Jacobo, Mwihaki's father, is a wealthy chief and pyrethrum farmer. He was, in fact, the first African to be allowed to grow the crop. He owns the land that Ngotho and his family live on, and he works against the Mau Mau uprising as it starts to intensify. Jacobo has good reason for his fear, the uprising not only effects his business, it effects his livelihood. In the end, fear is a result of change and circumstance.... he isn't afraid to die, he is afraid of the repurcussions of violence and the anger of his people, as he forgets where he came from and who he is. In the end, Jacobo is killed.