DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE ARTS

SCHOOL OF PERFORMING ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

TOPIC
ZAKES MDA, YOU FOOL, HOW CAN THE SKY FALL?: BETRAYAL AND

DISILLUSIONMENT IN THE POST- COLONY

BY

WILLIAM ASHONG

INDEX NUMBER:

10108895

COURSE TITLE & CODE:

AFRICAN THEATRE SURVEY (THEA 605)

LECTURER:

DR. AWO MANA ASIEDU & DR. JOYCE OSEI- WUSU

DATE:

7TH OCTOBER, 2016

Introduction

Africans blamed centuries of colonial dominance and exploitation as the cause of African

impoverishment. This later led to the fight for independence- transfer of power from the colonial

master to the indigene. The independence of Africa clearly marked a turning point in the history

of Africa as it emerged victorious from the colonial era into a new period of "post colonialism."

Many had high expectations and desire in the prospects for the newly independent Africa.

For most Africans, the post colony in Africa has failed to live up to its promises and marked the

beginning of increasing betrayal and disillusionment. Some also say the African was not ready

for “self government” as it became clear that for the majority of people nothing had changed and

that domination and exploitation simply continued under a different name.

In this paper, an attempt is made to examine the discourse of betrayal and disillusionment in post

colonial Africa and, by extension, South Africa. One of Zakes Mda’s play’s, “You Fool, How

Can The Sky Fall? is used as the case study for the discussion. It is observed that in Mda’s play,

postcolonial pains in African nations are creatively captured.

Zakes Mda: You Fool, How Can The Sky Fall?

Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda later known as Zakes Mda is one of South Africa’s prolific

playwrights born in 1948 in the Eastern Cape Province, a region that borders the southern part of

Lesotho. Mda’s family were Roman Catholic leaving in a predominantly Methodist area,

although Mda now describes himself as an atheist. In 1963 his father being an ANC activist

emigrated as a political refugee in Lesotho followed by the family. It was in Lesotho as a student

that Mda started his playwright’s career. He later continued his education in Switzerland, United

states and later South Africa where he obtained a Ph D. Mda’s experiences in life such as his

childhood marginalization, abuse, exile and involvement in politics makes him write about

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human beings, families and love. He also takes inspiration from the prevailing political and

social conditions in society. This is portrayed in his play You Fool, How Can The Sky Fall?

The play was written and first performed in 1995.

The play is a critique of the failure of the current democratically elected government led by

blacks to actually liberate the majority of people in Africa (South Africa), demonstrating the

bitter disillusionment that ensues as hopes for liberation are dashed and conditions remain

unchanged and unimproved for the majority of people in the new "post-colonial" Africa.

The play is set in two different periods (apartheid and post apartheid South Africa) this is done in

a cell which serves as both prison and cabinet. The prison represents the old apartheid South

Africa and at another time cabinet.

Mda tells a painful story of a Cabinet in democratic South Africa. All the members of the

cabinet were involved in the country’s freedom struggle. In spite of that, they practise the same

oppressive policies they suffered on their own people. This brought discontent amongst the

people thereby hoping for change.

Betrayal and Disillusionment in “You Fool, How Can The Sky Fall”

According to Uwah (2003:142), the play, “presented in the form of a comedy… comments on

the ugly state of affairs in post-independence Africa using a combination of satire and

symbolism.” The writer uses symbolism to show the different types of people in the post colony

government in the play. The “character” of president is suppose to lead and serve his country, he

is ridiculed as one who is manipulative, corrupt, evil, greedy and over ambitious at the expense

of his own people. This is evident in his dialogue.

PRESIDENT: … And why do they sing praises only when they are naked? Bludgeon them into silence.
That’s what a good Minister of Culture does.

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 PRESIDENT: Truth? What do they know of truth? …yesterday were they not heroes when they stood
their ground in the revolution? Today are they not villains when they want a piece of the national dream?
PRESIDENT: You know, of course, that it is not true that truth is forever.

The president’s corruption is reflected in the way he appointed his cabinet. Each Minister is

appointed to control people of a group that was active during the struggle for freedom. For

instance the Minister of Culture was appointed not to promote culture but to contain it, because

of the cabinet’s fear that artists will employ their art to conscientize the masses against the

president’s corrupt government.

GENERAL: Art is only valid, all art is valid only if it serves the interests of the people. And in what way
can the interests of the people be served, if not by creating master-pieces of their venerable leaders?

Similarly, the Minister of Health, a woman, was appointed to keep women in check, especially

the Daughters of the Revolution.

The Minister’s of Justice and Agriculture are no different but for them to achieve their goals,

they need a head of state with whom the masses can identify.

JUSTICE: Yes to those who disagree with us we bludgeon into submission. It always works.
AGRICULTURE: Truth and the daughters of the revolution are strangers.

The Young Man who Mda uses as his mouth piece in the play is seen as a symbol of the new

generation who stands for the goals and aspirations of the people.

