King Kamaliza

King Kamaliza has just overthrown the government and made himself king of Kai. Fetching ancient African ideas, he comes to believe that people are given their positions in life by God even before they are born.

“Yes. I must have been born to be King. Do you know when I was born, a huge cloud of smoke flew out the roof of my mother’s house? My mother asked a diviner what it meant — not that she believed him, mark you, not that she believed in diviners — but the diviner told her that the smoke was a sign that a king had been born.”

So what happens when he is confronted with modern realities? It is a hilarious comedy, if only tragic.