Karamba

Karamba, a long distance truck driver, AIDS patient and health education advocate, teams up with his friend and physicin, Cinzano, to educate the largely ignorant populace via the media about AIDS. Unfortunately, the media itself was not only ignorant of the issues involved in AIDS, but was only looking for an opportunity to feather its nest, exploit Karamba and sensationalize his predicament for mercenary purposes. Government encourages it, seeing that the media stance covers up its ineptitude and corruption, even as top government officials divert funds provided by international donor agencies into personal pockets and lavishly pad condom and ARV contracts awared to cronies and business associates. Dr. Cinzano, a government employed medical practitioner, stepped in on the side of the AID's patients to expose the corruption, deception and exploitation. But alas! He seems to have taken up a fight against a Behemoth, with very slim chance of succss. He lost his job in concocted circumstances, but kept on the fight, which soon assumed a national dimension and attracted the attention of the donor agencies and the international community, both of which promptly stopped further funding. The resulting violence eventually led to spurious allegations sponsored by government against Cinzano aimed at delisitng him from the register of licensed medical practitioners. The process started from a panel set up by government to publicly probe him using beneficiaries of government contracts as members. Unfortunately for government, the public inquiry took a turn that exposed the government in many ways than one.

The story's landscape is that of an impoverished African country firmly held in the throes of the AIDS pandemic, amidst widespread poverty, ignorance and exploitation by the privileged. All this under a climate of repression and government's confusion about how best to tackle public health issues like AIDS pandemic and empowerment of the poor through self employment. The story is a revelation of the real under current issues faced by many African and developing countries as they grapple with the complexity of curtailing the ravages of the Slim disease (AIDS). The story might have indirectly suggested why it seems the international community is losing the war against AIDS on the African continent. In summary, Karamba is a metaphor for government's manipulation, exploitation and gross neglect of the mass of its citizenry by a privileged few in government.