By Yowasi Omadang
”Life is what you make,” they say.
When you have not deeply thought about the consequences of a decision you are about to make, or you have made, you may be haunted up to your grave when it’s already too late to reverse. The duality of life is open, and this gives us liberty to make choices, whether we shall regret them later in life or we shall be content.
Imagine what a marigold flower would do if given a chance to grow into a giant tree and stay for years, or to die fresh with the usual lifespan it goes through while people cherish it? I hope you are not thinking what I am thinking.
In Derrick Asaba’s THE UNSEEN CHAINS, Bbosa goes through a quick self-realisation at an early age, where most teenagers would otherwise think they are still young and children to be cared for by and under the guardianship or close supervision of a parent. Bbosa sees what Kezia, his eldest sister, does not see, and he thinks of an escape from generational poverty and curses. At just 15 (fifteen), he is already frustrated and no longer interested in the daily menaces of going to school, waking up early in the morning, nagging teachers, and facing the same old misery back at home, not forgetting the ancestral burden he thinks he has inherited.
The presence of Tamale, his close childhood friend, is the presence of both light and darkness, which he does not realise and still doesn’t blame him later in life. The book, carefully without telling plainly, encourages young men to work “a good work” or fight a good fight whose rewards remain even in death so that they enjoy the fruits of their sweat and carry on with a lasting legacy approved by God himself who carves our destinies.
What must a man do when given choices between God, his Creator, and wealth? Despite Bbosa’s evident spiritual struggles to save his daughter from the spiritual bargain he made with the devil years back, he adamantly refuses to heed the voice of God calling him. He’s in a greedy pursuit for wealth, and nothing, not even God, will stand in his way.
Derrick Asaba creates characters who either speak their minds or something speaks through them in a prophetic voice that keeps foreshadowing in the book. Tamale, the architect of the “evil meeting” with the devil, says in ACT ONE SCENE TWO, “…whatever starts has an end.” And indeed, what Bbosa starts at 15 dramatically ends his life midway in his 50s.
The book largely relies on contrast and how it has broken down societies. We see Bbosa and Tamale as a perfect example. While Bbosa yearns for wealth, Tamale, whose family never lacks anything, struggles to go to school each day, and his parents, especially his mother, ensure he goes every morning.
Nakamwa, whose name symbolically stands for “loose mouth” as her actions in the book later reveal it, stands side by side with Kezia, a University graduate with immense hopes of working with big organisations, but runs to Nakamwa whenever she has a challenge. Nakamwa is her chief advisor on matters of life and death. She even suggests visiting Jjaja Kiwanuka!
Jjaja Kiwanuka, Pastor Joshua, and Apostle Mole pose the greatest contradiction and the spiritual divide in society. While Pastor Joshua stands for the godly light and spiritual purity, Jjaja Kiwanuka is the face of society at large with quick solutions. Another character weaved with humour and wit in the book is Apostle Mole. He’s a “mole,” a spiritual mole to be specific. I just can’t stop laughing at his symbolic name and meaning in the book. That’s what Derrick Asaba does as a creative: to go an extra mile and create characters that fit in exactly with the roles he assigns each of them.
If indeed there’s light at the end of the tunnel, there are also the blind standing at the end of the tunnel who can’t see the light, blind to themselves, and can’t see what lies beyond the darkness they are engulfed in. Bbosa is blind, even when he attempts to see the light at Pastor Joshua’s church. He’s blind to himself with determination to die alone, if it’s the only option he remains with. His tragic death after the church service he had left prematurely raises questions about whom we ought to serve. What the playwright doesn’t reveal is whether he kept on going to church with the ring he was given years back, but it also creates a solid suspense that remains in the hearts of every reader.
What if the business trip was indeed his last day to enjoy his privileges in accordance with the bargain he made with the devil when he gave his own soul? The book ends with a soul-searching and spiritual purification for Tyra, but what still rings is Tamale’s words that echo in ACT ONE SCENE TWO, still that, “…our lives are as a result of our choices.”
This book costs UGX 20,000 only. To get a copy, please call or send a WhatsApp message to: +256 763-036016.
The author is a police officer, writer, poet, and author of two books, War Ulcers (2024) and Tour Of Duty: A Handbook Of Modern Policing (2026).
Email: yowasiomadang@gmail.com
