Every home functions best when there are clear expectations. House rules are not meant to control but to create harmony and clarity for both the employer and the househelp. They also prevent misunderstandings and protect both parties.

Would the kithitu oath make Waruingi’s family surrender the land to the Macharias? All Macha knew was that he would never surrender; he would keep trying—not once or twice but many times.

Bringing someone into your home as a househelp is a major decision. This is a person who will share your space, care for your children, and interact with your family daily. A careful hiring and onboarding process ensures that you choose the right person and establish a healthy working relationship from the very beginning.

The Macharia family had every reason to hate Kenyatta. Their appeal for restoration of their land had failed, only to boost the success of Chief Waruingi’s family. They could not forgive the Kenyatta’s government for not pardoning Macharia but instead letting him die after years of detention. They had nursed the hope, in collaboration with the disgruntled freedom fighters, that the new government of President Daniel arap Moi would help them find justice.

This first instalment of David Maillu’s upcoming novel 'The Haves and the Have-Nots' opens our new book serialisation series. The novel dissects the dynamics of social relationships in Kenya’s immediate post-independence period, during which the divisions arising from the freedom struggle continued to have a profound effect on the young nation.