AUTHOR: Yasin Kakande
PUBLISHERS: Black Writers Ink LLC
PAGINATION: 295
REVIEWER: Jaiyeola Olatunbosun.
A MURDER of Hate is a fiction story literally put together that touches on love, hatred, neo-colonialism, cultural imperialism, military brutality, dictatorship and vengeful racism.
The author, Yasin Kakande, brilliantly sets out and blends the story of the Africans in diaspora and those on the continent and how their former colonial masters regard Africa and Africans coupled with how African leaders treat their folks.
Unravelling the mystery behind the gruesome murder of a niece of Uganda president, Sheila, two detectives, Basudde (also known as Bus) and Lisa, are saddled with the herculian task to fish out the culprit. Though it was not a straight murder case, but initially seen as a horrific act of vengeance borne out of a political crisis in Africa that ended up on a Massachusetts college campus. The two detectives have three suspects link to the heinous crime – two of the suspects have Ugandans background living in the USA while the third suspect is the victim’s cousin residing in Uganda.
Samuel Mugyenyi, a licensed practising nurse discovers the SUV of the deceased on his way to work while he quickly alerts the police.
Shawn, the prime suspect and a student of Essex University, is arrested for questioning by the police. He is driven down to a police station and subsequently detained. Basudde, a detective on suspension, is called by his boss to take over the responsibility of finding and arresting the killer of Sheila.
Bus arrives at the crime scene in Acton, where he meets the men of the press and right away he’s brief on another operative who has taken in the prime suspect.
Bus, who has both Ugandan and American background, is to co-opt with another detective, who feels that Bus’s background and antecedents might influence the investigation.
Kicking off the investigation, the last conversation that the prime suspect had with the victim implies that is responsible for the strangulation and suffocation of Sheila.
The duo, Sheila and Shawn, met at Essex University, but their relationship grows beyond the confines of academic at the citadel of learning.
Sheila, a Ugandan, has been able to defy the stereotypes that many Americans hold against Africa.
The American schools taught little about history, culture and politics of Africa. News from Africa rarely makes its way to media except for stories about extreme poverty, corruption, starvation, and deprivation. They even thought that Africa is one big desert of hunger.
Sheila’s sterling qualities endear her to Shawn as intimate friends and professional colleagues, but Shawn desires more than that. Sheila insists not to give herself away to a man that she wouldn’t spend the rest of her life with, besides her beliefs and cultural background. “It was a cultural thing in Africa for young women to preserve their virginity until the first night of their marriage.” Also, she wanted to lose her virginity only to her husband, someone whom she would be convinced would not see any other woman in his life besides her. ‘
As the prime suspect , still behind bar, a judgmental article is published to denigrate his reputation and makes his case further complicated while his mother is making every efforts to get him off the hook of the ugly situation,.
Katie, known to be a racist, steps on toes in one of the classes, an incident that connected the soul tie between her and Shawn after she profusely and genuinely apologise for her racist statement. Ketai and Shawn’s friendship blossom such that she carries Shawn’s baby. Their relationship has its own side of racism as put forward by her father. “Katie, you went to school at Essex University… Of all the people you would have picked out to date, you went to a single Black boy in class to be your boyfriend…. “
The detectives spread the tentacles of their investigation in probing the relationship between the lobbying firm, the Ugandan government and Shawn.
Attempting further to get the killer of the victim, of which Shawn is part of, he’s also detailed to help out with publicity, which is targeted in making the Ugandan President’s son take over the reigns of power. The lobbying firm that employs Shawn reveals that he’s employed in creating creative pieces at bolstering the image of the president’s son.
The author is able to manoeuvre and link appropriately how the CIA interrogates a close associate of the victim’s family and explain how the colonial masters are never interested in seeking an intellectual or brilliant mind to lead a strategically important African country. Impliedly and ironically, Shawn aids the cause of imperialism, a force that perpetuates slavery or colonialism.
Lisa wishes to interrogate General Mlevi whom Shawn works for but for distance. Lisa makes a solo run to interrogate Shawn, which reveals many intricacies about African leaders, sit-tight syndrome, sexual escapades, and shedding of innocent blood,among other excesses. This information is made when Shawn himself interviewed Douglas, a one-time journalist and a critic of the government, who later turned out to be the government mouthpiece after he was ruthlessly dealt with. Lisa gets a salient fact that Sheila is an official enemy of her family back in Uganda for her reservations, considering the way the family governs the country, interestingly, the family turns out to be another suspect.
Sheila reveals: “I’ve become an official enemy in the family and Mlevi is threatening to physically harm me.”
Dramatically, Chief Flores orders for the arrest of Samuel Mugyenyi, who reported the murder case of Sheila. Having gone through his profile and discovers that he’s a Ugandan, though his nativity traced to Democratic republic of Congo, he’s seen as a suspect looking at his profile being a blogger, and a political critic on the social media with a very large followers.
Government’s shenanigans, intimidation and reckless way of life made Samuel leaves DRC and join the rebels’ team of Uganda, having been adopted by a kind-hearted man, Deo, through whom he has his education to the university level. As fate would have it, he joined his choir group to be part of a musical performance in the USA. However, he got information from home that his adopted uncle has been assassinated, which makes him took an asylum in America. Samuel was arrested but later let go.
Further interrogation of Shawn reveals why the relationship between him and Sheila failed, as they couldn’t get along, Shawn reveals to Sheila that he’s found a new catch, Ketai, a white lady and a former girlfriend to Ryan, whom they are all classmates. Strangely,Sheila feels cheated and uncomfortable with Shawn new-found love. In another twist, Katie makes it known to Shawn to stop seeing Sheila, but for obvious reasons, he couldn’t.
While no specific proof has been made, to know the actual culprit and time is of the essence in this matter, Lisa again reviews the surveillance camera footage from the campus and an unusual detail catches her attention, which makes her confides in the professor she once interrogated, that eventually led to the arrest of the culprit.
Yasin Kakande’s Murder of Hate reveals much of hatred black often experience, due to self-interest African leaders put up. The book is well written in a simple and concise language that is easily assimilated, it is educative, politically engaging and full of many suspense.
