone gains any sort of advantage is through relationships with people in power. Mosese tells Jere that the only hope for Kafira is that of a better government, but that under Boss’s rule, there is no chance of achieving one. Anyone who acts as Mosese has could be arrested in the same way, discarded, and forgotten.
Act I, Scene 3 Summary
Scene 3 is held in the room of Mosese’s sister, Regina. Jusper is her boyfriend and has just arrived to visit her. He is wearing a red gown in solidarity with all of the other university students who are protesting an unjust and corrupt government. Jusper has no patience for half measures and platitudes. He wishes to bring the fight to the enemy and to battle face to face, with no hiding. Regina is more realistic and rational, believing that survival itself must always be the goal when facing a powerful enemy who has no compunctions against killing. There is no sense, she argues, in fighting face to face when the odds against them are overwhelmingly in the government’s favor. Their deaths will benefit no one.
Mr. Tumbo enters the room, also to visit Regina. He is Regina’s landlord, and also fills a prestigious spot in the government. As they talk, he confirms that an important head of state will indeed be visiting, as Mosese claimed. Regina mentions that Jusper enjoys writing plays. Mr. Tumbo has been negligent in his duties: he had agreed to sponsor a playwriting competition in order to select the winning play that would be performed as entertainment for the visiting dignitary, but he has failed to do so. He promises Jusper that if he will write the play, Mr. Tumbo will ensure that the news of his victorious creation will be in the newspapers. Before leaving, he tells Regina that it may be possible to secure Mosese’s release, if she is willing to go to Boss and plead for clemency.
Act I Analysis
Act I quickly introduces the main characters and sets them in motion. The purpose of the first three scenes is to illustrate the depths to which life in Kafira has sunk, unless one is a privileged government official. Parents cannot even mourn their dead children without the possibility of being disturbed during a holy rite. Although there are many allusions to corruption and multitudes of monstrous politicians, it is the specter of Boss that looms over everything. It is notable that Jusper, who wishes to fight the government in the open, is presented as delusional. Not even his parents trust him. As Regina goes to visit Boss at the end of scene 3, the preceding scenes foreshadow her visit with momentous dread.
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