stephen muruli dies in campus fire
headline in the daily nation, nairobi, kenya, 1996
amanda leigh lichtenstein

take one:

stephen muruli dies in campus fire

take two:

stephen muruli's body is set on fire

take three:

there is no such man as stephen muruli

take four:

stephen muruli is my son

stephen muruli is my son

stephen muruli was set on fire in his dorm room on November 18, 1996

take five:

all students must flee university

or else face fatal consequence

(and we do, with suitcases balanced on our heads)

take six:

we are sending men on horses we are sending men on horses with gas we are sending men on horses with gas and guns we are sending men on horses with gas and guns and they have orders to kill

take seven:

stephen muruli deserved to die, he was a threat to the nation

stephen muruli deserved to die, he was a threat to democracy

stephen muruli deserved to die, he was a threat to Kenya

take eight:

stephen muruli deserves an autopsy to determine cause of death

branches and chains and bricks and bones on the streets of this city

until we know the truth

take nine :

books burn rocks ricochet glass scatters old man selling fruit beaten to pulp lies limp on campus dormitory steps mass exodus of intellect away from the city or within to hide beneath the wiry skeleton of bedposts

take ten:

stephen muruli dies in campus fire

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