Inheritance Sample Essays and Questions

1."Citizens who have poor leaders are likely to endure hardships'' Write an essay validating the above assertion using illustration from David Mulwa's Inheritance.

The natives of Kutula face numerous problems brought on by their leaders. This is clearly demonstrated by leaders such as Lacuna Kasoo in David Mulwa Inheritance.

To begin with,Judah Zen melo is the leader of the zelous party. He works for Lacuna, a ruler who reigns with an iron fist and does not take no for an answer. Bengo was a political activist who was critical of Lacuna's leadership, so Lacuna approaches Judah and asks him to prove his commitment by killing Bengo. Judah refuses because blood is thicker than water and ends up getting beaten to pulp by Lacuna's men, nearly killing him if it weren't for doctor Jonathan who nursed him back to health. Judah flees his home, fearing for his life, in search of elusive jobs. He takes a position as a gate keeper at Lacuna's mines, but he is dissatisfied. He buys Mithambo, the mine's manager, drinks every evening and forges his certificates to become the machine operator. Despite getting this work, it is still insufficient to meet his family's needs, as the money he sends Tamina is insufficient to cover Lulu's school tuition.Judah describes to Tamina how mine workers are exploited, working long hours for little money. A coworker who took time to pray was sacked; individuals who exhibit indications of old age are replaced by youthful blood. Judah informs her that the only time they can sleep is when they are six feet underground. Later, Judah 'accidentally' dies at the mines, and we learn through Robert that his death was orchestrated by Lacuna.

In addition,Tamina, Judah's wife, is 45 years old but appears older owing to the agony inflicted on her family by Lacuna. She used to live in a government mansion and drive expensive cars. Her difficulties began when Bengo became involved in politics, protesting to Lacuna's leadership, and Judah was urged to prove his allegiance by killing him. Due to Judah's rejection, they were evicted from their home and relocated to a grass thatched dwelling. As if that wasn't enough, Lacuna grants Chipande a license to cultivate coffee. Tamina is obliged to sell her plot of land to Chipande for very little money and to work on the land for very little salary since she is unable to grow coffee.Tamina also complains that they must preserve every drop of water because Lacuna and Chipande organized on a dam that was only half-filled. Because they were all channeled to the dam, all of the brooks and springs had dried up. The natives walk from sunrise to night to collect the valuable product.

Futhermore, Bengo is a political activist  who campaigned as a member of parliament against Lacuna's authoritarian leadership, nearly winning by a landslide but losing to Chipande after he was arrested and jailed. Chipande distributed food, and people who were hungry picked Chipande instead. Bengo is illegally imprisoned for twenty years. He has nothing after his release from prison , and Tamina, his in-law, does not want to associate with him because he is an opponent of leader Lacuna. Bengo, as part of the quiet insurrection, met up with others in the forest at night, afraid for their lives because Lacuna had asked that all decedents be tracked down and killed on sight.

Lastly Lulu is a teen in her final year of secondary school. She complains to her mother that the principal sent home all kids who had not paid their school fees. She wants to be a doctor like Dr. Jonathan Sangoi's husband, but because they are poor, that dream is in danger of being crushed. Lulu urges her mother to ask King Lacuna for help, but she refuses, claiming that their poverty is due to leader Lacuna. Tamina is unable to borrow from her pals because they, too, are impoverished. This incident leads to a conflict with Lulu, who becomes enraged at her for labeling her a coward and failing to stand up to inept leadership.Lulu threatens to use her attractiveness to attain her goal of becoming a doctor.

Tamina denies Lulu the opportunity to attend the King Kutula remembrance ceremony. Lulu was chosen as the lead dancer because she was the best. Sangoi persuades Tamina to let Lulu attend, knowing full well that Lacuna will not take no for an answer. Lulu represented the youth in the commemoration ceremony, bridging the gap between the old and the young. Lacuna, on the other hand, is immensely lusty and disregards Malipoa's advice that Lulu must remain pure. Lacuna proposes to Lulu to marry him, but she declines since she is principled and cannot envision herself wedded to a guy her father's age. Lacuna promises her power and fortune, but Lulu refuses, and when he tries to kiss her, she pulls him away. Lacuna becomes enraged and slaps her; he imprisons her in the palace and refuses to allow her to grieve her father, Judah Zen Melo. In the clutches of King Lacuna, Lulu suffers both physically and mentally.

In conclusion, it is apparent from the examples above that citizens who have inept leaders suffer as a result of their incompetence.

2. Write an essay to show how citizens suffer due to bad leadership. Base your arguments on David Mulwa’s Inheritance.

Citizens suffer the brunt of ineffective leadership. In David Mulwa's novel 'Inheritance,' Lacuna Kasoo is a dictator who expects to be obeyed. Those who refuse to obey him suffer punishments such as jail, among other things.

Lacuna requests that Judah Zen Melo assassinate his brother Bengo since Bengo opposes him. When Judah refuses, Lacuna kicks him out and he can't find work. In his absence, his family struggles because Tamina, his wife, is unable to make ends meet.

Poor leadership creates hardship because Lacuna refuses to issue licences to farmers, preventing them from growing or selling their products. He then inexpensively purchases the land and employs others as slaves on their fields.

Lacuna hires members of his tribe even if they are ignorant because he values loyalty even if it means sacrificing efficiency.

Lulu and 300 other students are ordered home to pay school fees because the school wants a perimeter wall, a computer lab, and money for exams.

Lacuna, as a leader, hides money in foreign accounts, and the people pay enormous taxes to repay the loans he enjoys with his ministers and councillors.

Lacuna constructs a dam for the imperialists, and the villagers spend an entire day extracting a small amount of the precious product from the dam. Lacuna is adamant about marrying Lulu because, as a leader, he believes he can do whatever he wants. He even assassinates Lulu's father, causing Tamina and Lulu immense pain.

Citizens are almost always the victims of poor leadership. For the benefit of a stable and healthy nation for all, this vice should be eliminated.

3. “A leader’s character traits can contribute to their downfall.” Using examples from the lives of Lacuna Kasoo,write an essay to illustrate the truth of this statement.

