The Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o is one of Africa's most important storytellers. His novel 'The Devil on the Cross' is the African novel of the 21st century, a highly amusing satire on the prototype of the African despot. In Aburiria, a gigantic structure called "Marching to Heaven" is to be built, connecting heaven and earth. The ruler of Aburiria wants to establish a monumental monument with it. Especially his ministers Machokali and Sikiokuu wish to benefit from the glory and therefore flatter him even more submissively. When the ruler travels to the USA to borrow money for the construction from the Global Bank, he is struck by a mysterious illness, swelling up like a balloon and hanging from the ceiling ever since. No doctor can help him, only the 'Lord of the Crows', who possesses magical powers and gains fame as a healer and fortune teller.