An Analysis/Summary of John Kolosa Kargbo’s Let Me Die Alone

The Author: John Kolosa Kargbo was a 20th century Sierra Leonean writer. Eustace Palmer describes John Kolosa Kargbo as arguably the most important and one of the most prolific of the younger generation of Sierra Leonean dramatists. Kargbo wrote mostly in the krio vernacular, but Let Me Die Alone was written in English and interspaced with vernacular.

Cast: The following constitute the cast of John Kargbo’s Let Me Die Alone.

Mama Yoko: Ruler of the Mende Chiefdom

Gbanya: Yoko’s husband and predecessor to the Mende Chiefdom

Guard: Palace Guard

Musa: Seer and Medicine Man

Lamboi: Yoko’s brother

Ndapi: Warrior and one of the elders in Mende Chiefdom

Jilo: Ndapi’s wife

Jeneba (Jenneh): Ndapi and Jilo’s daughter

Governor Samuel Rowe: British Colonial Representative

Lansana: Jilo’s Lover

Lavalie: A Warrior

Fanneh: Mama Yoko’s Maid

Musu: Mama Yoko’s Maid

Messenger: Black Representative of British Colonial Government

Girl: A Sande Dancer

2nd Guard: Another Palace Guard

Crowd Scene: Sande Dancers. 

Background to the Play: John Kargbo’s Let Me Die Alone can be studied as a play on colonial politics in Africa. Colonialism has come to define how Africa views and interprets her history. It began when a group of Europeans – English, French, Portuguese and Germans, among others – extended their territories to Africa in the 19th century for economic benefits and other Enlightenment purposes. In the play, the colonial authority is represented by Governor Samuel Rowe and his actions are representative of the British colonial actions in Africa. Such actions include the utter disregard for existing customs and traditions, lack of respect towards the African peoples and arbitrary alteration of land marks without consulting the people.

 Another background issue in the play is female leadership in Africa. Precolonial and colonial Africa was a largely patriarchal space, and while women had their dignity and place, it was more difficult for women to access power spaces because of entrenched patriarchal biases. This does not mean that precolonial and colonial Africa did not produce worthy female leaders, the problem was that it was more difficult for a woman to be considered for such important roles. The woman had to doubly prove herself and most of the time had to make more personal sacrifices compared to the men in order to be granted access to leadership positions. This is exactly what Mama Yoko has to go through in order to be the chief of the Mende land.

Kargbo’s Let Me Die Alone is a historical play at two levels. One level is the creative depiction of colonialism which actually occurred in Africa in the 19th century. The second level is the portrayal of Mama Yoko as the female leader of the Mende Chiefdom. It is a historical fact that Mama Yoko actually lived. She represents the force, authority, excellence and tragedy of female leadership in Africa.

Let Me Die Alone is a tragedy. A tragedy is a type of drama that is dominated by soulful incidents and ends sadly. The tragic heroine in the play is Mama Yoko who commits honour suicide at the end of the play. Her tragic flaw is trusting the wrong people like Lamboi and Musa, as well as unwittingly pleasing the enemy in the person of Governor Samuel Rowe. In the play, Yoko dies a deeply disappointed woman, betrayed by both friends and enemies alike.

Subject Matter: The subject matter of Kargbo’s Let Me Die Alone is the challenges involved in female leadership in precolonial and colonial Africa. This is seen in all that Mama Yoko has to pass through in order to become the leader of Mende people. First, she has to convince her husband, Gbanya, to pronounce her a chief with his dying breath. Then she has to make personal sacrifices like ‘becoming a man’ so as to be considered qualified to sit on the throne. Becoming a man means that she has to join the Poro cult and, as a consequence, will not have a child of her own. Once Mama Yoko becomes chief, she has to manage the plots and intrigues around her throne, orchestrated by even her brother, Lamboi. The good thing is that Mama Yoko proves herself a great leader, disappoints her critics and justifies the idea that female leadership is never a waste of the people’s time. She is able to expand the Mende chiefdom and move the capital from Senehun to Moyamba through war and conquest.

Plot: Kargbo’s Let Me Die Alone has a chronological plot structure. The events proceed lineally in their order of occurrence. It begins with the depiction of Gbanya towards the end of his reign as chief of the Mende people. He is surrounded by enemies both internal and external. Gbanya does not have a male heir and is considering handing over the throne to his first wife, Mama Yoko. In fact, he had promised this to Mama Yoko. But it is war time and Gbanya believes that women should not be leaders during the time of war. This explains his hesitation. But shortly after being disgraced by Governor Samuel Rowe for his involvement in the Caulker campaigns and realising too late of the evil plots of Lamboi and Musa to seize the throne by poisoning him, Gbanya uses his dying breath to declare Mama Yoko his successor.

Mama Yoko’s enthronement is stoutly opposed by Lamboi who presents many barriers to stop Mama Yoko from ascending the throne. She is made to join the Poro secret society and to never marry and have children. However, Mama Yoko proves herself a great leader by expanding the Mende Chiefdom and moving the capital from Senehun to Moyamba. She does this through a proactive approach – waging wars with the surrounding villages instead of waiting to be attacked first. Mama Yoko is portrayed as a just leader who, at the height of her powers, ruled over a rich and peaceful domain. However, she has to face many plots and intrigues from her enemies like Keke Lamboi and Ngo Musa, who kill Jeneba, Ndapi and Jilo’s daughter that Mama Yoko loves, bury her after removing vital parts, then try to implicate Mama Yoko in the mysterious disappearance and murder of the child. The people turn against Mama Yoko and this breaks her heart in many irreparable ways. When the truth is finally revealed and Mama Yoko is justified, the Governor seals the monarch’s doom by reducing the size of her domain. At this point, Mama Yoko loses the will to live as she cannot stand the disgrace. Honour suicide seems the way out.

A Scene-by-Scene Analysis/Summary of Let Me Die Alone

Act One Scene 1: This scene takes place in Gbanya’s bedroom, where he tries to force his most senior wife, Mama Yoko, to bed. Gbanya’s bedroom is described to reflect its traditional texture. It has props like spears, machetes and kerosene lamp. The time is in the evening/night. Mama Yoko asks Gbanya to wait so that she could dismiss the ‘Sande’ dancers, but Gbanya’s longings would not be persuaded because as he says, ‘When the loins of a man catch fire, that fire must be quenched instantly’. The reader should equally observe the patriarchal objectification of women in Gbanya’s words: ‘. . . Of what better use is a woman to a man?’

