Choice is something that some have and some don’t. But when it comes to elections, everybody has a choice. The choice that we make will significantly impact our lives. Election changes the lives of people, in one way or the other. Similarly, the choice Kenyans made during 2007 election has resulted to what Kenya is today. This is been brilliantly portrayed in the novel by Wanjiru. 

 

Wanjiru Koinange is an author from Kenya, who has written a book titled ‘The Havoc of Choice’ among others. Her novel describes about the traumatic phase of recent history of Kenya.

 

The book begins with a character called Kavata, who is a daughter of a corrupt politician. The story is based on the events around the Kenyan election of 2007. Dr. Sanjukta Dasgupta, a professor of English Literature at the University of Calcutta and also a poet, critic and translator raised questions about how she addressed herself in terms of trauma, whether in terms of what she has lost or in terms of what she has gained. So, Wanjiru had started this novel when she moved to Capetown, where people looked down upon her and her other life experiences in her life which paved way to this novel.

 

Wanjiru was a part of several teams that created a series of events and festivals that continue to shape Kenya’s cultural landscape till date. 

 

 

 

 

About the Author: Rohini Mahadevan is political science graduate and works as a content writer. She likes reading books, drawing, painting, and writing short creative pieces. She currently writes for TheSeer.