YOUNG MAN: I tell you, Honourable Members of this foolish Cabinet, governments shall come and go.
Empires shall rise and fall. Even civilizations shall come to pass. But art is forever. It lives beyond
politicians, beyond governments, beyond empires, even beyond civilizations.

The Minister’s of Culture and Health are represented as those in government who are caught in

the middle; their actions are neither good nor evil. They are scared of criticizing wrong doings

for fear of condemnation.

CULTURE: The wise one is so wise. We were taught that truth is forever. It never changes at anyone’s
convenience. What was true centuries ago is true today.

Uwah says the comic dialogues in the play will amuse the audience, the message will

nevertheless be clear to them (2003:142). There are deep seated meanings to all of these
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dialogues and to a large extent the title of the play, exemplifies disillusionment of the post

colony.

“It is this pre- occupation with trivial issues to the total neglect of the real issues affecting the

life of the ordinary man in the street that dominates this play and forms the central theme”

(Uwah 2003:142)

The African dream of fighting against colonial rule was for the majority of people to enjoy

dignity, prosperity and freedom. For most Africans, that dream is shattered and that colonialism

was still in existence under a different name. The betrayal of the ordinary people by the leaders

of national liberation struggles, the failure of the fight for freedom to live up to its promises

continue in African countries of which South Africa is not excluded.

In You Fool, How Can The Sky Fall? it is observed that, the cabinet betrays the people by not

addressing issues of their concern for which the fight for freedom was meant. The issues

discussed in cabinet are trivial such as a fellow cabinet member’s child’s wedding.

PRESIDENT: … you all know our colleague’s daughter is getting married in a week’s time, and I take
this opportunity to invite you all to the wedding. I have already sent the necessary instructions to the
ministry of information and broadcasting about the content of their programmes for the period of one week.

PRESIDENT: I do not want to see any of you being devoured by envy or jealousy. You have all served
this government well. You have served your people well, infact. From the days of our glorious revolution
until our victory when we marched into the capital and took over the government. You did not falter. You
were faithful and loyal. Right up to this day. It is not a special favour I am doing for my friend, the
honourable minister of agriculture. It is a reward for his long, faithful and loyal service. I would do it for
anyone of you if you had daughters who were getting married.

This behavior by the ruling class clearly confirms Fanon’s assertion that
“This traditional weakness, which is almost congenital to the national consciousness of underdeveloped
countries, is not solely the result of the mutilation of the colonized people by the colonial regime. It is also
the result of the intellectual laziness of the national middle class, of its spiritual penury, and of the
profoundly cosmopolitan mold that its mind is set in”(1961:149).

The actions of the cabinet, shows the unpreparedness of the African middle class that took over
power at the end of colonialism and their lack of economic ideas to help the masses. Rather their
(cabinet) aim was to secure for themselves all that had been denied them under the colonial
system. This show of bad leadership by the ruling class and selfish interest is what Uwah
(2003:142) in his essay describes as “…irresponsibly carefree about post independence Africa.”

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The discussion about flowers and under whose jurisdiction it fell, the abuse of the Ministry of
information and broadcasting service been blocked from any other news or information for a
whole week to announce the Minister’s daughter’s wedding was unnecessary and waist of
resources. Another irresponsible act at the expense of the people is exhibited in the play when
the Minister’s of Culture and Agriculture fight over their affection for the Minister of health.

AGRICULTURE: (scandalized) You like to impugn my manhood, don’t you? You think you can castrate
me with your words?
HEALTH: My tongue cannot do what nature has already done so effectively.
CULTURE: (standing up) I have this recurring dream, beautiful princess… I walk in a garden full of
flowers… hand in hand with you.
AGRICULTURE: So corny.
HEALTH: Shows how crude you are. To you, of course, flower gardens would be corny. Tell me more
about your garden, little prince.

The Women (Daughters of the revolution) that the president wants to suppress are the very

groups that fought in the struggle for freedom. The group’s criticism is borne from their

dissatisfaction over the government’s failure to deliver and its betrayal of the fight from

colonialism. However, the government is not prepared to listen to their grievances instead resorts

to force just like the colonialist.

PRESIDENT - You have the army behind you, General. Don’t be timid to use it. The police need to do
their work as they have done before. They need to suppress uprisings unhindered.

PRESIDENT: It means theirs was the truth yesterday when they stood in the line of fire and fought in the
revolution. Today we, the inheritors of that revolution, must be resolved to crush them to smithereens. The
daughters of the revolution are yesterday’s news. We are today’s.

This clearly suggests the president’s betrayal of the struggle for freedom and he’s feeling

threatened by groups that were at the forefront of the struggle.

The disillusionment in the post colony spread wide because the majority of people realized

colonization was still in existence but in another form. In the mass struggle to overthrow

colonialism, most people were united with the single purpose of fighting colonialism in a way

that created an image of a united movement. After the freedom from colonial domination had

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been secured, the different interests of the many people who had fought together against

colonialism became obvious. As Lazarus points out that

"The general rhetoric of anticolonialism was reductive. It implied that there was only one struggle to be
waged, and it was a negative one: a struggle against colonialism, not a struggle for anything specific. “As a
result, once colonialism was defeated, a new national bourgeoisie emerged who simply replaced the old
colonial government without making any actual change to the existing social structures”(2011).

