A place at the table.
Muthaiga, Nairobi · family and friends gathering · presented by Ssali.
THE DEBUT / BEFORE THE FIRST EDITION
Two histories.
One life to write.
Swiss beginnings. Nigerian inheritance.
A global life, with an African responsibility.
THE DEBUT / A SSALI PRESENTATION
The page.
The press.
The anticipation.
Before the first edition reaches a reader, there is this: an idea finding its form. Enter the campaign and the making of Leroy’s forthcoming debut.
A STUDENT OF THE CRAFT
Learning the world.
Preparing to serve it.
Leroy Aikhionbare enters the house as an emerging author and a young man learning the disciplines of leadership. Swiss-born and Nigerian, he writes from the experience of belonging to more than one world.
With the guidance of PLO Lumumba and Ssali Publishing House, he is preparing a first book about inheritance, power and the choices a generation passes to the next.
NELSON & LEROY / TEN SECONDS BETWEEN BROTHERS
For my brother,
Nelson.
“You saw the two bears first.”
A line from the dedication. A game between brothers. Before the story meets the world, there is someone who sees it with you.
A LINE HE CARRIES WITH HIM
“I am a Student of History”
Professor PLO Lumumba
A BROTHER’S LOVE
The first person
in your corner.
Nelson, sending a little love across the table. Some of the story lives here.
THE FORTHCOMING FIRST BOOK
The Brown Bear
and the White Bear.
The Winter We Inherited
The two bears carry two histories into the same landscape. The campaign asks us to think about land, fear, power—and what our choices leave for our children.
The book’s visual world holds warmth and winter in the same frame. Its questions belong to both inheritance and possibility.
The official debut campaign · publication date, edition and price will be announced by Ssali.TWO BEARS / ONE WHOLE PERSON
Belonging is not
a choice of sides.
Leroy’s mixed-race experience sits at the heart of this campaign. Nigerian inheritance. Swiss beginnings. Two bears become a way into a life shaped by both.
BOTH HISTORIES. A VOICE OF HIS OWN.
One truth does not cancel the other.
The bears meet in one visual world, as both inheritances meet in Leroy’s life. Mixed identity can hold more than one history without asking a person to divide themselves.
Touch either bear or choose a perspective. An editorial exploration of the author-official campaign, not a passage or quotation from the unpublished book. The bears open a conversation about identity and inheritance.
THE BOOK’S CAMPAIGN / TWO INHERITANCES
“One truth
does not cancel
the other.”
A line from the official campaign, and an invitation to hold a more complex story. What do we inherit? What do we learn? What do we choose to pass on?
THE PEOPLE / MUTHAIGA, NAIROBI
Before a book finds
its readers,
there is a table.
Leroy celebrating, his mother and family from Switzerland, PLO Lumumba, Rose Ssali and friends coming together in Muthaiga. The house’s account of the occasion gives these films their setting: family, friendship and the company in which a young voice grows.
A glimpse of the life around an unpublished book. The story is still becoming.
The company we keep.
Another view of the garden gathering, in its complete original frame.
THE LAND / THE HISTORY / THE INHERITANCE
History is read.
Land is lived.
In the forthcoming book, Leroy returns to land and history. Alongside the bear imagery, these journeys into an open landscape give the campaign a human scale: people standing on ground, looking out, thinking about what came before and what may follow.
The film accompanies the book’s themes. It makes no claim about ownership of the land shown.
Follow the journey to publicationFIELD NOTES / BETWEEN WORLDS
On the way
to the first page.
The window of a moving car. An open horizon. A book placed in someone’s hands. Small scenes from the life surrounding the house’s work.
A moving horizon.
A landscape journey from the authorised archive; a companion to the campaign’s questions of place.
In literary company.
Rose Ssali and PLO Lumumba, with books at the centre of the encounter.
A book begins a conversation.
From the house’s book-table archive. Presented in its original event context.