The success of any leader governing a country depends to a greater extent on his character traits. When a leader’s character is tainted, then such a leader loses the moral standing to govern and therefore his downfall is imminent.

i. First, Lacuna Kazoo is proud and condescending. He creates a gap between himself and the citizens by impoverishing them and making himself extremely rich. For example, he brags that he cannot move around in an insect of a car. His people finally turn against him.

ii. Secondly, he’s randy and immoral. He portrays an insatiable desire to marry Lulu to get a new lease of life and get connected with the dead and the unborn. He misuses government officials and public funds in planning night escapade with Lulu thus impoverishing the citizens further. This contributed to his subjects rejecting him.

iii. Thirdly, the leader is greedy/wasteful/materialistic. He borrows heavily from foreign countries and ends up misusing the funds. He also stows it away in foreign accounts thus impoverishing his subjects further making his subjects dissatisfied with his leadership and so bringing his regime down.

iv. Fourth, he is cruel/ruthless/inhuman. He kills his own father by poisoning him. He also puts Romanus Bengo into jail for posing a threat to him politically. He plans to use the man’s brother to kill the activist and when he refuses, he is killed in a ‘planned accident’. This inhuman act and others of the same nature angers the citizens so much that they organize to overthrow him.

It is evident that a leader’s flawed character traits lead to suffering of both the ruler and the ruled/subject. 

4.A person’s weaknesses can lead to their downfall. Justify the statement using the character Lacuna Kasoo in the play Inheritance by David Mulwa.

David Mulwa’s play, “Inheritance”, is a satirical play which is mocking the bad characteristics of Leader Lacuna Kasoo, which are key contributors to his downfall. 

He is like the mythical Greek kings who got drunk with power, to extent that they mock God, and longer care about the feelings of their fellow human beings.

Firstly, Lacuna Kasoo is seen to be Materialistic. He has a desire to get all the wealth in the world, even if it is at the expense of his people. He borrows from foreign countries, and funnily enough, he misappropriates the money and even goes to store it in Foreign accounts, opened in the same banks he had borrowed from, in the name of Kutula.

Secondly, he is also seen to be lustful. This is the major trait that contributes to his downfall. He develops an insatiable desire to marry Lulu and have sex with her, because according to him, this will give him a new lease of life, and also helps him connect with the Dead and the unborn. This is evident in the fact that he pulls

his key advisors on governance matters into the petty issue of planning his night escapade with lulu. This makes him blind to the state of the nation. He also falls out with Robert, one of the financiers because he talked to Lulu. He finally is thrown out of power because the foreign power does not support him anymore.

Thirdly his pride is another major contributor to his downfall. He is first of all very determined to create a gap between himself and the citizens. This he does by impoverishing them and making himself super rich. He says that he cannot move around in an insect of a car whereas other world leaders a rolling across the sky. He buys himself a plane, and even at some point compares himself to God. This later sees to his downfall, because all people turn against him. Also, he is temperamental. This makes him to make rush decisions which make him fall into trouble. He jails the foreign financiers after Robert freezes his accounts to recover part of the loan he had taken. This is despite the advice by Chipande against the same. He also orders for the evacuation of the people from Bukelenge valley so that the foreigners can occupy it and do farming. Another poor decision which he makes in a rush is to introduce martial law, and enclose all his people in their houses in a 24hour curfew. This only serves to fuel the rebellion of his subjects.

In addition to that, he is cruel leader. It is evident in the fact that he kills his own father by poisoning him. He also jails Romanus Bengo for giving him stiff political competition and even winning against him. For that, he wants to kill him. He tries to use his brother, Be go to execute the killing and when he refuses, he is sacked

and later beaten ruthlessly and dumped at his door. He is finally killed in an ‘accident ‘ in Lacuna Kasoo mines. This infuriates the citizens, particularly Ramanus Bengo, who leads the rest in overthrowing him. This we can say was Lacuna’s own making.

In conclusion, we can say that the traits mentioned above, among others, are contributors to Lacuna Kasoo’s downfall.

5.Using David Mulwa’s play Inheritance write an essay on the inhuman nature of despotic heads of

states.

Lacuna is a dictatorial head of state who rises to power after killing his own father. He rules his subjects with an iron fist. Under him people continue to suffer.

 Cruelty: Lacuna through his government officials closes down water sources that were accessible to people like Tamina and forces them to draw water from a common source that is very far. He also requires the workers to

work without breaks and with little pay. When a worker takes a few minutes off to pray he is laid off. Lacuna’s system is also to blame for deaths of people like Zen Melo. He also directs that the demonstrators be shot

 Self-centeredness: Lacuna gets foreign aid in the name of helping his people to develop. He however doesn’t do

this as seen in the text. He buys himself an aircraft and allows his officials to squander the rest.

 Insensitivity: Lacuna directs Zen Melo to eliminate his own brother whom he does not like. He is also very insensitive to the plight of his subjects. The suffering of his subjects are well reflected in Tamina and her family. She loses her land, has to go very far for water, work for long hours, and raise her daughter’s school fees. In the

end she gets depressed.

 Dictatorial: Lacuna disregards the advice of his officials and proceeds to do what he deems right. He even directs Malipoa not to think. He forcefully wishes to displace a population from the valley and hand it over to foreign investors. When challenged he intends to use the military to achieve this. When people demonstrate

against his dictatorial decisions he directs that the military deals with them. This is because he cannot stomach any opposition

 A despot rises to power to benefit himself and make people’s lives difficult. This is the case with Lacuna as discussed above.

6.Write an essay showing how “Bad leadership is dehumanizing”. Draw your illustrations from David Mulwa’s Inheritance

Whether the citizens of a country subjects of a given regime enjoy life or not is determined by those in power. Good policies create a healthy aura for a people to lead worthy lives. The people of Kutula suffer as a result of unpalatable

leadership.

 Lacuna employs his people as seen through Jamina’s comments that Lacuna hasn’t seen anyone else apart from his tribesmen (pg29). The manager at mines comes from his tribe. (Pg34)

 He drives citizens away from there homes in the valley so as to get finding from the British Empire.