In the end, Gbanya has his way and he is depicted making love to Mama Yoko. Then Guard enters to inform Gbanya that the Governor will be arriving the palace the next day. This information was brought by the Governor’s Messenger. Gbanya notes that Governor Rowe has never visited him before, implying that the visit is unusual.

Lamboi and Lavalie are requested to meet the chief in the morning. Mama Yoko instructs Guard to tell the Sande girls to stop dancing, while Gbanya tells Mama Yoko to return to bed: ‘. . . You are a woman. Your brain was made for music, your feet for dancing steps that will fire the loins of any man, and your body for that bed. Not for the important affairs of the chiefdom’. This is actually a colonialist perception of female abilities which Gbanya must have learnt from the colonial masters, because the true African person understood that female leadership was largely taken for granted in precolonial Africa, where matriarchy was widely practised. Gbanya makes these gender-disparaging statements because he knows that Mama Yoko is interested in discussing politics as it concerns Governor Rowe’s proposed visit.

Gbanya remarks that the Governor’s visit might not be unconnected with Gbanya’s hiring of his soldiers to one John Caulker to fight against Governor’s Rowe’s brother by name George. This speaks to the conflicts among the colonialists during the scramble for Africa. It is a mistake for Gbanya to have taken sides in such a war.

Gbanya is afraid because of the Governor’s visit among other realities confronting him. Mama Yoko asks him to confide in her. It is revealed that Gbanya had lost his best soldiers in the war fought between Ashanti and John Caulker’s men. Foreshadowing is seen the dream that Gbanya had which he now reports to Mama Yoko. In the dream the previous night, the Governor had humiliated him. Another instance of foreshadowing is Gbanya’s dream of seeing his ancestors asking him to join them. This means that Gbanya’s death is imminent. Gbanya also saw his late father in his dream, asking Gbanya to join him. He tells all this to Mama Yoko. Gbanya then knows that his days on earth are coming to an end.

Mama Yoko advises Gbanya to make sacrifices to appease the ancestors in response to the bad dreams; and to ensure that Gbanya’s final journey begins with/in peace. It is mentioned in the play that the sphere of Gbanya’s authority is Mende land.

Gbanya begins to philosophise about life. He tells Mama Yoko that there is no peace in this world. He refers to himself as the most courageous fighter in Mende land. Gbanya is not afraid of dying but in how he dies. He does not want to die a dishonourable death.

Gbanya wants to impress the visiting Governor with gifts so that the Governor would know his power. Mama Yoko wants to call Ndapi, Keke Lamboi and Lavalie so that Gbanya could pronounce her king in their presence, as Gbanya had promised her the Chiefdom.

It is reported that Gbanya has 37 wives but cherishes Mama Yoko most. He tells her, however, that times have changed and that in war time, it is difficult for a woman to rule. Mama Yoko should enjoy the wealth he would leave behind and forget about leadership.

Senehun is currently the capital of Mende land where Gbanya is its ruler. Gbanya asks Mama Yoko to dance for him. When she refuses, Gbanya asks her for sex again. Mama Yoko’s response is strikingly significant: ‘But my lord, do you think I’m a calabash, a cooking pot or an axe to be used so indiscriminately? No, my lord. I am a woman but I’m also human. You say you cannot leave the Chiefdom in my hands because I am a woman, but are there not other women who have been ruling chiefdoms successfully for many years?’ Mama Yoko goes on to cite the examples of successful female leaders in her time: Yoga, Kema of Galu, Fangawa of Wando, Kpanda Gbello of Lapplama, Woki of Tunkia or Nancy Caulker in Shebro Land. Gbanya agrees that these women are good leaders. They are depicted making love as the scene comes to an end.

Act One Scene 2: This scene begins with Musa and Lamboi depicted conversing. Within the context of the narration by Stage Direction, the word ‘Totogbemui’ means ‘light’. It is part of the untranslatable language in the play. Lamboi, Mama Yoko’s brother, is asking Musa to help murder Gbanya because he is a weak monarch. Musa is reluctant at first: ‘I am not a giver of life so I cannot take it,’ he tells Lamboi. One of the excuses that Ngo Musa gives for hesitating to murder or poison Gbanya is that he [Musa] does not have Gbanya’s Ngafo, apart from both of them belonging to the same secret society: ‘You are a Poro man, I am a Poro man, and he is also a Poro man. How then can I do that to him?’

In trying to convince Musa to kill Gbanya, Lamboi appeals to the people by telling Musa that what he wants him to do is not necessarily for his own good, but for the good of the people. This accounts for the usual phenomenon where politicians use the people as an excuse to further their selfish interest. From his speech, it is revealed that Lamboi fears his sister, Mama Yoko, so much. He sees her as an ambitious woman who would stop at nothing to be king. Lamboi also fears that Gbanya might hand over the Chiefdom to Mama Yoko if he lives long enough to be so persuaded by her.

It is also shown that Lamboi does not believe in female leadership. He believes that the times demand that the kingdom be governed by a man, as women are soft. He fears that Gbanya would hand over the chiefdom to Mama Yoko because he loves her so much. Lamboi goes on to say that Gbanya’s undoing was the Caulker’s Campaign (war), and that it was ill-advised by Mama Yoko, while he, Lamboi, had kicked against it. This might actually be a lie because when Lamboi wants to swear on the Poro Gbeni about this fact to Musa, he refuses to complete the statement. Euphemism is seen in the expression by Musa: ‘I am old and ripe for the journey across the river to meet my ancestors’. This is a mild expression about Musa’s willingness to die.

Both Musa and Lamboi continue to argue until they get physical when Lamboi grabs Musa in an attempt to intimidate him. When Musa claims that he has never killed a man, Lamboi dares him to swear by Poro Devil/Gbeni. Of course, Musa refuses. The Poro Devil/Gbeni represents the efficacy of the African traditional justice system. Hence, Musa knows the consequences if he dares swear in falsehood. This informs the proverb or adage by Lamboi in taunting Musa for having a good enough sense not to swear by the Poro Devil in falsehood: ‘A mad man may eat his own shit, but will never play with fire. . .’

In the end, Lamboi has to blackmail Musa, revealing how Musa killed Yattah’s son and Mama Kadi’s daughter and used their blood for his bofina, medicine or magic. This blackmail works because Musa quickly relents and decides to comply with Lamboi’s wishes.

