Faceless by Amma Darko

CHARACTERS

 Fofo: is the fourth child of Maa Tsuru. She is 14 years old and lives on the street. She is a dreamer and would often drift away in her own world of fantasy. She is quite brave and intelligent. She tactfully resists Poison’s rape attempt and disguises as boy to protect herself from further assault by Poison and his gang. Through her character, the reader gets more insight into thecircumstances surrounding Baby T’s death.

 Baby T : Faceless revolves mostly around Baby T and the circumstances leading to her death. She was Maa Tsuru’s third child and Fofo’s elder sister. She got defiled early by Kpakpo and thereafter by Onko whom she trusted. She was sold into prostitution through Kpakpo’s gimmicks. A victim of
parental neglect like her sister Fofo, Baby T’s badly beaten and mutilated body was found behind akiosk in Agbogbloshie market.

 Maa Tsuru: is the mother of Fofo and
Baby T. She was born under very grave
circumstances and like everyone around her, she believed that she suffered from a curse stemming from the circumstances of her birth. Her two lovers (Kwei and Kpakpo) were absent fathers. They
walked out on her leaving her to take care of the children, a responsibility she performed very poorly. Ravaged by poverty and being a victim of neglect
herself, she craved for love but got entangled with irresponsible men.

 Kabria: The wife of Adade and mother of threeenergetic children, Kabria worked with MUTE, a non-governmental agency and lived in a decent neighbourhood in Accra which contrasted sharply to
the situation in Sodom and Gomorrah. With a problematic car called Creamy, she tried to combine career with her responsibilities as wife and mother. She was instrumental to Fofo’s rehabilitation and contributed in no small measure to unraveling the
mystery surrounding Baby T’s death.

 Poison : is a street lord and leader of a
prostitution ring to which Baby T was sold. Fearedby all, Poison assaulted Baby T before her deathand almost raped Fofo. He also tried to interfere with MUTE’s investigations as he did not want Baby T’s true identity to be revealed. A victim of abuse and neglect, Poison enjoyed inflicting pain on others.
The author uses his character to show that with male children, streetism takes a different twist as it makes them almost irredeemable.

 Onko : Onko lived in the same compound as Maa Tsuru. In a compound that reeked of poverty, Onko was portrayed as a man of means who gave generously. He took advantage of Baby T and defiled her. He bribed Maa Tsuru who kept quiet over the issue. His business suffered a downturn thereafter. He committed suicide after Baby T’s death. The author uses his character to buttress the fact that children are mostly defiled by adults whoare close to them.

 Kpakpo : was Maa Tsuru’s dubious, jobless
and unscrupulous lover. He deceived Maa Tsuru and masterminded Baby T’s sale into prostitution. He also aided Onko’s visit to Baby T leading to the latter’s death.

 Odaley: was Fofo’s friend and confidant. Like Fofo, she lived on the street having been neglected and sent out of the house by her mother..


                      LANGUAGE

 The author uses simple, everyday English language with some Ghanaian vernacular to portray the culture of her people. Examples are words like Kayayoo (porter), akpeteshie etc.

                 NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE 

 The author’s narration is straightforward. She tells Baby T’s story mainly through Fofo and investigations by MUTE. Her style of writing is simple and easy to understand. In unravelling the mystery behind Baby T’s death, the author builds tension in her story line thus creating suspense and intrigue.


                       SETTING

 The novel is set in Accra with locations in
Agbogbloshie market and the notorious slum, Sodom and Gomorrah. However, the events in the novel happen everywhere in Africa including Nigeria.


                       NOVEL SUMMARY

Attempted Rape

 The novel opens with fourteen year old Fofo sleeping on an old cardboard at the Agbogbloshiemarket.
 Except for her new job of washing carrots at the vegetable market in Agbogbloshie, her life in Sodom and Gomorrah, a slum close to the market consisted mainly of watching adult movies and taking alcohol.

 In her sleep, she dreamt of living in a home with a roof and a toilet, a dream shared by other street children like her.

 She was woken up suddenly by Poison, a street lord who attempted to rape her. Fofo resisted him and ran to Odarley, her best friend who lived in a rented wooden shack.
 She told Odarley about Poison’s attempted rape and her intention to see her mother whom she believed had some connections with Poison.

 Fofo’s mother, Maa Tsuru informed Fofo, that her elder sister, Baby T was dead and Poison had threatened her into silence over Baby T’s death. She therefore urged Fofo to leave for her safety.

 Kabria’s Encounter with Fofo

 In sharp contrast to the life in Sodom and Gomorrah is Kabria’s life with her family. A mother of three lively children- Obea, Essie and Ottu, she lived in a decent neighbourhood in Accra, worked with MUTE a non-governmental agency and drove a problematic old car nick-named Creamy.

 She ran into Fofo at the Agbloghoshie market while shopping
for vegetables. Kabria was standing with other spectators at the spot where Baby T’s body was found when Fofo, disguising as a boy tried to steal her purse. Kabria rescued her from the angry mob.

 Fofo revealed her female identity and told Kabria that Baby T was her sister. Meanwhile, a lot of people had been made to believe that the dead girl (Baby T) was a kayayoo(a market porter from the
north) to conceal her true identity and discourage further enquiry into her death.

 MUTE (the non- governmental organisation where Kabria worked) got interested in Baby T’s matter and granted Fofo
protection by taking her into custody temporarily while conducting investigations into the circumstances surrounding Baby T’s death.

 The circumstances surrounding Baby T’s death was revealed through two main sources: Fofo and investigations by MUTE.

How Baby T became a prostitute

 Baby T was the third child of Maa Tsuru while Fofo was fourth. Their jobless father, Kwei had abandoned them mainly as a result of the superstitious belief that Maa Tsuru had been cursed from birth.

 Baby T was sexually abused by her mother’s second lover, Kpakpo and was further defiled by Onko, a generous uncle who lived in the same compound with them and in whom she tried to confide.

 Through Kpapkpo’s gimmicks, Baby T was sold to a prostitution ring consisting of Madam Abidjan, Maami Brooni and Poison, the street lord and ring leader. She was made to work as a child prostitute
in Maami Brooni’s brothel with her earnings sent to Maa Tsuru who simply turned a blind eye.

 Meanwhile, Onko’s welding business had suffered great setback after defiling Baby T. A witchdoctor made him believe that his misfortune was caused by the defilement of Baby T whom he said was a cursed child.

 As a form of remedy, the witch doctor
asked Onko to bring some sacrificial items which would include Baby T’s pubic hair.

How Baby T died

 Kpakpo helped Onko to connect with Baby T once again. Poison eventually led Kpakpo to Maami Brooni’s brothel where Baby T worked as a prostitute. Baby T remembered what Onko did to her in the past and totally declined to sleep with him. Enraged at her refusal, Poison slapped and tried to beat her into submission. Baby T was found
dead on the concrete floor with her head split open.

 She was alone with Onko in the room at the time of her death. Onko committed suicide thereafter.