 The people are subjected to murder. Lacuna kills Zen after he refuses to allow him to marry his daughter Lulu

 Lacuna’s corruption nature exposes the citizens to heavy debts and over taxation. He borrows money from foreign countries and embezzles it. He purchases a personal aircraft. He hides money in foreign accounts. (pg111)

 Lacuna rains the economy of the people makes there lives deplorable. Health, infrastructure, transport e.t.c. are in a sorry state

 He locks Lulu at the palace against her will. He shuts her dream to become a doctor. He wants to make her his younger wife. Tamina is tormented by the daughter’s abduction. 

https://www.sembanotes.com/2023/08/chapter-six-fathers-of-nations-episodic-approach.html

7.Inheriting a top seat without merit only invites ridicule from subjects. Write an essay showing how satire has been used in The Inheritance by David Mulwa.

Introduction:

In the Inheritance, Mulwa exposes the vices in Kutula colony by Lacuna and his government in a rather exaggerated manner.

Body 

King Lacuna abuses power and takes advantages of his position to exploit and oppress his subjects. He orders the killing of anyone who opposes his leadership. He asked Juda Zen Melo to kill his brother Bengo who is an activist and a threat to his leadership.When he refuses, he faces the consequences by being sacked and evicted from the government house and his car is taken away. He is also forced to sell his farm to Lacuna’s Cronies for peanuts and the wife is forced to work in the same farm to make ends meet.

 His leadership is also satirized when he uses money meant for the country’s economic grown for his own selfish gains. He buys an aircraft and deposits the rest in his own account in the same banks that lend the money.

 His greed for power is highly satirized. It is ridiculous that he takes his father’s life so that he can get to power. He colludes with the imperialists to poison his father so that he is installed the new king.

 The imperialists are also satirized. Their despising and demeaning attitude towards the blacks is highly criticized.

 It is laughable that the financiers justify such conditions in the name of helping the people. It is expected that financiers would be sensitive and practical in their demands.

 Others satirized include kings cronies like chipande and government officials who worship him, and are ready to do anything to please him.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it is quite clear that the author has satirized the poor leadership and the resulting

predicaments.

8 Misuse of power is a common phenomenon in most African countries.' Basing your illustrations on inheritance by David Mulwa, write an essay to validate this statement.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. When individuals get power, it gets into their heads. Leaders tend to forget that they have ascended to power courtesy of the citizens and use the same privileges to look down and oppress their subjects. Basically they have no regard for the people who elected them to that

point.

 Judith Zen Melo is kicked out of his work because he refuses to be involved in the killing of his brother Bengo, more so they take his land.

 Chipande uses his influence as a councillor to buy Tamina’s land on the mountains cheaply, for peanuts, and then he goes ahead to ensure that no one is given license to grow coffee for he fears competition.

 Most people employed in Kutula government are Leader Lacuna’s tribesmen and kinsmen. Tamina comments that Lacuna hasn’t seen anyone else apart from his tribesmen. The manager at the mines where Zen Melo works as a gateman is a tribesman of Lacuna.

 Lacuna sacks all employees and employs people from his tribe when he is confronted with protests and rebels against his leadership, in addition he declares martial law and a curfew so that he could track down the dissidents and rebels. He orders the killing of deserters.

 Lacuna detains Lulu against her will at the palace. He kisses her forcefully and wants to marry her against her

will.

 Since he has power, Lacuna orders the removal of inhabitants of the valley such that the foreigners should occupy it. Goldstein wants to use his position to ensure that they benefit fully from the business arrangement with Kutula through the interests earned on the loans advanced to Kutula.

 Lacuna lines his pocket with money as well as giving to his close supporters. This in appropriation of state resources is an abuse of office.

 9.‘‘Lacuna is an epitome of evil”. Drawing examples from David Mulwa’s Inheritance, write an essay illustrating the truth of this statement.

Introduction (2mks)

Most African leaders who took over the independence were very wicked, such leaders include Lacuna Kasoo who poisoned his own father to death.

(Accept any other valid introduction)

Body

 He is very immoral. He has many concubines (pg. 29)

 He ruins the economy of Katula by offering free advice to people eg health, infrastructure, transport etc.

 He is very tribal only employs his people seen through Tamina’s comments that Lucina hasn’t seen anyone else apart from his tribesmen(pg29). The manager at the mines comes from his tribe pg34

 He drives citizens out of their homes in the valley, so as to get funding from the British empire

 He murdered Zen Melo after he refuses to marry his daughter Lulu(pg120)

 He borrows money from foreign countries but embezzles-purchases personal aircraft.

 Hides money in foreign accounts(pg111)

 locks Lulu at the palace against her will. He wants to make her his younger wife

accept any valid 4 points: mark 3:3:3:3

conclusions (2mks)

 It is not good to be like Lacuna. This is because it will lead to suffering of people.

Accept any other relevant conclusion

10.Write an essay to show how citizens suffer due to bad leadership. Base your arguments on David Mulwa’s Inheritance.

Introduction

The citizens suffer because of bad leadership. Lacuna Kasoo is a dictator who demands to be obeyed. Those who refuse to obey him are incarcerated or killed. Those who oppose him, like Bengo, are imprisoned.

 

Lacuna asks Judah Zen Melo to kill his brother Bengo because Bengo is opposing him. When Judah refuses, he is put out by Lacuna and he cannot get employment. His family suffers in his absence as Tamina his wife cannot make ends meet.

Bad leadership causes suffering because Lacuna refuses to give licenses to farmers and they cannot grow or sell their products. He then buys the land cheaply and other people work on their farms as slaves. Lacuna employs people from his clan even when they are uneducated because he wants loyalty even if it is at the

expense of efficiency.

Lulu and 300 other children are sent home for school fees as the school wants a perimeter wall and a computer laboratory, and money for examinations.

As a leader, Lacuna stashes away money in foreign accounts and the people are charged high taxes in order to repay the loans that he enjoys with his ministers and councilors.

Lacuna gives the imperialists a dam and the people spend a whole day getting a little amount of the precious commodity from the dam. Lacuna wants to marry Lulu forcefully because, as a leader, he assumes that he can do whatever he wants. He even has Lulu’s father murdered and this causes Tamina and Lulu untold suffering.