At this point, Jeneba, Ndapi and Jilo’s daughter, enters and greets both Musa and Lamboi. Musa asks after her mother, Jilo. Jeneba says her father sent her to remind Musa about the ongoing meeting in his house. Musa’s promise of bringing plums and berries for Jeneba when next he goes to the bush is wrapped in paradox and irony, given the future events in the play. The specific future event is foreshadowed in the words of Lamboi when he says: ‘Girls of her [Jeneba] type stand to die in the hands of the enemies of Senehun’. This statement foreshadows the murder of Jeneba by Musa and Lamboi, who are truly the enemies of Mende land.

Musa informs Lamboi of the Governor’s visit that day. The Governor will be coming with soldiers and Lamboi envisages trouble in the visit because of the Caulker’s Campaign. He urges Musa to use the opportunity of meeting Gbanya during the Governor’s visit to execute the evil plot as Gbanya will definitely need Musa’s help on that occasion. Musa decides that the best opportunity will present itself when Gbanya wants to go to the Poro bush to drink from an enlivening spirit. He will then poison Gbanya with the gall of the alligator.

Act One Scene Three: The Stage Direction reports a Sande drumming offstage and the appearance of Gbanya’s horn blower, the arrival of Gbanya and his retinue of courtiers like Mama Yoko, Jeneba, Lavalie, Ndapi, Lamboi and Musa.

All is set for the reception of Dr Samuel Rowe, the colonial Governor. Gbanya prefers to present gifts to the Governor to appease him; telling Lamboi, ‘Let them take five fat cows out to the corral, five fat rams and sheep.’ Lamboi questions these expensive gifts for the Governor. Musa reminds Gbanya that he has been neglecting the Poro bush recently. Gbanya reveals that the Poro bush is the source of his strength and promises Musa that he would go to the bush immediately after the Governor leaves.

There is foreshadowing or premonition in the words that Mama Yoko says to Gbanya: ‘. . . something tells me that a great ill will befall this household today. You should have prepared for war on the Governor’s visit’. Gbanya’s approach is not proactive and that spells his mistake or hubris. Gbanya’s reply contains his attempt to be realistic given the circumstances. But it also contains some hints of male chauvinism. He says: ‘That’s why I maintain that that you are just a woman. Can our chakabulas and spears, or machetes and slings withstand the guns of the Governor and his soldiers?’ Still, Mama Yoko encourages Gbanya to be proactive in dealing with the Governor: ‘You could ambush them. It’s still not too late. Take them by surprise. . .’ Gbanya believes that there will be repercussions for taking out the Governor, hence his decision to rather welcome him.

Guard announces the arrival of the Governor. Stage Direction reports on Jeneba’s exit on the instructions of Mama Yoko, the hearing of Sande music and the six girls dancing, and the arrival of Governor Rowe, wearing white and a plumed helmet; carried on a hammock. This is a photographic description of a colonialist figure at this time in history.

Notice how Gbanya refers to Governor Rowe as ‘my Master,’ while welcoming him to Senehun. This signals the relationship between the colonial masters and the natives. It was a highly hierarchical relationship, where the natives were the servants while the colonial masters were the lords. Governor Rowe shuns Gbanya’s overtures, servility, kind gesture and politeness: ‘Don’t put those filthy paws on me, you savage!’ The colonialist perception of Africans as uncivilised people is seen in the Governor’s words. The expression ‘filthy paws’ is an implied metaphor which suggests the non-humanity of Gbanya as perceived by the Governor. The expression ‘filthy paws’ is equally a metonym for Gbanya’s hands, except that in this case it constitutes animal imagery to emphasise Gbanya’s uncivilised nature in the Governor’s view.

Governor Rowe demands to know from Gbanya why he brought his soldiers, ‘war boys’, to fight on John Caulker’s side against his brothers. Gbanya lies and this is indicative of his fear for Governor Rowe’s power. Governor Rowe commands Gbanya to shut up. Notice the colonial project’s official objective in Gbanya’s words: ‘When people like us leave our civilized society to come and bring both light and the word to you here in the bush, we expect you to conform. . .’ The Europeans had told the whole world that their mission in Africa was to civilise the primitive Africans. This is exactly what Governor Rowe is implying in his speech. However, we now know that their mission in Africa was largely economic. There are a number of things that are striking in Governor Rowe’s words. First, he refers to Europe as a civilised society which is ironic considering all the atrocities that the Europeans committed in Africa. Second, he presents himself and other Europeans as selfless angels who have come to Africa to do the native good. Again, another irony given the facts of history. Third, he refers to the whole of Africa as a ‘bush’, which is a metaphor for lack of development and civilisation. The ‘light’ and the ‘word’ mentioned in Gbanya’s speech refer to civilisation through European education system and the Christian religion, respectively. What the Europeans expected from Africans during colonialism was total obedience – ‘we expect you to conform’ – as all forms of resistance was met with brutality.

Dr Samuel Rowe refers to himself as the sole representative of the Imperial Majesty. On his orders, Gbanya is dragged from his throne. This gesture is symbolic as it signals Gbanya’s fall. Gbanya is then whipped by Governor Rowe’s soldiers, which is a sign of humiliation. The Governor calls Gbanya a dog, another instance of animal imagery that depicts Africans as savages in the perception of the Europeans during colonial rule. Governor Rowe then demands a fine of ‘fifty pounds in the equivalent of cattle and rice.’ The nature of this fine suggests the economic interest of the colonial masters in Africa. Governor Rowe’s words also suggest that he is going round the colony terrorising other local chiefs perceived to have disobeyed his orders.

When Governor Rowe leaves, Lamboi orders Lavalie and Ndapi to block the doors to prevent the people from coming in to see Gbanya in his humiliated state. However, the real reason for his doing this is to have a chance to murder the disgraced chief. He asks Mama Yoko to go fetch some water as a way of getting her out of the way. When Mama Yoko returns with the water, Musa orders her to get warm water to treat Gbanya’s wounds. Now Lamboi and Musa are left alone to carry out their nefarious deed. Musa poisons Gbanya’s water as reported by Stage Direction: ‘From the folds of his robes, he [Musa] takes out the bottle containing the poison and adds a single drop to the water.’ He gives it to Gbanya as pain reliever.

