Ezekieli Character Analysis

Ezekieli is Munira and Mukami’s father. A rich yet stingy landowner, he uses his Presbyterian Christian faith to manipulate his Christian workers, worshipping with them to earn their goodwill but dismissing those who ask for better pay as “devilish spirits.” At one point, he tries to use his economic power over his employee Mariamu, Karega’s mother, to initiate a sexual affair with her. Though Mariamu successfully refuses him, the incident demonstrates how women in capitalist societies tend to suffer specifically sexual forms of economic exploitation, such as sexual harassment by employers. It also illustrates the religious hypocrisy present everywhere in the novel: though Ezekieli claims to be a devout Christian, he exploits his workers, tries to take sexual advantage of Mariamu and commit adultery with her, and uses his religious faith to hide or justify his behavior. The novel implies that Ezekieli precipitates his daughter Mukami’s death by suicide by demanding that she choose between her teenage love, Karega, and her family. After Munira is coerced into taking “tea,” an anti-communist government loyalty oath, he confides in his father. Munira’s father tells him he has already sworn the oath, as he believes the government will protect his property and wealth, which he claims are gifts from God. This incident too shows Ezekieli’s hypocrisy, as during the Kenyan struggle for independence he refused to swear a loyalty oath to Kenyan freedom fighters, which resulted in the fighters cutting off his ear, an event he blames on Mariamu’s son Nding’uri—but now that the post-independence government is successful and powerful, Ezekieli is willing to swear “loyalty” to them.