By Nyang’au Araka
A celebration to mark veteran author, teacher, adjudicator and actor David Mulwa’s 80th birthday has been inserted in the Kenya National Drama and Film Festival (KNDFF) Saturday programme.
This year, the event is happening in Nakuru County, which was the centre of focus yesterday owing to controversy that was ignited by a Echoes of War, a play that was to be presented by Butere Girls’ High School.
Mulwa turned 80 this week, and his family, friends, colleagues, readers and theatre lovers consider it a great achievement.
“Here is a man who has mentored many of us, who nurtured our art and who was there to correct us whenever we lost the way,” said Emmanuel Shikuku, a KNDFF official and member of the Kenya Literary Scholars (KLS) forum.
“He served this country as a policy maker in the arts, as teacher, an adjudicator, director and most importantly as an actor.”
Mulwa is documented among the pioneer Kenyan literary scholars, having immersed himself in the space before the country’s independence.
“Mulwa told me that his first play in the festival was somewhere in the fifties. That time, he acted in a church play celebrating the birth of Jesus,” Dr Shikuku told KPC.
“Since then he has never looked back.”
Due to his advanced age, Mulwa is mostly localised in his home in Ruai, shuttling between hospital for dialysis and back to his home where he keeps writing, according to the official.
Dr Shikuku said this year, Mulwa’s mentees had decided to mark his birthday differently, and there was no better way than hosting him at the festival, which is at its peak, the national level.
“With the help of the executive committee of KNDFF, we have invited him to Nakuru during to celebrate him,” Dr Shikuku said.
“On Saturday 12th April 2025 at exactly 9 am, we shall interrupt the program in the secondary school hall (Melvin Jones Hall) for 30 minutes to listen to David Mulwa offer his words of wisdom to the attendees,” he said.
“We shall sing “happy birthday Mulwa”, shall cut a cake and share.”
There will also be some tea and a snack, networking and buying Mulwa’s books, which will be on display.
“We shall have him autograph them as we savour his wisdom,” the official said.
Importantly, they intend to thank God for keeping the legend safe and giving him longevity of life.
Born in 1945, Mulwa, writes on LinkedIn: “Declared ‘A Man for All Seasons’ by Kenya’s Daily Nation, I am a passionate thespian and teacher with interest in screen (acting), theatre (acting and directing), long distance running, music (guitar playing and composing) and creative writing.”
He is the author of more than 20 books including: Inheritance, Redemption, Glasshouses, Bahati’s Love Nest, Mkimbizi, and We Come in Peace.