Gbanya asks of Mama Yoko and says that he must see her. Musa urges Gbanya to drink the ‘medication’, which ironically and sadly is poison, to ease his pain. Gbanya drinks. Soon Gbanya clutches his stomach and realises that he had been poisoned: ‘My stomach is on fire. My tongue is burning. Musa, Lamboi, what did you put in that calabash?’ This statement actually reminds me of a now popular expression, ‘Sholape what did you put in your stew?’

Gbanya now knows that Musa had poisoned him with the alligator’s gall and tells him so. He also asks them why they did it. Lamboi says they had to do it to stop Gbanya from passing the throne to a woman, that is, Mama Yoko. Musa agrees with Lamboi, adding that only a man can save Senehun. There is a rhetorical question in Gbanya’s expression: ‘But can a Poro man do this to a fellow Poro man?’ This implies that Lamboi and Musa have, by their action, violated the Poro cult code of no deliberate harm to a fellow member.

Gbanya knows that his death is imminent and he moves to go out to find Mama Yoko, but he is blocked by the villains – Lamboi and Musa. Lamboi even wants to stab Gbanya but he is prevented by Musa who believes in the efficacy of the alligator’s gall: ‘It’s foolproof and there is no remedy.’ Gbanya appeals to Poro Devil to avenge his death. Mama Yoko enters, just as Gbanya is dying, and he uses his dying breath to ask Mama Yoko to take charge of the Kingdom, even though he cannot get all the words out in a coherent way.

Gbanya dies. Lamboi moves to be Chief immediately after Gbanya’s death. The move is resisted by Mama Yoko who reappears with a weapon, a machete. She claims the Chiefdom by appealing to Gbanya’s dying instructions to her. She also demands to know how her husband died. Lamboi and Musa claim ignorance of Gbanya’s cause of death. Lavalie pays tribute to the dead king: ‘Ah Ngewo. A finer man never ruled in Mende land, a braver man never walked on earth. May the hands of forefathers grant him. . .’  

Lamboi disputes Yoko’s claim to the throne. But then he refuses to swear by the Poro Devil that his claims are true. Ndapi is made the personal guard of Mama Yoko just as he protected Gbanya. Lamboi opposes Mama Yoko’s accession unless she becomes a member of the Poro cult. Mama Yoko is willing to become a member. Lamboi then informs Mama Yoko of the implication of joining the secret society: ‘You will never bear children. . .’ Mama Yoko does not mind. She is ready to make the sacrifice.

The question of throne accession being settled, Mama Yoko mourns Gbanya: ‘. . . the man who taught me the virtues and qualities of undying love. The man who made Senehun into a great chiefdom – the finest and the most courageous chief in all Mende land.’ She then asks Gbanya’s spirit to guide her, as she is already feeling the plots and intrigues around her: ‘Minds may this minute be plotting against me.’ This is an instance of synecdoche as minds represent human beings. Mama Yoko is ready to lead Senehun in all situations.

Act Two Scene 1: This scene takes place in Jilo’s house, where she is depicted peeling cassava. Lansana, Jilo’s lover, appears. He is one of the warriors in Senehun. Jilo is in love with Lansana but married to Ndapi. Lansana is seen begging Jilo for sexual favours. Lansana believes in a man having multiple sex partners: ‘. . . for how long can a man go on eating sakitombols? From time to time, he should taste jolabete’. Jilo refuses these advances, asking Lansana to look for other ladies outside. Then Lansana starts praising Jilo’s body: ‘See how smooth it is, as smooth as the back of a bridal calabash.’ This is an instance of simile. Lansana even pinches Jilo’s buttocks and she cries out playfully. Lansana then uses the analogy of either boiling or roasting cassava to imply that if he cannot persuade Jilo, he will have her by force. And this is exactly what he does.

Suspense is seen in how Stage Direction switches to depict Ndapi and Lavalie discussing in the opposite direction shortly after Lansana had forced Jilo into the house. It makes it look like they would soon be caught by Ndapi. Lavalie and Ndapi are actually discussing Mama Yoko’s decision to go to war. Mama Yoko is taking a proactive step so as not to be overrun by the surrounding villages. They also discuss the manner of Gbanya’s death, especially its suspicious nature, as well as Mama Yoko’s fears that her life is under threat.

Ndapi thinks that Lavalie should advise Mama Yoko not to war with the other chiefdoms. They exit to discuss how to stop Mama Yoko from warring. Stage Direction then reports Lansana and Jilo coming out of the house after making love. Humour is seen when Jilo asks Lansana to leave before Ndapi returns to meet him in the house: ‘. . . if he finds you here, there will be no teeth left in that mouth of yours to chew even over-boiled potato’. Lansana arranges his next meeting with Jilo and then leaves.

Ndapi returns. He is angry that there is no food in the house. He punishes Jilo by stepping on her toe literally. Guard enters to save Jilo from Ndapi’s brutality. Ndapi denies touching Jilo, whereas he has stepped on her toe. He slaps Jilo, complaining to Guard about not always finding food whenever he comes home. In the play, it is seen that gender roles are fixed and both husbands and wives know their duties to each other quite well.

Guard has come to report the war news to Ndapi who fears that heads would roll. The reader should notice the act of eating raw cassava in the play, which is what Ndapi serves to Guard. Ndapi says that Mama Yoko could not be persuaded not to go to war and that she trusts the colonial Masters like Governor Rowe too much. Is this Mama Yoko’s mistake or flaw?

Ndapi sees Mama Yoko as ‘greedy, insolent and power drunk and very, very ambitious.’ Ndapi does not believe that the chiefdom should be expanded. The reader should note the theme of slavery as Ndapi talks about killing and dragging  the enemy soldiers into slavery during Gbanya’s reign when they used to fight honourable wars. He describes the proposed Mama Yoko wars as ‘vain’ and ‘provocative’. Guard deploys a proverb to analogise the situation: ‘She is putting her palm kernels into the fire and using our own fingers to pull them out of the flames.’ Guard believes that Mama Yoko should be in bed beside a virile man, not on the throne of Senehun.

Both Guard and Ndapi leave to look for palm wine. Ndapi threatens Jilo, as he leaves, about beating her till she crawls back to her parents if he returns and sees no food in the house. Then Jilo mumbles something that Ndapi interprets as an insult. Ndapi comes back to slap her but Guard intervenes: ‘. . . when a woman under your roof starts grumbling, the next thing she will think of doing is poison your food’. This statement is made by Ndapi. Jilo says she was mumbling that Mama Yoko had said that they might be moving to Moyamba in the hot season. This means that Moyamba would now be the new capital of the Chiefdom. Ndapi concludes that power is making Mama Yoko crazy.

