All Kenyans on the continent and beyond who have access to DSTV may have caught a rather captivating real-life drama movie last night based on the story of a magazine that had a huge impact on the continent of Africa, called Drum.
Today's glossy and gossipy Drum magazine is a far cry from the Drum of the 1950s that stood against Apartheid in South Africa when nobody else would dare to. Drum did not start out as a political magazine, but Jim Bailey loved playing the circulation game and he inevitably found his magazine veering deeper and deeper into politics. But not without casualties. The very first Mr Drum, was violently murdered for his incisive inside stories and the movie last night was mainly based on this.
I had the good fortune of meeting Mr Bailey several times in Nairobi. Drum had an East African edition based in Nairobi and he always flew in when circulation figures showed the slightest signs of wavering. By that time (mid-80s), Bailey was an old man and must have been extremely battle-weary and was much more interested in circulation figures than in changing the world. So his magazines stubbornly refused to take on Moi and his excesses. Bailey died a few years ago, a frustrated man.
Still it was difficult for me to fail to draw parallels last night between the battle against apartheid and the current war Kenyans have in their hands against the political ruling class that wants to cling to power at all costs so as to protect their ill-gotten wealth.
Knowing Jim Bailey, I agree that he died a frustrated man. It was not for none achievement. He seemed to him as though he would continue to live, AND NOT DIE. but continue to do the numerous things he had in his mind.
ReplyDeletePeople did not quite see things the way he saw them, and so he always wanted to do them himself, hence possible frustration.