Meja Mwangi

Meja Mwangi
Meja Mwangi
Born	David Dominic Mwangi; 27 December 1948; Nanyuki, Colony and Protectorate of Kenya
Died	11 December 2025 (aged 76); Malindi, Kenya
Education	Nanyuki Secondary School, Kenyatta College, University of Leeds
Occupations	Author; screenwriter;
Agent	Annemarie Friedli
Known for	One of Kenya's leading novelists; author of children's books
Notable work	Kill Me Quick; Going Down River Road; The Cockroach Dance;
Awards	Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa (1975–76). For awards for literary works, see §Meja Mwangi#Prizes and awards
Website	mejamwangi.com

David Dominic Mwangi (27 December 1948 – 11 December 2025), known by his pen name, Meja Mwangi, was a Kenyan writer. Apart from writing books, he worked in the film industry, including in screenwriting, assistant directing, and casting.

Life and career

Mwangi was born David Dominic Mwangi in Nanyuki, Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, and was educated at Nanyuki Secondary School, Kenyatta College, and briefly at the University of Leeds. He then worked for the French Broadcasting Corporation doing odd jobs and the British Council in Nairobi as Visual Aids Officer, before turning to writing full-time. He was Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa (1975–76).

After a long tenure on Kenya's and Africa's publishing scene, Mwangi moved to the United States, having gained international recognition and won several awards.

His best-known early work includes the novels Kill Me Quick (1973), Going Down River Road (1976), and The Cockroach Dance (1979), which illustrate the urban landscapes of Kenya, the struggle against poverty, and the AIDS epidemic.

Mwangi died in Malindi, Kenya, on 11 December 2025, at the age of 76.

Prizes and awards

For general readers

Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature for Kill Me Quick (1974 – English winner); The Last Plague (2001 – English winner); Boy Gift (2007 – English Youth third place); Big Chief (2009 – English Adult Fiction third place).
Lotus Prize for Literature (1978) presented by the Afro-Asian Writers' Association (aka Association of Asian and African Writers)

For juvenile readers

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Youth Literature Prize), for Kariuki und sein weißer Freund. Eine Erzählung aus Kenia (Little White Man (1990), title changed to The Mzungu Boy (1992))
Le Prix Lire au College for Kariuki (1992)
American Library Association (USA) Notable Children's Books Award for Older Readers, The Mzungu Boy (2006)

Shortlist

Noma Award (Honourable mention), for Bread of Sorrow (1989)
International Dublin Literary Award (Nomination), for The Last Plague (2002)

Literary works

In English

Kill Me Quick. East African Ecucational Publishers. 1973.
Carcase for Hounds. Peak Library. Heinemann Educational. 1974. ISBN 0-435-90145-1. Adapted for the film "Cry Freedom".
Taste of Death. Peak Library. Kenya: East African Publishing House. 1975.
Going Down River Road. Peak Library. Heinemann. 1976. ISBN 978-0435901769.
Mwangi, Meja (1979). The Bushtrackers. Longman Drumbeat. ISBN 0-582-78525-1.
Mwangi, Meja (1979). The Cockroach Dance. Longman. ISBN 0-582-64276-0.
Bread of Sorrow. 1987.
The Return of Shaka. 1989.
Mwangi, Meja (1989). Weapon of Hunger. Longman Kenya. ISBN 9966-49-813-3.
Jimi the Dog. 1990.
Striving for the Wind. Peak Library. Heinemann International Literature. 1992. ISBN 978-0435909796.
The Hunter's Dream. United Kingdom: Macmillan Education. 1994. ISBN 978-0333580028.
The Last Plague (Vitabu Vya Nyota Series, 2). Peak Library. East African Educational Publisher. 1997. ISBN 978-9966250827.
Mountain of Bones. 2001.
The Boy Gift. HM Books. 2006. ISBN 978-1-84728-471-6.
The Mzungu Boy. Canada: Groundwood Books. 2006. ISBN 978-0888996640.
Mwangi, Meja (2007). Mama Dudu, the Insect Woman. ISBN 978-1-84728-468-6.
Baba Pesa. HM Books Intl. 2007. ISBN 978-0-9796476-1-1.
Mwangi, Meja (2007). The Big Chiefs. ISBN 978-0-9796476-3-5.
Mwangi, Meja (2007). Gun Runner. HM Books Intl. ISBN 978-0-9796476-0-4.
Free?: Stories Celebrating Human Rights. Walker. 2009. ISBN 978-1406318302.
Rafiki - Man Guitar. HM Books Intl. 2013.
Christmas Without Tusker. HM Books. 2015. ISBN 978-0-982012680.

