Doomsday cults and paradox of the nation-state in East Africa
Workers carry a body bag to the mortuary after exhuming bodies at the mass grave site in Shakahola, outside Kenya’s coastal town of Malindi, on April 25, 2023. PHOTO | YASUYOSHI CHIBA | AFP
Translated variously as “watchful guardian” or “all-seeing guardian,” Argus could be a fitting parody of the present-day African state and its security arms. Appointed by Hera, queen of the gods, to be the guardian over Lo, a lover whom Zeus had turned into a cow to protect her from his wife, the 100-eyed giant in Greek mythology, was so fixated with the task that even as he slept, there were always a few eyes open to catch any intruder.
In the end, he became so intransigent to the extent that to free Lo, Zeus was forced hire Hermes, who found a way of lulling Argus into a shutting all his eyes, before he cut off his head.