Conclusion

Bad leadership brings a lot of suffering to the citizens. They lack food and basic necessities like water, they lose their loved ones like Tamina and Lulu, ‘they also lose their property. This causes disillusionment among the

people.

 

11.Using David Mulwa ‘Inheritance’ write an essay showing the appropriateness of the title ‘Inheritance’

introduction

The plays main concern is the conflict between African natives and white settler. The settlers have occupied land originally owned by the Africans. The local people are also fighting for their resources and leadership.

The British occupation of African land result resulted to the loss of African resources. While they pretend to be bringing civilization to the people of Africa in the form of education hospital and modern infrastructure.

Motivated by the desire to tap resources the British grab vast tracks of land from the local people for mining farming and settlement. They displace many and put others into forced labour. The invaders use Africa as source of raw materials.

King Kitula leads a country wide uprising to reclaim their land and to inherit what the whites have robbed them. They also want to reclaim their freedom. The white men rule is brought to an end.

King Kutula xv inherits the leadership from British masters. King Kutula’s leadership is later inherited by his son Lacuna Kasoo. Lacuna is deceived by the imperialist to kill his own father. Knowing Lacuna’s greed for power they promise to groom him to leadership after he eliminates King Kutula. Lacuna then inherits the leadership after the death of his father.

When Lacuna gets to power, the white man is back disguised as a friend and a business partner. However they have a hidden agenda, controlling and manipulating Lacuna. The Whiteman continues controlling Lacuna’s government

remotely.

The Whiteman gives some conditions to Lacuna which makes him dictatorial and hostile to his own people. The locals are displaced from Bulenge Mountains. The water resources are diverted to the dams to be used for irrigation. This leads to severe water shortage and drought.

Faced by the threat of losing their land, depletion of their resources and oppressive leadership, the local people stage a civil revolution where Lacuna is overthrown. The foreigners deported to their country. The local people take back

their country and their resources.

12.The citizens of Kutula have been betrayed by their leaders and have become disillusioned’’ Basing your essay on David Mulwa’s Play The inheritance, Write an Essay to justify this statement. (20mks)

Introduction

As a result of bad leadership the people of Kutula are disappointed by their leaders who have impoverished those broken families and gotten them into debt. They suffer from injustice in the hands of their own leaders.

Bi Lacuna grabs the people’s wealth

 He kills his father the people’s leader and takes the crown.

 He keeps Money in foreign Accounts that he has embezzled from Kutula

 Buys a plane with the people’s money

 He ruins down the economy

 The people feel hopeless. Timina changes her name from Anna to Timina because she feels she cannot associate with the same God as Lacuna.

B.ii The people suffer because of corruption.

 Judah invests in bribing Mithambo (his boss) with drinks to get the job of machine operator.

 His family suffers when he does not send money home.

 Lulu his daughter is sent home from school. For her God does not exist for he cannot allow such suffering of them if he did, she is disillusioned.

B iii Lucana thrives on nepotism.

 He rewards sycophants and his clansmen

 Qualified citizens are left unemployed

 Those that are employed are poorly paid and overtaxed.

 Judah Zen Melo loses hope in God loses desire to pray.

B iv Many people are killed while others disappear.

 On the night of Lucana’s inauguration many people disappear.

 Judah is killed for refusal to allow Lacuna to marry Lulu.

 Judah’s death and locking up of Lulu makes Tamina to go insane.

Conclusion.

It is important that when we are entrusted with leadership we take good care of citizen protect their property and

avoid all vices that may make their live difficult.

13.Write an essay showing how “Bad leadership is dehumanizing.” Draw your illustrations from David Mulwa’s “Inheritance.”

Introduction

Whether the citizens of a country subjects of a givrn regime enjoy life or not is determined by those in power. Good policies create a healthy aura for a people to lead worthy lives. The people of Kutula suffer as a result of unpalatable leadership.

(accept any other valid introduction 2 mks)

Content

 Lacuna employs his people as seen through Jamina’s comments that Lacuna hasn’t seen anyone else apart from his tribesmen (pg 29). The manager at mines comes from his tribe. (Pg 34)

 He drives citizens away from their homes in the valley so as to get funding from the British Empire.

 The people are subjected to murder. Lacuna kills Zen after he refuses to allow him to marry his daughter Lulu

 Lacuna’s corrupt nature exposes the citizens to heavy debts and over taxation. He borrows money from foreign countries and embezzles it. He purchases a personal aircraft. He hide money in foreign accounts. (Pg 111)

 Lacuna ruins the economy of the people/ makes their lives deplorable. Health, infrastructure, transport e.t.c. are in a sorry state.

 He locks Lulu at the palace against her will. He shuts her dream to become a doctor. He wants to make her his younger wife. Tamina is tormented by the daughter’s abduction.

 (accept any 4 valid points. Marks 3:3:3:3 = 12 marks)

NB: (accept any valid conclusion 2 mks)

14.Bad leadership can lead to suffering of citizens of the country. Basing your arguments on inheritance by David Mulwa write an essay to support his statement.

Introduction.

Poor governance causes hardship to the country. Such leadership is driven by greed. Any decision made is to the detriment of the country. For example, bad leaders gives jobs on the basis of tribal affiliations or loyalty. This is bad for a country as such people may not necessary be fit for those jobs. Also, such leaders loot their

nation’s economy. In Inheritance, Lacuna Kasoo mismanages Kutula Republic and makes citizens suffer.

Body 

The citizens are poor. Tamina works for very little pay and what she earns is not enough for the domestic expenses. When she is given eight hundred shillings by her husband, she gets frustrated as the money is not enough to cover all her expenses. Also from the description of their house, it is clear that the family is poor.

This is attributable to the economic mismanagement of the country by Lacuna. For example, he stashes money in foreign countries and lives in luxury, even owning a private jet. Land is taken away from them. Tamina is forced to sell her land to Chipande. Lacuna is to blame as he favours Chipande in decreeing the coffee can only be grown by Chipande. She is now forced to work for very little pay

on a land that used to be hers. Also Lacuna attempts to displace people from their land by force as demanded by colonial powers. Citizens suffer false imprisonment. Bengo is imprisoned for daring to stand for election against Lacuna Kasoo.