Translations

Carcaça para càès [Carcase for Hounds] (in Portuguese). Translated by Fernanda Tomé da Silva. Lisboa: Ediçoès 70. 1980.
Wie ein Aas für Hunde [Carcase for Hounds] (in German). Translated by Gunter Böhnke [in German]. Leipzig: Philipp Reclam. 1985.
Narben des Himmels [Striving for the Wind] (in German). Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag. 1992. ISBN 978-3872944719.
Kariuki (aventures avec le petit homme blanc) [The Mzungu Boy] (in French). 1992.
Mister Rivers letztes Solo [Weapon of Hunger] (in German). Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag. 1995. ISBN 978-3872946409.
Mwangi, Meja (1995). Kariuki und sein weißer Freund [The Mzungu Boy] (in German). Lamuv. ISBN 978-3889773227.
Die Achte Plage [The Last Plague] (in German). Translated by Susanne Koehler. Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag. 1997. ISBN 978-3872947758.
La Ballade des perdus [Kill Me Quick] (in French). Translated by Françoise Balogun. Editions Dapper. 2001. ISBN 978-2906067646.
Mwangi, Meja, ed. (2002). Descente a River Road [Going Down River Road] (in French). Translated by Jean-Baptiste Evette. Paris: Dapper. ISBN 978-2906067813.
Happy Valley [The Boy Gift] (in German). Translated by Thomas Brückner. Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag. 2006. ISBN 9783779500513.
Das Buschbaby [Mama Dudu, the Insect Woman] (in German). Translated by Thomas Brückner. Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag. 2007. ISBN 9783779501534.
Big Chiefs [The Big Chiefs] (in German). Translated by Thomas Brückner. Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag. 2009. ISBN 9783779502319.
Rafiki [Rafiki – Man Guitar] (in German). Translated by Thomas Brückner. Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag. 2014. ISBN 9783779504825.
Tanz der Kakerlaken [The Cockroach Dance] (in German). Translated by Jutta Himmelreich. Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag. 2015. ISBN 9783779505280.
Mwangi, Meja (2002). Descente à River Road (in French). Dapper. ISBN 978-2906067813.
Nairobi, River Road [Going Down River Road] (in German). Wuppertal: Peter Hammer Verlag. 1982. ISBN 978-3872942012.
Mwangi, Meja (2001). Die Wilderer [The Bushtrackers] (in German). Unionsverl. ISBN 978-3293202184.

Theatre, screenplays, and other adaptations

Power. HM Books. 2009. ISBN 978-0-9796476-9-7. (adaptation of The Big Chiefs – 2007)
Mwangi, Meja (2009). Blood Brothers. HM Books Intl. ISBN 978-0-9820126-0-4. (adaptation of Mama Dudu, the Insect Woman – 2007)

Filmography

Assistant director (1985). Out of Africa.
Second assistant director (1987). White Mischief.
Casting director (1988). The Kitchen Toto.

Notes

↑ The reference mentions his age upon death as 78, but this does not match the year of his birth, which makes him 76 upon death.

