The Green Blood of Gotyomo: A Journey Through Kenyan Memories

A Glimpse into the Past

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there,” writes L. P. Hartley in the famous opening line of his book The Go-Between. The past and present are distinct; yet, at the same time, interchangeable and overlapping. Sometimes a fragment of the past, transported suddenly into the present, detaches itself and floats tentatively in one’s mind like a drifting island. One cannot say from what place, from what season—perhaps, quite simply, from which of one’s dreams—it has come.

This is what a new Kenyan book, The Green Blood of Gotyomo and Other Stories, evokes. Written by Father Thomas Nyutu, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Nakuru, the book is a reminder of a disappeared and probably gentler, if not happier, Kenya.

Ah, the era of maziwa ya Nyayo, government‑issued milk. Each packet came decorated with heroic drawings: girls leaping majestically in netball poses, boys sprinting on a field. But woe unto any boy who was handed a packet featuring girls playing netball! The distribution was random, and as the prefect peeled the carton, boys prayed for the packets with the right masculine image. Inevitably, there were a few unlucky souls. The moment a boy received such a packet, the whole class would gasp as if they’d witnessed a national scandal. Boys would clutch their stomachs in exaggerated laughter, mocking the unlucky fellow. For the rest of the day, he walked around like a marked man — the boy who drank girls’ milk.

A Mythical Kenya

Father Nyutu’s stories unfold in a Kenya that now feels almost mythical — a Kenya of the 1980s and early 1990s. In those years, there was only one blue, famous brand of powder soap (Omo). The main brands of cooking fat were Kimbo (with the famous advert 'pika kwa kimbo') and Cowboy (kwa ladha spesheli). Every juice was Tree Top, and of course, every child had a share of loathing for Cod Liver Oil or cold river oil, as most local folks called it. Bread, he writes, "was always Elliot, which never knew of slicing but landed duhp! as mkate wa boflo.”

He writes that, "The family Sanyo Radio always reminded of maisha bora if people used bidhaa za East African Industries." At the time, Kenya had one state radio and one state television station, which, Father Nyutu writes, “went to bed at around 11 pm or thereabouts and woke up at dawn with some nostalgic coastal instrumental piece... chivoti (flute): pipi piriri piiipi…”

The Media Landscape

The media landscape Father Nyutu paints is from before the early 1990s, when the Nation Media Group, with the arrival of NTV, brought a new freshness to Kenyan screens. Easy FM (later rebranded as Nation FM) — with the velvety voice of Sheila Mwanyigha (Nikki) — became the soundtrack of urban evenings. Other presenters were Munene Nyaga, with his polished delivery and calm on‑air presence; Manny (Emmanuel Mwashumbe) — smooth‑voiced and relaxed, a perfect fit for the station’s mellow format; and, among others, Edward Kwach — a veteran broadcaster whose deep, authoritative voice added gravitas to the line‑up.

As for textbooks, Father Nyutu writes that “the only literature in vogue then was about Mzee Safari, Simon Makonde and the family of Mr and Mrs Kamau.” For many people of a certain age, this was the golden era of Hallo Children, in which Mr and Mrs Kamau lived a cheerful domestic life with their children — Tom, Mary, and Peter. The story of Simon Makonde appears in the early primary English readers, as a man “born on Monday, buried on Sunday.”

The Echoes of Famine

And then Father Nyutu mentions one of the greatest songs of that generation. He writes that “the year is now 1984 and Kenya is competing with Ethiopia, not on some track events of Kipchoge Keino versus Haile Gebrselassie, but on which country starves to extinction first. It is for them that Michael Jackson et al. would later compose the hit We Are the World.” A charity single to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia, We Are the World opens with Lionel Richie’s warm, silky voice that sets the tone. Then Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, enters — his voice a shimmering thread of light, fragile and impossibly tender, lifting the message into a higher emotional register as he crooned, “We are the world.” Other musicians chimed in, and then Bruce Springsteen hit the home run as he burst in like a gust of wind — rugged, raw, gravelly, and gritty — giving the message a muscular urgency.

The Heart of Gotyomo

The book gets its title from the sad story of a place called Gotyomo. Father Nyutu writes, “You will notice you are in that vicinity by the lush expanse of greenery... beneath which is buried the vilest cruelty ever visited on humans in recent history.” Gotyomo was one of the scenes of the Kenyan post‑election violence of 2007–08. He writes, “The green blood that flowed... That very last Sunday of 2007, Batiri gives a ride to a needy she. It is evening... They head west... Total anarchy... soon they are surrounded! Under siege! Final prayers... Rider — he survives... Back in Gotyomo are cries of distress... Armed with nothing but a green rosary he approaches... Right there at the entrance to the estate is a man lying in a pool of green blood; green blood oozes from his eyes, greener from his mouth, greenest from the clogged‑up nostrils.”

The Bullying Experience

Father Nyutu reminds us of the era of bullying of Form Ones when they joined high school. He writes that while in Form One, that first night, Batírí is “handed an empty bottle and sent out to bring it back filled to the brim with darkness...”. The next morning, he sees his tormentors in church when he finds himself “in the school chapel surrounded by angels singing their hearts out; these look very familiar, very close in features to the demons of the previous evening’s torment.”

Father Nyutu also writes playfully, humorously, and in a way that is especially Kenyan when he teases our various accents. He writes of Potapota guys (bodaboda — motorbike riders) and shares a humorous moment: “In a wedding, a Man of God tells the groom, ‘You may now kiss the blind...’” He also writes, “I give you the power to ndu orr that affatains.”

Everyday Life in Kenya

What makes Father Nyutu’s book most interesting is that the work is textured with Kenyan everyday life. The stories resonate with the laughter, the tears, and the shared experiences of a generation. They remind us of our roots, our struggles, and our triumphs.

In a world that often seems to rush past us, Father Nyutu’s writing invites us to pause. It encourages us to reflect on our own stories, our own memories. It reminds us that every life is a tapestry woven with threads of joy, sorrow, and everything in between.

The Importance of Documenting Our Stories

As we navigate our own narratives, we must remember the significance of documenting our lives. Each of us has a story worth telling. Whether it’s the laughter of childhood, the challenges of adolescence, or the wisdom gained through experience, our stories are our legacies. They are the gifts we leave behind for future generations.

Father Nyutu’s work serves as a powerful reminder of this truth. It inspires us to pick up our pens and share our stories. After all, in the grand tapestry of life, every thread matters.

The writer assists people in documenting their memoirs.

johnmwazemba@gmail.com