Ubuntu and African Prison Intellectuals

Abstract

In his Theses on Feuerbach, Marx famously quipped: “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.” And yet, I wonder, does this aphorism make sense to a prisoner, especially to an African prison intellectual? Rather than wishing death upon philosophizing, some incarcerated men and women turn to the art of philosophizing with a passion,which they may not have pursued outside the prison walls. This paper focuses on the philosophical reflections of South African anti-apartheid freedom fighters and Kenyan intellectuals who found themselves at odds with the neocolonial Moi regime. Furthermore, the African principle of Ubuntu (connoting communalism and dignity) will be explored.