The beauty contest as the “young man” explains in the play is a serious one. It is a form of

protest in which women reveal their suffering in the name of freedom and the marginalization

they received after the freedom was achieved. However, instead of addressing their grievances,

the government is irritated by the protest just like its predecessors.

PRESIDENT: There is no satisfying these daughters of the revolution. We have given them symbols. Still
they complain. Great symbols! Flags! Anthems! Street names! All changed to reflect the new order of
freedom. But they happy? No! they want more! What do they want? I’ll tell you what they want. They want
our blood. They want our head on a platter.

YOUNGMAN: they have tried to eat symbols, but they still remain hungry

This implies that there is now a need for social struggle to liberate the masses from greedy,

deceitful and over ambitious leaders as observed by the Daughters of the Revolution. Young man

speaks courageously about them:

YOUNGMAN: …The Daughters of the Revolution are still there, more powerful than ever. They are
closing in, and they are going to cut your balls.

PRESIDENT: What are they planning now?

YOUNGMAN: After the success of their beauty contest they now plan to perform the whole pitiki theatre
of rebirth, including ditolobonya dance, in public, at the market square in full view of everyone…of men of
children…

PRESIDENT: Catastrophe! That’s what it means. The pitiki theatre of rebirth, with its ditolobonya dance,
is a very secret performance that is done by women only for a woman audience. A public performance will
bring catastrophe to the land. We’ve got to stop them at all costs.

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The ‘Pitiki’ and ‘Ditolobonya’ are sacred dances from the president’s description; therefore,

performing this sacred ritual in public demonstrates the women’s determination to fight against

the new oppressive system led by blacks.

Mda shows particular concern about the status of women in the society (women of the

revolution) who live in poorer conditions, their marginalization and demonstrate the ways in

which the conditions of post-colonial society affect their live.

MINISTER OF HEALTH - The age of the disposable male is coming, my friend. It is surely
coming. It’s going to happen one day when the human species has evolved to the great levels of
the black widow.

This neglect of women in national issues that Ama Atta Aidoo in her novel No Sweetness Here

affirms “…the decay of Africa's social, political and economic systems is directly related to the

complete marginalization of women from developmental discourses." Aidoo, thus, argues for an

understanding of women's oppression as it relates to other societal problems and insist on the

urgent need to address women's issues, which have been too often neglected in all liberation

struggles.

The African began to question the fight for freedom as soon as it became obvious that independence

was not the beginning of self-rule; instead, it was the continuation of colonialism through corrupt

arrangements between African governments and global capitalism. Ayi Kwei Armah in his novel,

The Beautyful Ones are Not Yet Born sums it up: “The African ruling classes do not rule in the

interests of African people. If they function at all, they function as agents of white power” (1969:40).

Conclusion

The problem of postcolonial African nations will not be solely blamed at the doorstep of the

colonial masters; rather the indigenous rulers who are even worse than the white colonialists.

The lives of the Youngman and Daughters of the revolution in the play suggest that the post

7
colony in African nations have not been very beneficial to the masses. Therefore, there is

bitterness against the black African rulers who have betrayed their nations. This supports the

assertion of Said (1993:19) that

Blaming the Europeans sweepingly for the misfortunes of the present is not much of an alternative. What
we need to do is to look at the matters as a network of interdependent histories that it would be inaccurate
and senseless to repress, useful and interesting to understand.

Mda foresaw the disillusionment of the masses from other African countries and through his play

warned South Africans of such doom befalling them. With all of these developments, it cannot

be denied that colonialism still affects the African society.

In fact, Mda just like Armah, depict the problems of the post-colony succinctly. They show

clearly their disillusionment and how it affects nations both socially and politically. They assert

bitterly that the events of post colony which should be celebrated have been a nightmare and

betrayal. They depict their continent as a place where the indigenous rulers have failed woefully

to protect their nations from extensive damage.

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References

Armah, A K. (1969) The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. London: Heinemann. (p.40)

Crow, B. with Banfield, C. (1996) An Introduction to Post-Colonial Theatre. Cambridge

University Press.

Fanon, F. (196) Pitfalls of National Consciousness. In The Wretched of the Earth. London:

Penguin (p.149)

Frantz Fanon, (1986) Black Skin, White Masks, London: Pluto Press.

Gilbert, H and Tompkins, J. (1996) Post- Colonial Drama: Theory, Practice, Politics. London:

Routledge.

Jeyifo, B. (2004) Politics, Poetics and Postcolonialism, New York, Cambridge University Press

Lazarus, N. (2011) The Post Colonial Unconcious. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Lazarus, N. (1990) Resistance in Postcolonial African Fiction. New Haven and London: Yale

University Press.

Said, E. (1993) Culture and Imperialism. New York: Vintage Books. (p. 19)

Uwah, Chijioke (2003) The Theme of Political Betrayal in the Plays of Zakes Mda’ In English in
Africa Vol.30 Issue 1, p135-144.