The entire premise of the play The People vs Him is hinged on this puzzle about the necessity of the truth. Does the truth even exist, and if it does, can it set anyone free as commonly believed? Written and directed by both Ms. Nina and Orina Brian, the play explores the extent to which toxic feminism can wreak havoc in the society. It is the trial of Robert, alias Bobby Joe (Dennis Kinyanjui) whose step sister, Becca(Cheryl Margie) accuses of raping her. One fine evening, while lying on the bed in her room with only a thigh-level shirt on, Becca says her own brother took advantage of her. Becca confesses that what started as a "not violent" and "not sensual" tickle and touch cascaded into a violent, harrowing act of rape. Becca feels the trauma of being raped by someone she trusted the most, her step-brother and the pain of carrying the pregnancy of a bastard child.
In the first scene of the play, we are introduced into the protagonist's world when he is roughed up into the court chambers by the bailiff. The judge (Daisy Nabuyaya) then arrives a few moments later and she reads the charges against the accused : Sexual asssault against his step sister Becca.
The Lead prosecutor (Muhoro Mac) calls the first witness, the firebrand Dr. Nyanchama (Orina Brian) who claims to be a long time family Doctor to Becca's parents. Dr. Nyanchama confirms that he indeed conducted a medical examination on Becca after the rape incidence and the results including the DNA test confirm that Bobby Joe indeed, raped Becca. However, the defendant lawyer, Councilor Tali (Nthambi Mutua) is smart enough to detect foul play in the courtroom as she believes Nyanchama is a friend of the prosecutor and in fact, a pedophile who does not deserve to be called a doctor for he is known for defiling girls.
Councilor Tali annihilates Dr. Nyanhcma when she presents a shocking evidence - a nude picture of Nyanchama defiling a 13 year old girl. Dr. Nyanchama becomes defensive through verbal torrents but the judge orders for him to be taken to prison for defilement.
The second witness is then called, a radical feminist and author, Margaret (Lorna Lemmy). Margaret quotes from her book saying " Patriarchy has taken so much dignity from women and it's time to fight back." After presenting her case, the defendant lawyer cross examines Margaret accusing her of using her feminism movement to wage war against men in the society. The defendant lawyer recites the famous African quote " Not until the lion knows how to hunt, the narrative will always glorify the hunter" The defendant lawyer, the plaintiff and Ms. Margaret all turn the courtroom into a fist fight, name-calling and touting ground until the judge bangs her gavel severally to warn the counsels that they risk imprisonment if they cannot make submissions with decorum. The judge also warns the key witness, Becca to say the truth whether she was truly raped or she is presenting lies in the court of law.
Bobby whom has been quiet all along dares his sister to say the truth, saying that the night of this fateful event he was drugged and his step sister took advantage of the situation by luring him into having sex with her. Bob challenges the court by saying that he is a victim of unfair trial and labelling by the society as a monster, yet no one is ready to listen to him. In the middle of this confusion, the bailiff(Karabilo) baffles everybody when he pulls his gun and wedges it against Bobby Joe, saying that Bobby is a rapist who does not deserve to walk in the same streets as his daughter and wife. Everyone, including the judge pleads with the bailiff to put his gun away and let Bobby be tried and sentence legally. The bailiff however, pulls the trigger and Bobby is finished.
Generally, The People Vs Him is a great concept, seeking to poke holes into toxic femininity and how society has turned feminism into a war against gender and not what it used to be, a movement to advocate for equality and equity for women. The play's plot is very clear from beginning until the climax when the bailiff takes out his gun to finish Bobby Joe. The writers needed to have thought about the motivation for his character; what makes him really want to shoot Bobby, because in the entire play no pre-existing conflict between these two is set up for the viewer's understanding.
Moreover, the quick sentencing of Dr. Nyanchama in-between Bobby's trial also diverts the audience's attention from the main story which is the assault against Becca. It only seems that either the writer or the director got a little brain fog in the process towards the end, and settled on an "easier" resolution. However, the actors all did great in playing out their parts, especially Dr. Nyanchama, Councilor Tali, Judge Adira and the prosecutor, Lanoi.
If there was time, I would still root for the other actors to spend more time with their characters and deeply internalize their character's arch and objectives. All in all, it was an edutaining experience, thanks to Minefields and Journal of Orina.