References

↑ Going Down River Road. Peak Library. Heinemann. 1976. ISBN 9780435901769.
↑ Mwangi, Meja (1979). The Cockroach Dance. Longman. ISBN 0-582-64276-0.
↑ "Meja Mwangi". Contemporary Writers. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
↑ "Meja Mwangi biography". Retrieved 26 October 2016.^{[dead link]}
↑ Chakava, Henry (1976). An H.E.B. Student's Guide Notes on Meja Mwangi's Kill Me Quick. Nairobi, Kenya: Heinemann Educational Books (East Africa) Ltd. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
↑ Ciugu, Mwagiru (13 December 2013). "Meja Mwangi, the reclusive writer with a mighty pen". Nation Media Group. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
↑ Dictionary of African Biography, via Oxford African American Studies Center database. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
↑ Nyambura, Esther (11 December 2025). "Writer and filmmaker Meja Mwangi is dead". standardmedia.co.ke. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
↑ Arana, R. Victoria (2008). The Facts on File companion to world poetry: 1900 to the present. Infobase Publishing. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-8160-6457-1. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
↑ "2006 Notable Children's Books announced — Older Readers". The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 6 February 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
↑ Meja Mwangi. Literature: Writers. British Council. 5 November 1973. ISBN 0-435-90143-5. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
↑ Muriungi, Agnes (31 December 2001). "The 'Total/Real' Man and the 'Proper' Woman: 1 Safe sex, risk and gender in Meja Mwangi's The Last Plague". English Studies in Africa.
↑ Kariuki (aventures avec le petit homme blanc) (in French). 1992. Retrieved 26 October 2016.

External links

Official website
Meja Mwangi at IMDb

[8] The reference mentions his age upon death as 78, but this does not match the year of his birth, which makes him 76 upon death.

[goingd-1] Going Down River Road. Peak Library. Heinemann. 1976. ISBN 9780435901769.

[cockr-2] Mwangi, Meja (1979). The Cockroach Dance. Longman. ISBN 0-582-64276-0.

[contp-3] "Meja Mwangi". Contemporary Writers. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.

[bbc-4] "Meja Mwangi biography". Retrieved 26 October 2016.^{[dead link]}

[5] Chakava, Henry (1976). An H.E.B. Student's Guide Notes on Meja Mwangi's Kill Me Quick. Nairobi, Kenya: Heinemann Educational Books (East Africa) Ltd. Retrieved 24 October 2016.

[nation-6] Ciugu, Mwagiru (13 December 2013). "Meja Mwangi, the reclusive writer with a mighty pen". Nation Media Group. Retrieved 24 October 2016.

[7] Dictionary of African Biography, via Oxford African American Studies Center database. Retrieved 13 March 2015.

[9] Nyambura, Esther (11 December 2025). "Writer and filmmaker Meja Mwangi is dead". standardmedia.co.ke. Retrieved 12 December 2025.

[Arana2008-10] Arana, R. Victoria (2008). The Facts on File companion to world poetry: 1900 to the present. Infobase Publishing. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-8160-6457-1. Retrieved 25 November 2011.

[11] "2006 Notable Children's Books announced — Older Readers". The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). 6 February 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2016.

[BC-12] Meja Mwangi. Literature: Writers. British Council. 5 November 1973. ISBN 0-435-90143-5. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2016.

[13] Muriungi, Agnes (31 December 2001). "The 'Total/Real' Man and the 'Proper' Woman: 1 Safe sex, risk and gender in Meja Mwangi's The Last Plague". English Studies in Africa.

[14] Kariuki (aventures avec le petit homme blanc) (in French). 1992. Retrieved 26 October 2016.

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat
National	United States France BnF data Czech Republic Netherlands Korea Poland Israel Belgium
People	Deutsche Biographie DDB
Other	IdRef Open Library SNAC Yale LUX

Meja Mwangi
Born	David Dominic Mwangi (1948-12-27)27 December 1948 Nanyuki, Colony and Protectorate of Kenya
Died	11 December 2025(2025-12-11) (aged 76) Malindi, Kenya
Education	Nanyuki Secondary School, Kenyatta College, University of Leeds
Occupations	Author screenwriter
Agent	Annemarie Friedli
Known for	One of Kenya's leading novelists; author of children's books
Notable work	Kill Me Quick Going Down River Road The Cockroach Dance
Awards	Fellow in Writing at the University of Iowa (1975–76). For awards for literary works, see §Meja Mwangi#Prizes and awards
Website	mejamwangi.com