Kenya gained independence on December 12, 1963. Lights around the country were put out at midnight while the British flag was lowered; when the lights came on, the new flag of Kenya was flying. After a long night of pouring rain, the people gather again in the morning for the Uhuru celebration. Traditional dances and athletic competitions are held in Thabai to commemorate the event. Then there is an unscheduled event, which promised to be very exciting – a three-mile race for anyone, old or young, male or female. Both Gikonyo and Karanja compete while Mumbi watches from the crowd.
She has sent Karanja a warning note, asking him to stay away from the celebration, but he has misinterpreted it as a sign of interest from Mumbi. Mumbi is weighted down by the knowledge of what Mugo told her about his role in Kihika's death. She tries to convince the others that Mugo should not participate in the ceremony, and tries to warn Karanja away because she does not want anyone else to be hurt because of her brother's death. Close to the finish of the race, Gikonyo and Karanja collide. Gikonyo ends up with a broken arm, and Mumbi rushes to make sure he is okay.
Karanja feels the full force of her snub for him as he watches the attention she pays to her husband. In the afternoon, the crowd gathers to hear the Uhuru speeches. Gikonyo and Mumbi are in the hospital and not able to attend. A tree has been planted in the spot where Kihika died, to celebrate his life. The crowd is excited at the chance to hear Mugo speak; his refusal has been seen as modesty, and he has truly achieved a hero's status. After some Party speeches and prayers, General R. takes the stage and calls for the man who betrayed Kihika to come forward.
But the person who comes forward is not Kihika; it is Mugo. He confesses what he had done, and says that the secret had been eating away at his life.
Karanja's childhood was spent with his mother, the third of four wives from a very emotionally distant man. Karanja had been his mother's only child to survive. She often criticized how much time he spent playing the guitar, and disapproved of him going to work for the homeguard and turning his back against his people to serve the white man. When he returns from the Uhuru celebrations, Karanja packs his belongings and leaves for the train station.
Near the station, he sees Mumbi returning from the hospital, where she had been visiting Gikonyo. He tells Mumbi that Mugo confessed, and is still considered to be a brave man. At the train station, Karanja reflects that Mugo could have let him die. The traitor had been called for, and General R. and Koina were clearly ready to charge him with the betrayal. Karanja wonders what he has been saved for. He remembers that during the Emergency, his first job required him to wear a hood. Through the hood, he identified people who had been part of the Mau Mau rebellion, although they could not see him.
When a train approaches, Karanja steps close to the edge of the platform, feeling the power of the train as it whizzes by, but he does not take the step into oblivion and instead chooses to live.
Mumbi is stunned by the news of Mugo's confession. When she returns again to visit Gikonyo, she tells him the news about Mugo, and he is visibly shaken, calling Mugo a brave man. After the ceremony, feeling himself pursued by members of the crowd, Mugo does not immediately want to return to his hut. He knows that what awaits him is death, and yet does not feel ready to die.
His conversations with Mumbi have awakened him again. Free of his secret, he is no longer weighted down the burden of knowledge. Once more, he visits the old woman, who again seems to recognize Mugo as her son. She approaches him, and then falls back, dead. General R. and Koina come for Mugo, explaining that his trial will be tonight. "Your deeds alone will condemn you," (234) the General says, but without any bitterness. Mugo is led away into the night.
Two days after Uhuru, Warui and Wambui discuss the rain that continues to fall.Both are amazed that Mugo was the betrayer all along. They have not seen him or Karanja since the Uhuru ceremony. Mumbi visits, revealing that she knew Mugo had betrayed Kihika before his public confession. She wonders how she might have been able to save him, but Wambui said no one could have saved him, because there was nothing to save. Harambee Lying in the hospital, Gikonyo has time to reflect on his life, including his time in the detention centers and the gift he promised Mumbi long ago, for their wedding – a stool.
Mumbi and Wangeri continue to bring him food in the hospital, and Gikonyo finds himself wondering what Mumbi thinks about Mugo. For the first time, he wonders what his child with Mumbi might look like or be like. He begs Mumbi to stay and talk with him, but she refuses, saying she must return to her ill child. Gikonyo persists: Can she return tomorrow? Mumbi agrees. After she leaves, Gikonyo the carpenter finds himself thinking about the intricate design for the stool he will make for Mumbi. The design will picture a woman's body, heavy with child.