Do Africans Keep Pets? Poem by Kimani wa Mumbi

They say that Africans have no pets
'An uncivilised lot, they are, the Africans –
Pets are adorable! '
But I beg to raise
The question about pets.
Africans really do have them
And they know how to treat them best.
Think of lice, fleas, jiggers – good ol' jiggers
They've been with us since …
Since time immemorial.
The White Man – he came, he went
But jiggers and kin in Africa he still left.
How would anyone with a sane mind
Assert that Africans have no animals of the kind?
Every kid in Africa has had two or three,
And they never will let them free.
Ask Kenyans, Ugandans, Ethiopians –
We've all had our share and care
Of these adorable pests!