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David Maillu in conversation with Nyambura Mutanyi

Retrospective on post-independence Kenyan fiction

Nairobi Litfest 2026, 

David Maillu is a prolific Kenyan known for his enthralling novels dating from the 1970s. He has written over 60 books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in Kikamba, English, and Kiswahili. Mailu's sensational novel, After 4:30 –which was first published in 1974– was recently reissued and spoke to the realities of the lives of urban housewives, office secretaries, and sex workers. Mailu's bold and provocative style both shocked and revolutionised literature from East Africa, firmly entrenching Maillu’s name among the older generation of literary giants. Mailu will be in conversation with Nyambura Mutanyi.