Also Lulu Zen Melo was held at the palace by Lacuna against her will with the intention of deflowering her for the purpose of cementing his position as a leader.

There are murders and attempted murders in Kutula. Anyone who is perceived enemy of Lacuna is killed. Judah Zen Melo is beaten and left for dead for refusing to eliminate his brother Bengo Zen Melo who is perceived as a threat to the leadership of Lacuna. Later, Judah is killed in what is made to look like an accident.

Citizens are disillusioned. Lulu and Judah have gotten so disillusioned that they give up on God. Judah says that he has not looked up since he decided to struggle on his own. Lulu also wonders if God is still there in that valley. All this is attributed to the suffering they have undergone as a result of Lacuna’s misrule. Lulu is sent away from school as her mother cannot raise the exorbitant school fees, Judah is overworked and underpaid and Tamina works for very little pay.

Conclusion.

In conclusion, when a country is mismanaged by a bad leader, the citizens suffer greatly. It is important for leaders to be accountable to their citizens and run to their country in a democratic manner for the good of the citizens.

15.Abuse of power has led to failure of many countries in Africa and elsewhere in the world. With relevant examples from Inheritance, write an essay to illustrate this statement.

Introduction

Generally explain with examples tied to the question on the despotic nature of African leaders Eg: in Africa, there is massive corruption, extra-judicial killing and inefficiency which jeopardize the lives of the people.

Points of interpretation

1. Lacuna Kasoo is a corrupt person. He collaborates with foreign investors and steals money meant for development and stashes it in his foreign accounts.

2. Lacuna Kasoo is lustful. This is because he wants to forcefully marry lulu and even confines her in his palace in preparation for the ceremony.

3. Lacuna Kasoo is murderous. He plans to eliminate Bengo by sending Judah Zen Melo. He says that he has a thorn in his political side and therefore wants Judah to pluck it out.

4. Lacuna Kasoo is dictatorial. This is portrayed when he orders Meshak to crush the dissidents, starve and impose a curfew to the citizens.

5. Lacuna Kasoo is traitorous. He abuses power bestowed on him in order to lead the people. He vehemently goes against the wishes of his people and ancestors.

Conclusion

Give an opinion e.g African leaders should not emulate leaders like Lacuna Kasoo.

16.The peace, stability and growth of a nation is dependent on the people in leadership. Write an essay in support of this assertion using illustrations from Inheritance.

INTRODUCTION

Everything rises and falls on leadership. Good leaders ensure a nation’s success whereas bad ones lead a nation to its

downfall.

POINTS OF INTERPRETATION

 King Kutula XV protected Kutula citizens from unnecessary exploitation by the whites. He expresses his displeasure to Bishop Menninger and Thorne Macay because of how the Whites have taken over their land. He leads the natives into a war that sees the departure of the colonialists and Kutula becoming a republic.

 Lacuna’s leadership has propagated tribalism and other forms of stratification in Kutula. Tamina tells Lulu that since Lacuna’s appointment, he has not seen anyone except his tribesmen. The manager at the mines, Mithambo, is a tribesman of Lacuna. He instructs Meshak to comb his backyard and look for loyal men from his tribe. He has given people positions based on tribalism and nepotism something that leaves the others suffering and that is why there is an uprising to overthrow his government.

 Lacuna’s leadership places his people at a vulnerable position to be exploited by foreign powers. He has borrowed a lot in the name of development. At the same time the exports have declined and it is obvious that the state is getting a raw deal from the export of minearls. Lacuna’s government joins the foreign powers in

exploiting the people instead of protecting them.

 The government has not invested in infrastructural development. Judah complains of the poor state of roads whereas Tamina has to walk long distances to get water. Instead of purchasing machines to service the mines. Lacuna buys a private plane so that he can fly above the poor people.

 Besides wastage of public resources in parties, Lacuna and his cronies are excessively corrupt. He, himself has stashed a lot of money in foreign banks. He does not effectively supervise his officials who use the opportunity to

embezzle funds and pay him something for loyalty.

CONCLUSION

The government of Kutula under the leadership of Lacuna bring the economy of Kutula to its mess. It is because of their bad governance that the people undergo untold suffering something that triggers an uprising and Lacuna is ultimately dethroned.

17.Using the play, Inheritance, explain the saying: the mouth that eats the seeds asks what it will plant.

Lacuna is described as a lazy greedy man with a liking for carnal pleasures. It is in pursuit of his pleasures that he ends up destroying the foundation of the economic and political independence of his people.

He believes in entertaining his guests, sometimes even referring to the age-old tradition of breaking kora. But he does not think kora is good enough for a man of his stature and the kind of guests that he gets. We would assume kora is home-grown, but he goes for the more exotic, and nutritious apple which we can safely assume is not grown locally. His parties flow with imported wine and coffee re-exported from England to his country. He is also too good to travel overland and has acquired a plane to soar over the gossip, complaints and envy of his people. His court seems to be an endless succession of one party after the other and there are impromptu holidays for his people. These are not ways in which to develop a country's economy.

At the time of his ascension to the throne, there was some rudimentary industrialization that was taking off. But it appears as if it was not fast enough for him and his foreign masters. They loaned him money to buy more machines for

the silver mines and service the existing ones. But in his total lack of wisdom and greed, he diverted the money to subsidies and bought only one machine. He also took some of the money from the ministries and banked it abroad,

Consequently, production has sunk to all-time lows. There is nothing coming from the coffee and tea farms. Production in the silver mines has declined by 15%. Therefore, the country is standing on very shaky economic grounds. When his masters ask to be paid back, he wonders how he will raise the money, yet it is his poor economic policies and misappropriation of funds that have led him to his current situation.

The white masters are even threatening to dethrone him as they have so eloquently done when Goldstein sits on his throne as he grovels on the floor. The moment he abandons the economic policies of his father that were grounded on freedom, he was eating up the seeds, so he should not be asking plaintively where he is to get the money to pay up old debts and the interest.