Act Two Scene 2: Stage Direction reports that Mama Yoko had moved her chiefdom to Moyamba. Mama Yoko is depicted sitting with her ladies-in-waiting – Fanneh and Musu. They are plaiting Mama Yoko’s hair and cleaning her toes, respectively. Fanneh says she likes Moyamba better than Senehun. Their conversations also reveal the expansion of the Mende Chiefdom.

African cosmology is expressed in the following words by Musu to Mama Yoko: ‘Your husband, the late chief, is now in the land of our forefathers, and his spirit is guiding you.’ Mende land is at present prosperous and peaceful, but Mama Yoko feels uneasy and dissatisfied: ‘Evil people plot their nefarious deeds in the middle of the night . . . there are times when I feel lonesome’. Mama Yoko goes on to express her desire to have her own children, but this is the price that she has to pay in order to be a chief in a patriarchal setting like Mende land.

Mama Yoko also bares her mind on the burden of leadership: ‘. . . Do you know the pressures I undergo? The fear that someday someone will think of creeping into my room with a dagger to kill me?’ The theme of jealousy and evil plot against a female leader is captured in the following words by Mama Yoko to Musu: ‘A ruler should think of anything. Anything can happen at any time. I know that not everybody is pleased over the fact that I am a chief of the kpa Mende tribe especially my brother, Lamboi. I fear that man. He is cunning. Ngo Musa is another man I do not trust. He is like a chameleon. He changes easily. I think he killed my husband.’

Mama Yoko asks that Jeneba be brought to her. She dotes on the child as if she were hers. The idea that motherhood crowns womanhood in the African milieu is reflected in Mama Yoko’s words to Musu and Fanneh: ‘There are times when I want to feel like a real woman, a mother. Times when I want to hold my own child in my arms.’ It is revealed in the conversation that Fanneh has three children while Musu has two. Musu soon leaves to bring Jeneba.

Mama Yoko justifies her paranoia while on the throne with the words: ‘. . . power transforms people. It breeds fear and that fear makes me dread even shadows at night’. Musu soon returns with Jeneba and we are made to witness how Mama Yoko cares for the child. Pap and roast cassava is the food that Fanneh and Musu gave to Jeneba, nicknamed Jenneh. Jeneba innocently reports on how Ndapi usually beats the mother, Jilo.

Guard enters to report the arrival of the Governor’s Messenger to Moyamba. Mama Yoko immediately orders Musu to make the Messenger comfortable: ‘. . . Put him in the best hut; give him the best palm wine and food. Find him a Sande girl versed in bed manners. He comes from the Governor and must be treated with due honours.’ Mama Yoko also asks that her crown, a symbol of power and authority, be brought to her and that all the elders – Lavalie, Ngo Musa, Keke Lamboi and Ndapi – be summoned. Jeneba is asked to go outside and play. This suggests that serious matters of state are not for children’s ears. It should be noted that the bangles that Mama Yoko asks Fanneh to fetch symbolise beauty and wealth, as well as the splendour of her power.

Stage Direction depicts Ndapi beating Jilo and dragging her to Mama Yoko. It happened that Jilo had been caught having an affair with Lansana: ‘I found them embracing each other in the undergrowth on the road, leading to the river, very near the cotton tree.’ Mama Yoko asks that Lansana be caught and brought to her court. Guard then informs Mama Yoko that Lansana had said he was leaving for Taiama and would be gone for three days. Mama Yoko orders that two warriors be sent to arrest him wherever he might be. It is revealed that Lansana was brought back as a war slave during one of Gbanya’s campaigns and Yoko had saved him from being killed.

Mama Yoko orders that Jilo be put in prison: ‘Take this woman and put her in stocks’. Mama Yoko assures Ndapi that justice would be done in his case, as Lansana would be made to pay all the damages. This portrays her as a just Queen. Jilo is three months pregnant. This scene shifts and focuses on Lamboi and Musa returning from Mama Yoko’s. They discuss Jilo’s unfaithfulness with Lansana, as well as Mama Yoko’s benign treatment of the Governor’s Messenger. Musa reports to Lamboi that the Sande girl that he [Lamboi] wanted to marry has been given to the Governor’s Messenger and that the reception given to Messenger can make even the Governor himself to be jealous. Musa adds that Mama Yoko is afraid of the Governor.

Lamboi presents his plot of making Jeneba to disappear to Musa. His plan is to kidnap Jeneba, kill her and lie to the people that Mama Yoko had used her for power consolidation sacrifice by burying her alive in a big pot in the bush. This should lead to Mama Yoko’s losing her throne. Lamboi would then be King. It is recalled that Musa had killed Yattah and Mama Kadi’s children and used their blood for bofina, native medicine, back in Senehun. Ngo Musa has his doubts but Lamboi counters them all. Rhetorical question is seen in the expression by Lamboi: ‘. . . when did you last enrich your bofina with the rich and hot blood of a child?’ This question is directed to Musa whom Lamboi wants to persuade to buy into his sinister plan. In response, Musa says that the chiefdom no longer goes to war because Mama Yoko is scared of the Governor. It is equally reported how three chiefs willingly surrendered their kingdoms to Mama Yoko without a fight. Musa and Lamboi agree on their plot to kill Jeneba. The plot sounds so good that Lamboi says to Musa, ‘You are indeed an old monkey’, an expression that constitutes a metaphor. They then go their separate ways after agreeing to meet in the evening.

Act Two Scene 3: The reception of the Governor’s Messenger is described by Stage Direction. Messenger makes a speech in ornate, formal and oratorical style, with intimidating diction: ‘. . . My Master, the Governor, servant of her Imperial Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, intimated that you are a shining example not only of African Feminine Pulchritude, but of one who blends grace, magnanimity, bravery, audacity, tranquility, and majesty. . . to your role as custodian of the greatest chiefdom here in the primitive heartland of the protectorate. . .’ This speech portrays Mama Yoko at the height of her power as King in Mende land, as well as the regard that the Governor has for her at this time. However, I equally feel that Messenger might have been motivated to make this speech by the generous hospitality of Mama Yoko.