THE COMPANY / THE CONVERSATIONS
A young life.
A widening circle.
A studio conversation, an afternoon of football, a visit to PLO’s office. The book’s questions grow alongside an active life: listening, meeting people, taking his place in the room.
IN PLO’S OFFICE
Time in
good company.
There is a story in the room before anyone starts speaking: three people, different journeys, an encounter held in a photograph.
ON SET / THE CONVERSATION BEHIND THE CAMERA
The thought.
The pause.
The next question.
A first book also begins a public conversation. These images follow Leroy into a studio: the listening as well as the speaking, the preparation beyond the finished frame.
LEROY / THE WARDROBE / MADE IN EAST AFRICA
Dress for the room.
Bring yourself into it.
Tailoring in Nairobi. Custom work by an East African woman designer. Leroy’s wardrobe is part of how he enters the conversation: considered, personal, and made close to home.
THE MAKER’S NOTE
Leroy’s collection includes a piece by Sartorial Tailors, Nairobi. His custom all-black pieces include work by an East African woman designer. For occasion dressing, contact Ssali: our curated collection of African designers brings together pieces selected for your occasion or country.
Custom East African design · atelier introductions through Ssali.
A look from Leroy’s personal wardrobe.
EMBU / WEAR YOUR SUPPORT
The colours
belong in the stands.
Leroy and Dr Brian at the Embu football game, in official Embu jerseys. For local club kit, Embu Sports House offers a direct place to begin.
Explore local jerseys · Embu Sports HouseAsk about club kits, sizes & availabilityMorning Glory Plaza, Embu · retailer enquiries go directly to Embu Sports House.IMARA EDUCATION / THE WORK ALONGSIDE THE WORDS
We want children
to feel
seen.
We don't want children growing up believing they are less fortunate, less important or less capable because of where they come from.
We want them to feel seen.
We want them to feel heard.
We want them to know that their ideas matter, their dreams matter and their future matters.
Because before a child can build a future, they must first believe they deserve one.
IMARA EDUCATIONTHEIR IDEAS. THEIR VOICES. THEIR FUTURE.
A child has
something
to say.
Listen closely. Imara’s film gives the conversation to the children, with Leroy listening alongside them.
THE BELIEF THAT COMES FIRST
Before we educate a mind,
we must make sure that child
believes their mind matters.
IMARA EDUCATION
IMARA / THE STUDENT VOICES
Let the next
generation
answer.
Questions about school, possibility and what success can mean. A conversation between students, in their own voices.
IMARA / ONE CONNECTED EDUCATION COMMUNITY
Seen by the people
who can make a difference.
Students, teachers, parents, schools and governments: Imara’s platform brings these relationships into one education ecosystem.
Leroy leads Imara Education in partnership with the PLO Lumumba Foundation. Alongside his first book is this practical commitment to learning, belonging and opportunity.
StudentsTeachersParentsSchoolsGovernments
Follow Imara EducationPLO Lumumba FoundationPresented by Ssali Media House.
MAKE ROOM FOR A FUTURE
Begin with
the child.
Bring an education partnership, a school connection or an idea for supporting the work. The conversation begins with Imara’s purpose: children who know that their minds matter.
Prepare a short brief, review it, then send it to the house. Ssali will continue the conversation with you directly.
THE DEBUT / THE STORY IS STILL BECOMING
Meet the book
at its beginning.
The Brown Bear and the White Bear is not yet published. Join the anticipation: request the next campaign reveal, publication news and first-edition availability from Ssali. No payment is required to express interest.
Prepare your request, then send it to the house by email or WhatsApp. Ssali manages the interest list personally; this page does not automatically subscribe you.Editorial credits & references
Leroy Aikhionbare · presented by Ssali Media House, in collaboration with the author’s office. Personal photography, film and campaign materials appear by arrangement and with permission.
The debut · campaign and productionPLO Lumumba FoundationProduction credits & source register