Mukami Character Analysis in Petals of Blood

Mukami is Munira’s favorite sibling, Ezekieli’s daughter, and Karega’s first love. Playful and rebellious, she socializes with the children of her father’s farm employees, to her father’s disapproval. When she meets Karega, the child of Ezekieli’s farm employee Mariamu, she asks why he doesn’t attend school—which motivates him to work more and earn tuition money so he can go to the same school as she does. Due to this event, Karega eventually attends the high school Siriana. As teenagers, Mukami and Karega have a romantic relationship. After they have sex for the first time, Mukami tells Karega that her father has discovered their relationship and has demanded that Mukami choose between Karega and her family—Ezekieli blames Karega’s dead older brother, the freedom fighter Nding’uri, for the loss of his ear, which freedom fighters cut off during the independence struggles, and doesn’t want Mukami socializing with anyone related to Nding’uri. Shortly afterward, Mukami dies by suicide, jumping off a cliff. Much later, when Munira and Karega are working together in Ilmorog, Munira learns the circumstances of Mukami’s death and uses them as a pretext to fight with Karega, blaming Karega for the suicide—though in fact, Munira is angry with Karega because he’s jealous of Karega’s relationship with Wanja. Ezekieli’s politically motivated interference in Mukami’s teenage romantic life illustrates how male characters often treat female characters more as passive objects they can order around than as individuals with their own desires. Similarly, Munira using Mukami’s suicide as a pretext to fight with Karega over Wanja hints that Munira doesn’t always see Mukami or Wanja as active agents. Rather, he sees them as passive objects over which men like he and Karega can struggle.

Mukami Character Timeline in Petals of Blood

The timeline below shows where the character Mukami appears in Petals of Blood. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Religion, Hypocrisy, and Delusion Theme Icon

...one out. His living siblings have prestigious careers or foreign educations, while his favorite sister Mukami—who got in trouble for playing and working with laborers on their father’s farm—recently died by... (full context)

...executed. Rumors also link Mariamu to Mau Mau fighters cutting off Ezekieli’s ear and to Mukami’s suicide, but Munira still has good memories of her. (full context)

...older brother Nding’uri, Karega admits he knew very little about his brother until Munira’s sister Mukami told him his brother was hanged for revolutionary activities during the rebellion. (full context)

Though Munira wonders how Karega knew his dead sister Mukami, Karega changes the subject, saying he’s actually visiting because Munira taught him back at Manguo.... (full context)

...work in Ilmorog. Ezekieli notes that all his children have been successful except Munira and Mukami. When Munira asks why Mukami died by suicide, Ezekieli blames Mariamu and her sons without... (full context)

Gender, Sexuality, and Exploitation Theme Icon

Munira, Wanja, and Karega travel to Ilmorog together, taking turns on Munira’s bicycle. Munira ponders Mukami’s death, his father Ezekieli’s strange behavior and reference to Mariamu, and his own decision to... (full context)

Finally, Karega wonders about his strong reaction to Wanja, recalls Mukami with grief, and decides to be the best teacher he can be. Munira has explained... (full context)

...about as likely as her transforming into a man like Karega. Karega, meanwhile, thinks about Mukami’s suicide and his attempt to write about her memory’s effect on him just before Chui’s... (full context)

...he contemplates the past. Karega, startled by Wanja’s insight, realizes that she reminds him of Mukami. He tells her that understanding the present relies on understanding the past. Wanja disagrees; she... (full context)

...now the solidarity and unity of blackness?” As a youth, the love he shared with Mukami seemed to offer adequate meaning. Once “hypocrisy and religious double-dealing” destroyed that love, he looked... (full context)

...husband coming back different makes Karega think of moments of change in his own life: Mukami’s death, his expulsion from Siriana, and Ilmorog’s delegation to the city. He wonders whether African... (full context)

...brother, since they certainly knew each other. Then he begins thinking again about Munira’s sister Mukami. Thinking how his passion for her follows him everywhere, he suddenly begins to speak of... (full context)

Karega picked flowers at Mukami’s father Ezekieli’s pyrethrum fields to earn money for tuition. Mukami would sometimes help him in... (full context)

Mukami began attending Kanjeru High School. The next year, Karega matriculated at Siriana, which was close... (full context)

When Karega and Mukami woke up, she began crying and asked him whether his brother (Nding’uri) had died. Karega... (full context)

Karega walked Mukami home. Back at his own house, he asked his mother Mariamu for the whole truth... (full context)

Munira isn’t sure whether he should hold Karega or his own father, Ezekieli, responsible for Mukami’s death. He flees the hut for a moment. When he returns, Abdulla is shaking Karega... (full context)

In the dream, Karega realizes the people he thought were Mukami, Wanja, and Nyakinyua are actually his students. He is trying to explain the history of... (full context)

...through an entire day and into the next morning. After fidgeting, Munira mentions Karega said Mukami’s and Wanja’s names in his sleep. He calls Karega “Mr Karega” and tells him that... (full context)

...not sure how he’d feel seeing his father now that he knows the truth about Mukami’s suicide. Biking along, he sees Nyakinyua and stops to speak with her. Bringing up the... (full context)

...Akinyi repeats her claim that Karega will return to the workers. In her, Karega sees Mukami, Nyakinyua, Mariamu, and “the future.” He feels that he's “no longer alone.” (full context)