Summary

In the New Year, Njoroge and Mwihaki both attend school to find out if they have passed their exams and will progress on to intermediate school. Although they are nervous, they both pass, and run home together to tell their families the good news. At the point where their paths diverge, they hold hands for a moment before separating and going home.

What the children do not realize is that the first day of the strike had also taken place that day and there had been a public meeting. Against the advice of their wives, both Jacobo and Ngotho have attended the meeting. At the meeting, the speakers, who include Boro and Kiarie, narrate the people’s history and the importance of the land to that story, and encourage a peaceful resistance when the police surround the building. At...