Lacuna also ate up the seeds of social development. His father had started the society on some kind of education, however rudimentary. Now it is impossible for children to go to school because of the many levies that are imposed. There is also a lot of hopelessness among people who are educated but cannot get jobs. The moral compass is lost because he was so disdainful of the religion and education that his father had introduced that he did not support them. He prefers an ignorant superstitious people whom he can continue ruling as subjects and manipulating in meaningless rituals like the yearly rebirth ritual.

He destroys the people and their aspirations and still expects them to support him to reclaim the sovereignty  that Goldstein and Robert have taken.These are the same people who cannot even produce enough food because they lack the means. Their farmlands have also been bought by Lacuna's cronies who have the money. These are the same people who are so poor that they have destroyed forests. Now there is no water and they can only farm if they use irrigation which may not be possible unless bankrolled by the west — and he is busy fighting them. These are the same people he is forcing out of their homes so that he can give the land over to Robert and company. He orders an oppressive curfew on the people and is planning to withhold their salaries. He has also retrenched them from their jobs and done away with their subsidies.

The king has destroyed any good will the people would have had for him, yet he expects them to join him as he fights for what he calls sovereignty. We are also told that he has created many enemies in his quest to consolidate his

leadership. These include Bengo, who was jailed and later comes back to start a rebellion against him. He seems very contemptuous of his wife, Melissa and his adopted sister, Sangoi. In his final act of folly, he sacks his supporter Chipande and worse his spiritual guide, Malipoa, who at least could direct his actions towards patience and a second opinion. He is busy destroying the seeds that would have germinated to some good in his life. The king has destroyed

the foundation of the country's economy. He betrays the dreams of his people when they rebelled against the white man. He has betrayed the vision of his father to develop a country of free and proud people who would live as equals to the white man. He has traded away their economic independence and unconsciously, their political freedom. He has nobody but himself to blame for the misery that befalls him personally, and his country.

18.The citizens of Katula have been betrayed by their leaders and become disillusioned. Basing your essay on David Mulwa’s Play, The Inheritance, Justify this Statement

The citizens of Kutula have been betrayed by their leaders and have become disillusioned’’ Basing your essay on David Mulwa’s Play The inheritance, Write an Essay to justify this statement. (20mks)

       Introduction

       As a result of bad leadership the people of Kutula are disappointed by their leaders who have impoverished those broken families and gotten them into debt. They suffer from injustice in the hands of their own leaders.

Bi    Lacuna grabs the people’s wealth

-          He kills his father the people’s leader and takes the crown.

-          He keeps Money in foreign Accounts that he has embezzled from Kutula

-          Buys  a plane with the people’s money

-          He ruins down the economy

-          The people feel hopeless. Timina changes her name from Anna to Timina because she feels she cannot associate with the same God as Lacuna.

B.ii The people suffer because of corruption.

-          Judah invests in bribing Mithambo (his boss) with drinks to get the job of machine operator.

-          His family suffers when he does not send money home.

-          Lulu his daughter is sent home from school. For her God does not exist for he cannot allow such suffering of them if he did, she is disillusioned.

B iii Lucana thrives on nepotism.

-          He rewards sycophants and his clansmen

-          Qualified citizens are left unemployed

-          Those that are employed are poorly paid and overtaxed.

-          Judah Zen Melo loses hope in God loses desire to pray.

B iv Many people are killed while others disappear.

-          On the night of Lucana’s inauguration many people disappear.

-          Judah is killed for refusal to allow Lacuna to marry Lulu.

-          Judah’s death and locking up of Lulu makes Tamina to go insane.

       Conclusion.

       It is important that when we are entrusted with leadership we take good care of citizen protect their property and avoid all vices that may make their live difficult.

19. Write an essay to show how citizens suffer due to bad leadership. Base your arguments on the play ‘Inheritance.

Introduction
The citizens bear the brunt of bad leadership. In David Mulwa’s ‘Inheritance, ‘Lacuna Kasoo is a dictator who demands to be obeyed. Those who refuse to obey him face consequences such as incarceration, imprisonment among others. 
Illustrations
Lacuna asks Judah Zen Melo to kill his brother Bengo because Bengo is opposing him. When Judah refuses, he is put out by Lacuna and he cannot get employment. His family suffers in his absence as Tamina his wife cannot make ends meet.
 
Bad leadership causes suffering because Lacuna refuses to give licenses to farmers and they cannot grow or sell their products. He then buys the land cheaply and other people work on their farms as slaves.
 Lacuna employs people from his clan even when they are uneducated because he wants loyalty even if it is at the expense of efficiency.
Lulu and 300 other children are sent home for school fees as the school wants a perimeter wall and a computer laboratory, and money for examinations.
 
As a leader, Lacuna stashes away money in foreign accounts and the people are charged high taxes in order to repay the loans that he enjoys with his ministers and councilors.
Lacuna gives the imperialists a dam and the people spend a whole day getting a little amount of the precious commodity from the dam. Lacuna wants to marry Lulu forcefully because, as a leader, he assumes that he can do whatever he wants. He even has Lulu's father murdered and this causes Tamina and Lulu untold suffering.
Conclusion
 Citizens are always victims of bad leadership. This vice should be eradicated for the sake of a stable and healthy nation for all.
Accept any other relevant conclusion.

20. “Lacuna represents the evil that bedevils our leaders” Write an essay to justify this using inheritance by David Mulwa

       Tribalistic         - Employment of the manager at the mines
Insensitive            - Drives people from their homes to please the imperialist so as to get a loan.
Brutal  - Kills Zen Melo to coerce his daughter Lulu to marry him.
Detention          - Locks Lulu in the palace and also imprisons Daniel Goldstein and Rober Rollerstone
Embezzlement of funds  - Lacuna deposits the loan he’s advanced in his own account and gives the rest to his cronies

21. With illustrations from David Mulwa’s ‘Inheritance’, write an essay explaining how moral decadence affects the society.

 a)    Greed and selfishness.

       Leader Lacuna and his cronies use public resources to enrich themselves.

-      Lacuna is greedy for power and this makes him kill his own father, King Kutula XU in order to become the leader of Kutula.

-      Lucuna borrows moneys from foreign countries to use it for development of Kutula. However, he embezzles the money by buying an aircraft for personal use.

