Shifting Sands is a gripping narration by Kemunto aka Kemu” to her three girlfriends, all of different cultural heritage. Kemu aspires to be a writer but life with its vicissitudes doesn’t make her dream an easy one. We follow the four young girls as they mature in this adventure, growing up and facing the world. Their encounters, surprises and cultural intricacies make for good reading.

Their intertwined lives from a young age, and their different cultural backgrounds and upbringing offer interesting insights. Kemu and Myra are Kenyan Africans while Shilpa is third-generation Kenyan-Indian and Latifah is third-generation Kenyan-Arab. The latter two face questions of nationality all the time, despite that their families have been in the country for generations.

Shifting Sands is an intriguing tale of enduring encounters of living a moral and ethical life, placing its own challenges on friendships cemented from early childhood and school. How will the four ladies’ friendship survive?

Shifting Sand’s various strands of narratives are compelling and herald the coming of age of a gifted and talented writer who brings women and children experiences hauntingly to life. In this tale we get contrasting insights of issues that impact women, children and relationships. Tradition and cultural practices of old are challenged in the face of modernity while age-old wisdom, like that from Kemu’s grandmother (Magokoro) and father, appear immutable.

What Others Say

“Mombasa, a tapestry city where east meets west and north meets south, is the metonymy that gives Moraa Gitaa the opportunity to indict archaic cultural beliefs, government authorities, extremism, the suppression of women, and a whole slew of questionable practices in modern Kenya. Kemunto’s voice is that of the archetypal, dignified and upright woman everywhere in the developing world, not just that of the African woman. Quite well said.” – Charles Phebih-Agyekum, author and book editor.

“Shifting Sands is a powerful, compelling and gripping narrative employing a mature mastery of the English language that leaves the reader yearning for more.” – Excerpt from judges’ comments, 2008 National Book Development Council of Kenya Literary Awards.

“Moraa Gitaa’s Shifting Sands will add value to the national discourse on gender discrimination, inter-generational tensions, socioeconomic marginalization, HIV and AIDS, the injustices suffered by the poor in this country, corruption, transnational and global connections and their impact on the lives of Kenyans and other nationals residing in the country.” – Comparative Literature Lecturer at a Kenyan university.

John Patrick and Martin Joseph are two teens born in the dusty, poor neighbourhood of Huruma in Nairobi. Raised by single unemployed mothers, they turn to scavenging for valuables in the city’s middle-class neighbourhoods to survive the harsh life of Huruma. City residents have labelled them Chokora, a derogatory term to describe human scavengers. And they use this effectively. For them, the Chokora facade is a camouflage as the two youths go about their exploits, including stealing from unsuspecting residents. As fate would have it, the duo ends up in a police cell to face the full reality of their escapades.
Chokora! A Kenyan Scavenger is a poetic narration of the reasons most of the urban youth turn to crime. There is a lot of attention paid to the protection of the girl-child in Kenya, while neglecting the boy child. John and Martin have never known their biological fathers and are forced to adopt their mothers’ names instead. From the perspective of many, unconventional naming is an embarrassment amidst the cruel surroundings.

What others say

“Mbugwa’s Chokora! A Kenyan Scavenger captures the downside of Nairobi life. It is a story of street kids raised by single parents, ruthless gangsters and a middle class sex pest all in a police cell. It offers a real reflection on happenings in Kenyan society. The use of Sheng gives the narrative a genuine perspective of life in Nairobi. Chokora! A Kenyan Scavenger is a good, comical and serious read.” – Willie Murigi, Consulting Engineer, Nairobi

“Chokora! A Kenyan Scavenger is an intriguing narrative, extensively using Sheng and hence appeals to the ever-growing Kenyan urban population. It subtly captures the social aspect of absentee fathers, a rarely talked about subject, and the narration invites the reader to question society’s values in this respect. The reader is left to “fill in” the voids that the author opens up.” – Moraa Gitaa, Novelist

“Chokora! A Kenyan Scavenger raises a number of issues in urban society, including single parenthood, male dominance, sexual exploitation and pursuit of crime as a ‘business’. The prison-cell rendezvous of characters makes for interesting reading!”

Mines & Mind Fields: My Spoken Words 

Giorgio thought that a sojourn to Kenya’s coast was the perfect way to kick back and relax, luxuriate in the sun, scuba-dive, take big-game fishing trips or a dhow cruise, but it turns out to be a break filled with mixed fortunes. On the other hand, Lavina’s sabbatical for soul-searching in Malindi turns out to be a Herculean task of grappling with a moral dilemma of epic proportions. When their paths cross and their lives become intertwined, their emotionally charged struggle to connect with each other is challenging and turbulent.

This story deals with various socioeconomic issues ranging from the institution of marriage and multi-racial relationships, to amazing Kenyan art & culture, to historical land injustices brought about by the pre-nineteenth century, 99 year old colonial crown land leases, absentee landlords, and the long overdue land reform agenda on land tenures, the cause of many a conflict in the country.

The first scene opens on the Kenyan coast with captivating miles of pristine sandy white beaches, lapped by clear turquoise waters, providing the backdrop for your typical tropical beach holiday, but gets marred with a near-tragedy.

Here is a compelling and descriptive narrative that will pull at your heartstrings, but one that offers a message of hope to a moral dilemma that has bedeviled the world.

Here is what others say about this work:

From an an author clearly proud of her heritage and the beauty of her country comes a romantic tale set in Kenya. Featuring a jaw-achingly handsome Italian man and a beautiful, talented, but troubled local girl, the romance unfolds in a light teasing manner until the twist in the tale turns out to be a moral dilemma that would test the strength of any relationship. – Muthoni Garland – Kenyan writer nominated and short-listed for Caine Prize 2006, winner of Absinthe Literary Review 2003, and Founder of Story Moja, a new publishing initiative in Kenya