Messenger continues: ‘My sagacious, Imperial Master, the Governor, extends to you, Madam, his unbounded felicitations and wishes to your gracious person, the best of positive, physical, mental, surgical, psychological, psychiatric, philosophical and psycho-analytical wellbeing’. The way Messenger deploys language intertextualises with how Lakunle uses language in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel.

Messenger’s speech continues in part: ‘For your magnificent execution of the onerous, multifarious, tangential and multifaceted duties of state, the honoured, revered and respected Governor, grand commander of the colony and servant of her Imperial Majesty, has kindly and graciously prevailed upon me the honour of your generosity.’ An analysis of this speech reveals that it thrives mostly on repetitions, appositions and hendiadys without saying much in the end, which explains why it constitutes humour in the play especially when viewed from contemporary linguistic standpoint.

The scene shifts. Jilo is preparing to go to the river to wash. She wants Fanneh to take Jeneba to Mama Yoko in the meantime. Fanneh tells Jilo that Mama Yoko has sent her to another village on an errand; and that she had only come to greet Jeneba whom she refers to as ‘my little Queen’. Fanneh asks Jilo when her case will be coming up and Jilo replies that it will be when Lansana is brought back from Taiama. Fanneh asks Jilo why she had an affair. Jilo’s excuse is Ndapi’s highhandedness and constant accusation of adultery. She alleges that Ndapi does not admire and appreciate her: ‘. . . as a woman, I need reassurance . . . and admiration,’ which is what she gets from Lansana.

Fanneh reminds Jilo that her people might not be able to refund the dowry to Ndapi and also wonders if Lansana will be able to afford the damages. Fanneh’s statement implies that in traditional Mende society, unfaithfulness could lead to the end of a marriage. It is even worse that Jilo is pregnant at this time. Jilo asks Jeneba to wait while she sees Fanneh off. Fanneh asks Jilo to bring Jeneba along but Jilo insists that she wants to say something confidential to Fanneh, and that Jeneba is too intelligent and would divulge everything she hears to the father. This is the moment of Jilo’s costly mistake because her neglecting the child at this point is what will lead to her death.  

Stage Direction enacts the kidnap of Jeneba by Lamboi using a fruit and a potent liquid charm that makes Jeneba to follow Lamboi foolishly. Stage Direction also reports a scene shift to evening in Mama Yoko’s barre, which means a house based on the context of the play. The elders had gathered. Mama Yoko announces to the elders that she is travelling to Taiama that evening as the Governor has sent her to crown two chiefs at Taiama. The issue of paying taxes for houses will be discussed on her return. Lavalie is against the payment of hut tax. He wonders why they should pay tax for living in their own houses and in their own land. However, Mama Yoko is in favour of paying the tax: ‘If the Governor says we pay, we pay’.

Mama Yoko deputes Lamboi and Musa in her place while she is away in Taiama. This is a mistake by Mama Yoko and she will live to rue it. Lansana had been caught and is brought in to Mama Yoko’s palace by two warriors. It is reported that Lansana has three wives but is not satisfied with them. Mama Yoko asks that Lansana be imprisoned until she is back from her journey.

Just then Jilo comes in crying and reporting the disappearance of Jeneba. She had thought all day that Jeneba was playing with Mama Nancy’s children. Mama Yoko orders a search party to be sent out for the missing girl while she leaves for her assignment at Taiama. She instructs Lamboi to act in her absence with Musa as second in command. She tasks them on finding the missing child. What a mistake! What an irony. A dramatic irony to be specific.

Act Three Scene 1: This scene is at the ‘barre’ where Lamboi now acts as King in Mama Yoko’s absence. He is seen soliloquising about power: ‘I have dreamed of power of governing here in this chiefdom of Moyamba . . .I have started walking towards this throne now, towards this seat of supreme power on the road of blood and there is no turning back.’

Lavalie comes in and reports to Lamboi that there has so far been no luck in the search for the missing child, Jeneba. This is dramatic irony because the audience knows that Lamboi has knowledge of what happened to Jeneba but Lavalie does not. Musa enters after Lavalie’s exit to report that he has started planting the seed of rumour in the mind of the people that Mama Yoko could have used Jeneba for power sacrifice.

The expression ‘Rumours have wings’ made by Musa is an implied metaphor because rumour is indirectly being compared to a bird. When Lavalie returns, Lamboi and Musa lie to him that Poro Devil, Gbeni, has divined that Mama Yoko used Jeneba as a sacrifice to have more power. According to Musa, Gbeni said that Mama Yoko buried Jeneba alive in a big pot in the bush as a sacrifice to gain more power and have favour with the Governor. Ndapi doubts this information at first and wants proof. Lavalie wants Ngo Musa to swear to prove that Gbeni actually made such a divination. Presently, Guard reports that the women are rumouring that Mama Yoko used Jeneba for power sacrifice. It is also reported that the Sande women want Mama Yoko deposed for the perceived heinous act.

Mama Yoko returns from Taiama to meet a chaotic situation in her chiefdom. Everyone has been turned against her. The reader should pay attention to the proverb by Mama Yoko: ‘Indeed, when the hen leaves chicks in the hands of the hawk, she has no one to blame if they disappear’. This proverb refers to Lamboi and Musa. A crowd of women have now gathered crying for the blood of Mama Yoko, calling her a murderer, among other invectives. Other invectives, insulting words, directed at Mama Yoko are: ‘devil’ and ‘witch’. This is quite disheartening because just a few days back, Mama Yoko was the heroine of the land. When Mama Yoko questions Lamboi about the happenings, she realises that he had turned against her. He tells Mama Yoko: ‘Madam, there is no peace in the minds of those that kill’. When Mama Yoko gives an order to Guard, Ndapi counters and commands Mama Yoko not to move: ‘Take one step, Hindo, and my spear will taste the blood in your liver’. Ndapi also blocks Mama Yoko from sitting on the throne. He pushes her until she falls. He tells her she can only be Queen again after finding his daughter, Jeneba.