-      He carelessly gives money to his cronies and deposits money in foreign accounts in Canada, Swiss, Luxemburg and Manhattan. This causes suffering to the people of Kutula.

-      Due to his selfishness, Lucuna kills Judah Zen Melo for not to allowing him to Mary his daughter.

 

2.    Oppression and exploitation.

-      Lucuna Kasoo is an oppressive leader. He poisons his own father King Kutula XV

-      The people are forced to work without rest and they only rest when they are dead.

-      The black man is sentenced to work for the white man till death.

-      The leaders in power forcefully take people’s property. Tamina loses her house, land and cars.

-      Those who raise their voices to criticize the government are in danger of being killed. Judah Zen Melo is beaten up for refusing to kill his brother Bengo who is a critic of the government. Zea Melo cannot easily find a job since nobody is willing to employ him. His land is taken.

-      Lulu is forcefully locked up at Lucuna’s palace. He wants to make her his wife against her wish.

 

-      There area lot of murder.

-      Bango is jailed.

 

3.    Corruption.

-      Lucuna borrows money meant for development but embezzels it.

-      The people’s sweat is poured in Lucina’s porous pockets as he deposits public funds in his foreign banks.

-      Bribery - Lucina wants to bribe to kill Bengo whom he considers a thorn in his leadership.

-      The people are given handouts and this makes them sing praises to Lucina.

-      They become blind to the truth.

-      Lucina is nepotic: He favours his own tribesmen, kinsmen and concubines.

 

4.    Abuse of office

-      Those in power disregard their subjects. They use their power to dismiss. Judah Zen Melo for refusing to kill his brother.

-      Chipande uses his power to purchase Tamina’s land at a very cheap prize. He later influences Lucina not to give anyone licence to grow coffee since he does not want competition.

-      Lucina uses his power to employ his own tribesmen and kinsman. This is after he is confronted by the employees who protest and rebel against his leadership. He sacks them all and employs his people.

-      Lucina uses his power to have people killed. He orders the killing of all deserters.

-      He also uses his power to remove the inhabitants of the valley so that foreigners can occupy it.

-      Lucina uses his power to arrest and lock up Lulu in his palace. He wants to marry her forcefully.

 

5.    Dictatorship / Authoritarian.

-      Lucina takes over power forcefully after killing his own father, king Kutula XV

-      The leaders order the killing of people.

-      The people are detained arbitrary.

-      Lucina uses dictatorship to freeze employees salaries after his foreign accounts are emptied by Robert

-      He increases the tax of profits of companies and business and keeps it for himself.

 

6.    Inefficiency:

       The government as lead by Kutula do not do their work well.

-      Lucina takes a loan meant to fund the mining of silver. He fails to follow up the money and production of silver. He does not care whether they are making a loss or a profit.

-      When the production of silver reduces by 15%, Lucina is not aware. He only gives order without monitoring.

-      Due to his inefficiency, Lucina, does not keep records of the .

22. “A leader’s character traits can contribute to their downfall.” Using examples from the lives of Lacuna Kasoo, write an essay to illustrate the truth of this statement.

The success of any leader governing a country depends to a greater extent on his character traits.  When a leader’s character is tainted, then such a leader loses the moral standing to govern and therefore his downfall is imminent. (Accept any relevant introduction

 i. First, Lacuna Kazoo is proud and condescending. He creates a gap between himself and the citizens by impoverishing them and making himself extremely rich. For example, he brags that he cannot move around in an insect of a car. His people finally turn against him.
 ii. Secondly, he’s randy and immoral. He portrays an insatiable desire to marry Lulu to get a new lease of life and get connected with the dead and the unborn. He misuses government officials and public funds in planning night escapade with Lulu thus impoverishing the citizens further. This contributed to his subjects rejecting him..
 iii. Thirdly, the leader is greedy/wasteful/materialistic. He borrows heavily from foreign countries and ends up misusing the funds. He also stows it away in foreign accounts thus impoverishing his subjects further making his subjects dissatisfied with his leadership and so bringing his regime down.
iv. Fourth, he is cruel/ruthless/inhuman. He kills his own father by poisoning him. He also puts Romanus Bengo into jail for posing a threat to him politically. He plans to use the man’s brother to kill the activist and when he refuses, he is killed in a ‘planned accident’. This inhuman act and others of the same nature angers the citizens so much that they organize to overthrow him.
Conclusion
It is evident that a leader’s flawed character traits lead to suffering of both the ruler and the ruled/subject. (Accept any other relevant conclusion)

23. A person’s weaknesses can lead to their downfall. Justify the statement using the character  Lacuna  Kasoo in “inheritance.”

Introduction.

David Mulwa’s  play, “Inheritance”, is a satirical play which is mocking the bad characteristics of Leader Lacuna Kasoo, which are key contributors to his downfall. He is like the mythical Greek kings who got drunk with power,  to extent that they mock God, and longer care about the feelings of their fellow human beings.

 

Firstly, Lacuna Kasoo is seen to be Materialistic. He has a desire to get all the wealth in the world, even if it is at the expense of his people.  He borrows from foreign countries, and funnily enough, he misappropriates the money and even goes to store it in Foreign accounts, opened in the same banks he had borrowed from, in the name of Kutula.

 

Secondly, he is also seen to be lustful. This is the major trait that contributes to his downfall.  He develops an insatiable desire to marry Lulu and have sex with her, because according to him, this will give him a new lease of life,  and also helps him connect with the Dead and the unborn. This is evident in the fact that he pulls his key advisors on governance matters into the petty issue of planning his night escapade with lulu. This makes him blind to the state of the nation.  He also falls out with Robert, one of the financiers because he talked to Lulu.  He finally is thrown out of power because the foreign power does not support him anymore.

 

Thirdly his pride is another major contributor to his downfall. He is first of all very determined to create a gap between himself and the citizens. This he does by impoverishing them and making himself super rich.  He says that he cannot move around in an insect of a car whereas other world leaders a rolling across the sky.  He buys himself a plane, and even at some point compares himself to God.  This later sees to his downfall, because all people turn against him.  Also, he is temperamental.  This makes him to make rush decisions which make him fall into trouble.  He jails the foreign financiers after Robert freezes his accounts to recover part of the loan he had taken.

