Devil on the Cross

Perhaps more than anything else, Devil on the Cross is a biting satire directed against the powers of neocolonialism and the corruption that is bred by a faulty process of decolonization. As Ngũgĩ shows us through characters like Boss Kĩhara, the Rich Old Man from Ngorika, and the local tycoons present at the Devil's Feast, that even after Kenyan natives fought for their freedoms during Mau Mau and "expelled" the white man after earning their independence, many Black people are happy to work as their proxies behind the scenes, giving off the appearance of self-rule while actually exploiting local people in service of foreign lords. Such corruption of the people against their own countrymen is not just morally wrong, it is in fact cannibalistic, and this is why Ngũgĩ links stories of neocolonial exploitation to the stories told in the novel of man-eating ogres, monsters, and witches. Moreover, the link given in the novel between neocolonial cannibalism and the holy sacrament of the eucharist (as told by the Devil to Warĩĩnga on the Ilmorog golf course) reinforces Ngũgĩ's belief that Western religion has had great power in cementing the rule of neocolonialism over Kenya's people. Indeed, through such details as the Parable of the Talents, tycoon involvement in churches, and the Devil's claim to Warĩĩnga that religion fosters complacency among the peasants (since they believe they will be rewarded in the next life for humble servitude in this life), Ngũgĩ makes it clear that religion is not just tangentially involved in Kenyan neocolonialism, but rather plays a central role in upholding and maintaining it.