Nation mourns celebrated playwright and theatre stalwart David Kakuta Mulwa
Celebrated playwright, actor, director, and academic Prof David Kakuta Mulwa died on Friday, December 5, 2025. Photo/File
Veteran playwright, actor, director and academic Prof David Kakuta Mulwa died on Friday, December 5, 2025.
Prof Mulwa’s passing was announced in a statement from his family that paid tribute to his bravery and thanked well‑wishers for their support and prayers during his illness.
According to the family, the theatre giant and academic died during treatment of second cardiac arrest.
He was born on 9 April 1945, in Mukaa — then part of Machakos District.
Prof Mulwa’s journey into theatre began in childhood, performing in primary school. He later attended Machakos Boys’ High School and Alliance High School before enrolling at the University of Nairobi.
A Rockefeller Foundation scholarship took him to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he earned a Master’s degree in Theatre Arts.
In 1974, he joined the faculty of Kenyatta University, where he taught drama, playwriting, directing and acting for decades.
Through his teaching and mentorship he shaped generation after generation of Kenyan actors, directors, writers and theatre practitioners.
Prof Mulwa’s creativity produced a rich and influential body of work: his novels and plays remain part of Kenya’s cultural heritage.
Among his celebrated works are Inheritance, ‘Clean Hands’, ‘Glass Houses’, ‘Master and Servant’, ‘Crocodile’s Jaw’, ‘Daraja’, ‘Redemption’, ‘We Come in Peace’, and ‘Bahati’s Love Nest’.
Through his plays, Prof Mulwa engaged deeply with social and political realities — exploring themes of corruption, morality, identity and societal change.
Dramatic critics note his use of tragicomic devices to reflect the hopes and contradictions of Kenyan society.
Beyond the written page, Prof Mulwa was an active performer: he graced stage, television and film across several decades.
He served as an adjudicator for the national Kenya Drama Festivals Committee from 1978, helping foster theatre talent from grassroots to national level.
His contributions earned him multiple honours, including Kenyatta University’s Hero’s Award and lifetime‑achievement recognitions from the Kenya Film Commission.
His passing comes at a time of profound loss for Kenya’s literary and Kiswahili‑language community. Just days earlier, on 27 November 2025, the country lost respected Kiswahili scholar and author Mr Ruo Kimani‑Ruo.
In August this year, academia also mourned the death of Professor John Hamu Habwe — a long-serving lecturer, novelist and academic who had chaired the Kiswahili and Linguistics departments at the University of Nairobi and mentored several generations of students.
With the departure of Prof Mulwa, Ruo and Habwe in the same calendar year, Kenya faces the loss of some of its greatest minds in drama, literature and language — a generational shake‑up for the cultural community.
As many pay tribute, the question now is whether younger Kenyans will rise up to carry forward the legacy they leave behind.
