Aba. 22nd, July, 1998. Papa burnt down Mama’s farm the day we left. It had rained heavily on the night Mama had finally asked for a divorce. She had called me the previous evening, her voice shaking over the phone. “Nne, your father threw my [...]

It had been a tough day for Mutero whose career as the football coach of Tembo High was teetering on the brink of collapse after the humiliating defeat at the hands of Masii High. With a frown on his face, he replayed the events of the ill-fated [...]

A small body is impaled on the other side of my broad sword. I watch in horror as the life fades from the little boy’s eyes. His mouth agape, the remnants of a bloodcurdling scream. Hooves clatter by followed by the battle cries of my fellow [...]

“Maama!” Ssekandi exclaimed. “Denge, come and see.” Deng made his way towards the group. The group comprised three boys and two girls. There were similar groups all around, varying in composition and number. It was Saturday, and all Saturdays at [...]

They say when you’re about to die, your life flashes before your eyes in a myriad of pictures. For me, there are no flashes—just the inner voice of my mother saying, “Be organised, dammit. And do things properly.” I sigh as I look down at the [...]

I heard the hooting of a barn owl on my thatched roof this morning. People said seeing an owl in the morning was a bad omen. The sky was tar black, blotting out the old blue ambiance. At a distance, the howling wind rustled trees, waving the [...]

A body has been found. I, Detective Constance Nkosi, loom over the body of a young female, dumped in a field near a quiet street. Between the smell and the state of the body a foul taste fills my mouth. The forensics team scamper about, looking [...]

A catalyzed, malnourished, and self-evident coldness from the grief of his father’s recurring waist-down paralysis he accidentally encountered before the toll gate massacre, and his brother’s death after the toll gate massacre – a disastrous, [...]

Master Odinaka kept suppressing the impulse which had begun to transform into an overwhelming force with every passing second, and coercing him to go berserk. Even as he tutors the I-want-to-know-more SS2 class – as they are widely known in the [...]

As Wura settled in for a chilly night, the last words from her husband reverberated in her mind. He’d phoned earlier that day pleading for forgiveness and promised to be home the next day to make amends. But for Wura, it was difficult to silence [...]

The first time I knew you had changed shone from your response to the biology teacher’s question: Why is the reproductive system the most interesting topic in Biology? Why are both Intelligence and Stupidity hereditary? You’d not question a [...]

It was inevitable: the putrid smell of carrion flowers often reminded me of the fate of my inner childhood. It all began on the day Papa died. I had returned from vacation from Auntie Esewie, my mother’s younger sister’s house. Auntie Esewie, a [...]