 

This is despite the advice by Chipande against the same.  He also orders for the evacuation of the people from Bukelenge valley so that the foreigners can occupy it and do farming.  Another poor decision which he makes in a rush is to introduce martial law, and enclose all his people in their houses in a 24hour curfew. This only serves to fuel the rebellion of his subjects.

 

In addition to that, he is cruel leader.  It is evident in the fact that he kills his own father by poisoning him. He also jails Romanus Bengo for giving him stiff political competition and even winning against him.  For that, he wants to kill him. He tries to use his brother, Be go to execute the killing and when he refuses, he is sacked and later beaten ruthlessly and dumped  at his door. He is finally killed in an ‘accident ‘ in Lacuna Kasoo mines. This infuriates the citizens, particularly Ramanus Bengo, who leads the rest in overthrowing him. This we can say was Lacuna’s own making.

 

In conclusion, we can say that the traits mentioned above, among others, are contributors  to Lacuna Kasoo’s downfall.

24.Using David Mulwa’s play Inheritance write an essay on the inhuman nature of despotic heads of states. 

       Introduction:

Lacuna is a dictatorial head of state who rises to power after killing his own father. He rules his subjects with an iron fist. Under him people continue to suffer.

Content:

-          Cruelty: Lacuna through his government officials closes down water sources that were accessible to people like Tamina and forces them to draw water from a common source that is very far. He also requires the workers to work without breaks and with little pay. When a worker takes a few minutes off to pray he is laid off. Lacuna’s system is also to blame for deaths of people like Zen Melo. He also directs that the demonstrators be shot

-          Self-centeredness: Lacuna gets foreign aid in the name of helping his people to develop. He however doesn’t do this as seen in the text. He buys himself an aircraft and allows his officials to squander the rest.

-          Insensitivity: Lacuna directs Zen Melo to eliminate his own brother whom he does not like. He is also very insensitive to the plight of his subjects. The suffering of his subjects are well reflected in Tamina and her family. She loses her land, has to go very far for water, work for long hours, and raise her daughter’s school fees. In the end she gets depressed.

-          Dictatorial: Lacuna disregards the advice of his officials and proceeds to do what he deems right. He even directs Malipoa not to think. He forcefully wishes to displace a population from the valley and hand it over to foreign investors. When challenged he intends to use the military to achieve this. When people demonstrate against his dictatorial decisions he directs that the military deals with them. This is because he cannot stomach any opposition

Conclusion:

A despot rises to power to benefit himself and make people’s lives difficult. This is the case with Lacuna as discussed above.

25.Inheriting a top seat without merit only invites ridicule from subjects. Write an essay showing how satire has been used in The Inheritance by David Mulwa.

Introduction:
-        In the Inheritance, Mulwa exposes the vices in Kutula colony by Lacuna and his government in a rather exaggerated manner as discussed below. King Lacuna abuses power and takes advantages of his position to exploit and oppress his subjects. He orders the killing of anyone who opposes his leadership. He askedJuda Zen Melo to kill his brother Bengo who is an activist and a threat to his leadership.When he refuses, he faces the consequences by being sacked and evicted from the government house and his car is taken away. He is also forced to sell his farm to Lacuna’s  Cronies for peanuts and the wife is forced to work in the same farm to make ends meet.
-        His leadership is also satirized when he uses money meant for the country’s economic grown for his own selfish gains. He buys an aircraft and deposits the rest in his own account in the same banks that lend the money.
-        His greed for power is highly satirized. It is ridiculous that he takes his father’s life so that he can get to power. He colludes with the imperialiststo poison his father so that he is installed the new king.
-        The imperialists are also satirized. Their despising and demeaning attitude towards the blacks is highly criticized.
-        It is laughable that the financiers justify such conditions in the name of helping the people. It is expected that financiers would be sensitive and practical in their demands.
-        Others satirized include kings cronies like chiparde and government officials who worship him, and are ready to do anything to please him.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is quite clear that the author has satirized the poor leadership and the resulting predicaments.

26. Misuse of power is a common phenomenon in most African countries.  Basing your arguments on Inheritance by David Mulwa write an essay to support this statement.

 

       Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  When individuals get power, it gets into their heads.  Leaders tend to forget that they have ascended to power courtesy of the citizens and use the same privileges to look down and oppress their subjects.  Basically they have no regard for the people who elected them to that point.

 

-          Judith Zen Melo is kicked out of his work because he refuses to be involved in the killing of his brother Bengo, more so they take his land.

 

-          Chipande uses his influence as a councillor to buy Tamina’s land on the mountains cheaply, for peanuts, and then he goes ahead to ensure that no one is given license to grow coffee for he fears competition.

 

-          Most people employed in Kutula government are Leader Lacuna’s tribesmen and kinsmen.  Tamina comments that Lacuna hasn’t seen anyone else apart from his tribesmen.  The manager at the mines where Zen Melo works as a gateman is a tribesman of Lacuna.

 

-          Lacuna sacks all employees and employs people from his tribe when he is confronted with protests and rebels against his leadership, in addition he declares martial law and a curfew so that he could track down the dissidents and rebels.  He orders the killing of deserters.

 

-          Lacuna detains Lulu against her will at the palace.  He kisses her forcefully and wants to marry her against her will.

 

-          Since he has power, Lacuna orders the removal of inhabitants of the valley such that the foreigners should occupy it.  Goldstein wants to use his position to ensure that they benefit fully from the business arrangement with Kutula through the interests earned on the loans advanced to Kutula.

 

Lacuna lines his pocket with money as well as giving to his close supporters.  This in appropriation of state resources is an abuse of office.

27.“ Poor leadership is the foundation of evil and suffering in any society.”  Discuss this statement in relation to David Mulwa’s ‘ Inheritance’

 
28. Selfishness is a vice which can only lead to suffering. Argue for this statement using “Inheritance’ BY David Mulwa

29.With illustration from David Mulwa’s “Inheritance”, write a composition to justify the fact that greed and selfishness are ingredients for failure in leadership.

30“ Poor leadership is the foundation of evil and suffering in any society.” Discuss this statement in relation to David Mulwa’s ‘ Inheritance’