Musa speaks to Mama Yoko in a proverb: ‘The hawk has not eaten the hen’s chicks. It is the hen that has destroyed the hawk’s nest’. Lavalie reveals to Mama Yoko that Gbeni had divined that she used Jeneba for sacrifice. Ndapi adds that it is the sacrifice that has brought her favours with the Governor. Lamboi states that Gbeni had said that Mama Yoko buried Jeneba in a big pot in the bush. Ndapi insults Mama Yoko for not having a child: ‘You have killed my pain of childbirth, but I cannot blame you. You don’t know the pain of childbirth, so you don’t know the worth of a child’. Ndapi likened the love Mama Yoko had for Jeneba to ‘rearing a sacrificial lamb’. Mama Yoko wants to swear by Poro to indicate her innocence, but she is not allowed to by Musa who actually knows the truth about everything. Ndapi threatens to kill Mama Yoko if she swears by Poro. Just as he wants to throw a spear at Mama Yoko, a loud noise is heard offstage – a kind of Deus ex machina. It turns out that Jeneba’s body had been found by the search party. This is reported by Girl. Jeneba’s body was found behind the Sande bush when the women went to dig up potatoes.

Jeneba’s body is brought in decayed. The heart and the private parts are missing. It is the manner of Jeneba’s death that justifies Mama Yoko. It turns out that she was not buried alive in a big pot as purportedly divined by Gbeni. Ndapi at this point begins to ask for Mama Yoko’s forgiveness. Mama Yoko asks Lavalie to go and prepare the Poro bush as she wants to get to the root cause of Jeneba’s death. Everyone will meet at the Poro bush that night.

Stage Direction describes Mama Yoko’s mood which aligns with the mood of the weather. Musu and Fanneh are seen conversing. Fanneh reports that the women have gone to ask Mama Yoko for forgiveness; but Mama Yoko had refused to see them; as she spent the whole day in her room, perhaps grieving the dead child and her unfortunate place in the world at the time. It should be noted that the blasts and shrills being reported by Stage Direction is an omen. Fanneh informs Musu of Mama Yoko’s intention to go to the Poro bush to find out the murderers of Jeneba.

Guard blocks Fanneh and Musu and cautions them about the significance of the night and the evils associated with Poro night. Fanneh aplogises and says that they were preoccupied with collecting firewood and cotton and lost sense of the time. Guard asks another of their members to see Musu and Fanneh safely home.

It is also reported how Guard accosts Messenger who has arrived in Moyamba that night oblivious of the Poro outing. There is a struggle between 2nd Guard and Messenger who had spoken rudely to Guard when the latter had asked: ‘Who goes there?’ Guard identifies Messenger as ‘the parrot with the big words’ which constitutes humour in the play. The expression itself is metonymy as Messenger is known for his convoluted and highfalutin language. Messenger decries his treatment in the hands of 2nd Guard: ‘Is this the red carpet reception for the servant of his Lordship the Governor?’ This is another instance of humour in the play. Notice how Messenger calls other Africans ‘savage’ and ‘apes’ just as the colonial masters see them. This is a demonstration of self-hatred, a form of internalised racism.

Guard slaps Messenger and warns him of the dangers inherent in Poro night: ‘Your nose will rot, leprosy will devour your fingers, cataracts will marry your eyeballs. . .’ Guard is shocked when Messenger completes the ritualistic statement for him. He asks Messenger if he is a member of the Poro secret society. Then they begin communicating in Poro language: ‘Swvra, Bisie, Kabuiyenal, Kayei Ngewoma, baiti’. Guard is still not convinced and asks Messenger to show his Poro marks and hands. Messenger obliges.

When asked by Guard to deliver the message that he has brought from the Governor, Messenger replies that his message is confidential and can only be delivered to Mama Yoko. Guard then informs Messenger that Mama Yoko had put out the Poro that night to find out that the murderers of Jeneba. Guard apologises for slapping Messenger. Messenger accepts the apology but names his fine: ‘One white cock, two head-pan loads of rice,  a dozen tobacco, five white and six red kolanuts for hitting a senior Poro man’. Guard agrees to pay.

Scene shifts to the Poro bush. Ndapi has now known that it was Lamboi and Musa who murdered Jeneba, his daughter. This is what Poro has revealed to Mama Yoko. Ndapi wants to go after Lamboi and Musa but Mama Yoko restrains him as the villains had run away and are now far away from Mende land. Mama Yoko is confident that wherever they may run to, Gbeni will strike them with its curse.

Guard announces the presence of the Governor’s Messenger. Messenger is only allowed to enter after Guard has informed Mama Yoko that Messenger is a Poro man. The message that he brings from the Governor is tragic and will completely break Mama Yoko. The information is that the Governor has reduced the size of Mama Yoko’s Chiefdom. Messenger proclaims this sad news thus: ‘From His Highness the Governor, South of Bandajuma, the six villages to the North of the Tabe River now belong to the people of the Chiefdom of Bo. . . The Tabe River which was the original boundary mark and which was laid by Major Fairlough, has been declared null and void with effect from. . .’This information captures the arrogance of the British in shifting indigenous land boundaries without consulting the people.

Soon after getting this tragic message, Mama Yoko sends Lavalie out on a whispered errand to fetch the poisonous roots of the Ndinabe tree. Mama Yoko is planning on committing honour suicide. Guard is to follow Lavalie and get the roots for Mama Yoko. Mama Yoko then leaves the bush for her house, barre. At the barre, Mama Yoko sends a written message to the Governor through the Messenger: ‘. . . Tell him that in all the years as ruler of this Chiefdom, I have never been disgraced in this manner. . . Tell him the way he has decided on the boundary marks is a slap in the face for a lady who has been loyal to him all these years.’

Guard comes in to deliver the roots taken from the Ndinabe tree by Lavalie to Mama Yoko. Guard is to ensure that Mama Yoko is not disturbed. Guard is asked to call Musu for Mama Yoko. Mama Yoko gives the poisonous roots to Musu and asks her to prepare a concoction for her. When Musu asks Mama Yoko what kind of medicine was in the roots, Mama Yoko replies: ‘. . . Do you ask the lightening why it flashes?’ When pressed further by Musu who has recognised the poisonous roots, Mama Yoko makes her epic speech which reveals the stations of her tragedy in life: ‘You have seen the lightening in the way I was humiliated by the entire chiefdom. You have seen the lightening in the treachery of Ngo Musa and Lamboi my brother. You have seen the lightening in the way the boundary marks have been handled by the District Commissioner on the Governor’s orders.’

Guard comes to announce the arrival of Ndapi and Jilo to request an audience with Mama Yoko. It is obvious that they have come to ask for forgiveness. Mama Yoko is very philosophical at this point in her life. Part of her speech captures the dark side of human existence and human nature thus: ‘. . . this heart that has known happiness, this heart that has known love and power. It has also known humiliation and treachery this day. My late husband, Gbanya, warned me. Behind every set of white teeth there lurks an evil plotting mind.’ After this speech, Mama Yoko asks Jilo and Ndapi to leave and mourn their daughter. Earlier Mama Yoko had told them that forgiveness should come from the heart.

