Journal Entry – E.B. Dongalo – ‘The Man’

‘The Man’ is story featured in ‘Contemporary African Short Stories’ edited, like the earlier less, erm, contemporary edition by Chinua Achebe and Lynn Innes. I like this story – here’s why:

1)	JAMES BOND-type vibes – it features a lone, unnamed hero – the name’s Man, the Man - who assassinates the head of state, whose pretentious titles are listed in full several times. We root for the hero to prick the pompous tyrant’s balloon. The man escapes snakes, broken glass, guards, mirrors e.t.c. to reach far into the President’s inner quarters, where even the prostitutes fear to tread.

2)	Optimism – the eponymous hero gets indiscriminately killed by government soldiers without any recognition for his heroic achievements – but its still quite cheery! Because no one knows that it was he that did the deed, his actions are cause for national optimism, and he passes into legend.

3)	Its like ‘The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born’ by Armah, but much shorter! And there are fewer distasteful references to people defecating. In both stories, the hero is referred to as ‘the man’, but here is metaphor for change, the power of the people, not their impotence.

The dictator and country are both unnamed, but the description of the former’s palace strongly suggest that Dongalo is referring to the tyrant of his own nation, Mobutu. This is not so much a political commentary, but a speculative scenario of how things could change. In some regards, it is an almost childish dream, but maybe the kind that can be forgiven from one living in social conditions as chaotic as the Democratic Republic of Congo.