We took eNotes out of the machine. Read the eNotes Pledge . College Lecturer B.A. from University of Oxford M.A. from University of Oxford Ph.D. from University of Leicester Educator since 2017 794 contributions Oxford graduate with a doctorate in medieval literature and linguistics. "Africa Kills Her Sun" is a 1989 short story by Nigerian writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa . The story is epistolary, meaning it takes the form of a letter from Bana to his girlfriend, Zole. Bana writes that Zole will be surprised to hear from him, but he needs to... (This entire section contains 844 words.) Unlock this Study Guide Now Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime . Already a member? Log in here. say goodbye to her before he leaves her "beautiful world." He describes the letter as a "final act of love," although his colleagues, Sazan and Jimba, do not understand why he needs to write it.

Bana tells Zole that he has always treasured the memory of their love and has drawn strength from it, even though he has not seen Zole for a decade and the love was never consummated. He wants to unburden himself to Zole before he faces a firing squad the following morning. He has bribed a prison guard to deliver the letter. The same guard will call Bana, Sazan, and Jimba to their death; Bana pities his ignorance. Bana imagines that Zole has seen the news of his conviction in the paper but suggests that the nation is too "unfeeling" for anyone to protest the High Court Judge's sentence. The High Court Judge, however, had little choice, as Sazan, Jimba, and Bana all pleaded guilty and demanded to be sentenced and shot as soon as possible, not wanting a lengthy trial or differing sentences for each man. The three men were armed robbers and bandits, and they felt a death sentence would be most honest "to our vocation, to our country, and mankind." They were sent away to think over their demand, but the next day said the same thing to the bafflement and concern of both Judge and spectators. Bana wants to explain why he committed his crime. In Hamburg, a prostitute once told Bana that she had deliberately chosen prostitution as a career, which made Bana consider whether he had chosen his own career in the Merchant Navy. He decided he had not, so he took a job as a clerk in the Ministry of Defense. While there, he realized the system was corrupt, the national treasury being constantly looted. Unwilling to join in the corruption, Bana became an armed robber to fight the system. Bana argues that if robbery is antisocial, so must the Government official who stole over seven million nairas. As a robber, he is prepared to be honest and pay the price for his actions; the official is not. Bana's conscience "sleeps easy." Meanwhile, Sazan and Jimba are also asleep on the prison floor, brave and competent, unafraid of their sentences. Sazan was once in the army, and Jimba was in the police force. The group never killed and committed their crimes with the assistance of the corrupt police. One day, something went wrong during a robbery, and a group of "boys" working with Bana, Sazan, and Jimba shot at police. The three leaders volunteered to be arrested in the place of these men. They felt it was their role. Dawn is now about to break, and the prison guard is asleep. Bana thinks he could escape, but there is no point: it is the prison guard who is really imprisoned by his ignorance, whereas Bana, Sazan, and Jimba will soon be free. Bana describes what will happen later: the men will be taken in a lorry, the Black Maria, to the Beach or the Stadium, where they will be publicly shot after being spoken to by a priest. The priest will pray for them, but Bana feels he should instead be praying for the living who are suffering in this nation. After Bana and his friends are shot, the crowd will leave, and their bodies will be taken to an open mass grave. Newspapers will carry the story. Bana remembers reading about a man who asked to be buried with his walking stick when he was shot. He asks Zole to make a cutting if a photo of him should be printed in the paper and find a sculptor to make a sculpture. Bana will send her some money for this purpose. Sazan and Jimba are awake and surprised that Bana has not slept. He refuses to let them read his letter, which he says is a love letter. He explains that "on this very special night I have felt a need to be close to a living being, someone who can relate to others why we did what we did," but he is not afraid of death. Bana asks Zole to make a grave for him and place the statue on it. He recalls reading about an African leader who once said, over the grave of his lieutenant, "Africa kills her sons." He would like his epitaph to be the more cryptic "Africa Kills Her Sun." The prison guard is jingling his keys, and Bana sends Zole all his love and wishes her goodbye. His "heart is light as the daylight," in contrast to the dark continent of Africa.