Slave, Interpreter & Commissioner General: An Authorized Biography of Edgar Manasseh by Richard Oduor Oduku
About Slave, Interpreter & Commissioner General by Richard Oduor Oduku
Title: Slave, Interpreter & Commissioner General: An Authorized Biography of Edgar Manasseh
Author: Richard Oduor Oduku
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography,
Publisher: Sisi Afrika Books
Publication Date: July, 2023
Pages: 320, Paperback
Slave Interpreter & Commissioner General, the authorised biography of Edgar Manasseh, Slave, Interpreter & Commissioner-General takes us through 200+ years of family’s history; right from Edgar’s great-grandfather, a slave, to his grandfather and father, who worked as civil servants in Kenya to Edgar’s rise as a civil servant and the first Commissioner-General of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
It starts with the life of Songoro, a young boy from Malawi who is snatched from his home, on the shores of Lake Malawi, at the young age of 12 by slave catchers. What follows next is a four-month trekking journey to Kilwa, in chains, and into the slave ships headed to Zanzibar as cargo. But fate had something in mind for Songoro. As it happened, the British had already started their campaign to stop the slave trade—the irony. The British Navy intercepted the slave ship with Songoro, rescued him and other slaves, and settled them in Frere Town, Mombasa. With a new lease on life, Songoro would go on to learn a skill that helped him start afresh and even start a family with Theresah, another ex-slave.
One of Songoro’s children was Noah, who would get baptised, changing the Songoro surname and adopting a Christian name, Manasseh. Growing up in Frere Town afforded Noah an advantage most Kenyans in other areas did not have, like access to education, thanks to the work of missionaries in Frere Town, opening doors to a career as an Interpreter. As you can guess, this opened the family’s fortune, including a lucrative business in Mombasa. Noah’s lineage would produce Fredrick Washington, who would follow in his father’s footsteps to become a High Court Clerk, and later stepped in to run the family business in Mombasa.
The last part of the book dives into the life of Edgar, the son of Fredrick Washington, and great-grandson of Songoro, the ex-slave. Like his father and grandfather, Edgar would grow up to follow in their footsteps as a civil servant. He found himself in the Tax Department, thanks to the transition reforms that were set to replace the dominance of European and Asian personnel with Kenyan Personnel. He’d become one of the first twenty Kenyan graduates enrolled in the Income Tax Accessors course. This is what started Edgar’s career in the Tax Department, later renamed to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), where he’d rise through the ranks, change course to teaching at the Income Tax Training School, and later go back to KRA where he’d become the first Commissioner-General, a post he’d lose thanks to the Kenyan political meddling.
My Thoughts About the Book
If you have read anything by Richard, from poetry to short stories and essays, you already know his work is a must-read. And his first commissioned biography did not disappoint.
The book is divided into three sections; the Slave (Songoro), the Interpreter (Noah and some background on his son, Fredrick), and finally, the Commissioner-General (Edgar). This is a story of heartbreaks, survival and triumphs. Of a family line created in Kenya out of the unfortunate kidnapping of a young boy from Malawi by slave catchers to a descendant who triumphed to become the first Commissioner-General.
But what I loved most about the book was the history lessons. From the history of the slave trade in East Africa and the works of missionaries in Kenya as they laid the grounds for colonisation to the creation of the KRA and Edgar’s role. Coincidentally, I was reading about Edgar’s role at the KRA during the Finance Bill 2024 protests. It was a stark reminder of how far we have come and how things have not changed at all; considering how Edgar was ousted as the Commissioner-General as he highly campaigned for the KRA to be an independent body, away from political meddling and have measures that ensured it collected enough revenues that kept the country from overrelying on external debt.
Overall, I highly recommend grabbing yourself a copy!
The Kindle version of the book is available on Amazon as well as the Hardcover and Paperback if you are outside Kenya. If you are in Kenya, you can get copies from Nuria Bookstore (this is not a paid Ad by Nuria).
Looking for more book recommendations? Get your next inspiration here
My ★ Rating 5/5