Foreshadowing is seen in the words of Mama Yoko: ‘And now the thunder is set with all its anger to shake the land with the speed of truth’. This statement refers to Mama Yoko’s death. Musu soon serves the ‘medicine’ to Mama Yoko. Mama Yoko says that it cures the sickness of the mind. She drinks and asks Musu to throw what remains away. This suggests that she knows that it is poisonous. Mama Yoko asks Messenger to leave.

The reader should note these words from Mama Yoko: ‘And now, my journey is ended. Let me begin another cycle; the cycle of peace’. Death is often seen as a source of eternal peace for the troubled soul. When Fanneh had desired to drink the deadly concoction alongside her mistress, Mama Yoko had said, ‘. . . I don’t want two graves to be prepared. I have savoured the fruits of power alone; I have known and enjoyed the grandeur of high office alone; if I’m to die, then let me die alone’. This is where the title of the text is drawn from.

The maids try to treat Mama Yoko with palm oil but it is already too late. She dies asking that no one should mourn her death.

Setting: Kargbo’s Let Me Die Alone is set in the Africa of the 19th century, during the colonial era. The play’s spatial setting is a traditional West African chiefdom known as Mende, whose initial capital is Senehun and later Moyamba. Another important place name mentioned in the play is Taiama, where Mama Yoko travels to crown three chiefs on the orders of the Governor. It is also where Lansana runs to after being caught in an affair with Jilo, Ndapi’s wife.

Themes: The major themes in Kargbo’s Let Me Die Alone include colonialism in Africa, female leadership in precolonial and colonial Africa, the burden of female leadership in Africa, the intrigues of throne ascension. Other themes in the play are death, honour suicide, betrayal in politics, inordinate ambition, extra marital affair, domestic violence against women, patriarchal perception of women, power and secret societies in Africa, among others.

The theme of colonialism is seen in the depiction of Governor Samuel Rowe in the play and how he relates with the Africans, especially Chief Gbanya, whom he disgraces by having him beaten up for indulging in a war that was against the Governor’s brother, George. Governor Rowe sees the Africans as savages and apes. He prides himself on bringing civilisation to Africa in order to civilise Africans. Of course, this was what the colonial project was all about on the surface. However, the real intent of the colonial agents in Africa was for the economic expansion of the West. This is seen in the objects of fine that Governor Rowe doles out to Gbanya after his strange visit to Gbanya’s domain.

Another aspect of colonialism worth discussing in the play is taxation. Specifically, the play talks about taxing of huts in Mama Yoko’s domain. Interestingly, while Lavalie is against this tax, Mama Yoko is in favour of it because she wants to please the colonial authorities. She later learns the hard way that this was a mistake.

The burden of female leadership in Africa is depicted in Mama Yoko’s characterisation, especially the odds she has to surmount in order to clinch and maintain the throne. The intrigues of throne ascension is seen in all the activities that build up to Mama Yoko’s ascension and what follows after. These include the poisoning of Gbanya by Musa and Lamboi, the attempts by Lamboi and Musa to keep Yoko away from the dying chief so as to prevent her from being made chief, the false accusation of Mama Yoko of the murder of Jeneba for power rituals, as well as turning the people against Mama Yoko.

Let Me Die Alone has death as a motif. The plays being a tragedy uses death to deepen its sorrowful mood. Death also suggests an ending as well as a new beginning. Gbanya has to pass away so that Mama Yoko can come to the throne. However, when Mama Yoko passes on, we do not know who will succeed her as Lamboi and Musa had run away after being discovered as the murderers of Jeneba. I guess it is likely Lavalie who will take the throne. Again, death is a form of transition in the African cosmology. This is seen when Mama Yoko says that she is ready to begin another cycle. Mama Yoko’s suicide is the height of the tragedy in the play. It is even symbolic as it speaks of what happens when conditions are not favourable for female leadership. It is going to be stifled.

The theme of betrayal in politics is seen in the actions of Lamboi and Musa directed against Gbanya and Mama Yoko. It is also seen in the action of Governor Rowe who reduces the size of Mama Yoko’s domain despite her unflinching loyal to him and his authority. The theme of inordinate ambition is seen in the activities of Lamboi whose ambition to be chief leads him to commit all sorts of atrocities against Mama Yoko and the people of Mende land. In the end, this leads to his running away with his accomplice, Musa.

The theme of extramarital affair is reported between Jilo and Lansana in the play. Lansana has three wives but he is not satisfied with them. He claims he loves Jilo but was unable to marry her. Jilo is drawn to Lansana because he praises her beauty, something her husband, Ndapi, is unable to do. Ndapi also brutalises Jilo and this fuels her urge to revenge through unfaithfulness. The way Ndapi maltreats his wife denotes the theme of domestic violence against women in the play. He steps on her toes to hurt her, complains about her food or its unavailability and does not hesitate to hit or slap her.

The theme of patriarchal perception of the woman is seen in how Gbanya objectifies Mama Yoko at the beginning of the play. He sees her mostly as an object of pleasure. When Mama Yoko tries to resist Gbanya’s advances, Gbanya says: ‘Of what better use is a woman to a man?’ Lamboi and Musa equally believe that Mama Yoko’s duty should be the warming of a man’s bed, and not sitting on the throne of Mende chiefdom.

The theme of power and secret societies in Africa is seen in the play when Lamboi insists that Mama Yoko should join the Poro cult before she can become chief. All important members of the Mende society (the elders) are Poro members, including Gbanya, Lamboi, Ndapi, Musa and Lavalie. It is interesting to note that even Messenger to Governor Rowe is a Poro man.

Characterisation: Among the major characters in the play are Gbanya, Mama Yoko, Lamboi, Musa, Governor Rowe, Ndapi and Jilo. Among the minor characters in the play are Messenger, Lavalie, Lansana, Fanneh, Musu, Guard, 2nd Guard and Sande Girl.

Language and Style: The play is written in postcolonial English. The language of the play is characterised by appropriation and abrogation, transliteration, the use of proverbs, the use of krio vernacular with English, glossing and untranslatable language. In terms of style, the play deploys dramatic irony, situational irony, suspense, foreshadowing, humour, symbols and motifs.