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Building a nation on riddles and the proverbs of survival

Kitendawili! Teeeeega! Kitendawili! Teeeega!" There is a gleeful expression whenever Tinga utters these words, the call-and-response chorus that has become a hallmark of his public speaking.

I did not know the extent to which this kitendawili nonsense was entrenched in the collective psyche of the masses — until I attended Promulgation Day one chilly August morning, the day Sudanese President and fugitive from international justice, Omar al Bashir arrived walking on a cloud, before fading away in a similar manner.

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