Kenyan Author and Academic David Mulwa Has Passed Away

Kenyan novelist, playwright, actor, and academic David Mulwa passed away on Friday, December 5, 2025, while receiving treatment for cardiac arrest in Nairobi.

Born on April 9, 1950, in Mukaa, Machakos County, Mulwa built a distinguished career across education and the arts. He studied at the University of Nairobi, UCLA, and Ohio University. After teaching at Mukaa High School and Kangundo High School, he joined Kenyatta University in 1974. There, he spent the remainder of his academic career teaching theatre history, drama, playwriting, directing, and acting until his retirement in 2021.

A prolific writer, Mulwa authored numerous works published by several publishers from 1983 onward. They included Buriani (1983) (with A. S Yahya), Ukame (1984) (with A. S Yahya), Mkimbizi (1988) (with A. S Yahya), Daraja (1986), Master and Servant (1987), Redemption (1990), Glasshouses (2000), Clean Hands (2000), Crocodile’s Jaw (2003), Inheritance (2004), Katende Says “No”(2007), We Come in Peace, (2011), Flee, Mama Flee (2014), and Bahati’s Love Nest (2017).

Mulwa was also a familiar face on the big and small screen with roles in the movies Born Free (1974), To Walk with Lions (1999), Dangerous Affair (2002), Project Daddy (2005), and Lost in Africa (2010). Kenyan audiences will remember him fondly for roles in Makutano Junction, The Agency, and Heartbeat FM.

For his work, he was given a Hero’s award by the Kenyatta University’s governing council and also received two recognitions from the Kenya Film Commission, the Kalasha Award for Lifetime Achievement and Theatre Lifetime Achievement.

He is remembered as an affable, influential, and enduring figure in Kenya’s cultural landscape.

Read more about the late David Mulwa’s career here.