Writer King’ori Gachoka has traced the start of his career to a typewriter once owned by the late Prof Francis Imbuga, saying the machine helped turn a rejected handwritten script into his first serious literary break.
The account was shared at the launch of an exhibition of Imbuga’s works at the Kenya National Archives in Nairobi on Monday, November 20, 2018. The display, which will run until April 2019, brings together material from the playwright’s life and career and will be open to the public free of charge.
Gachoka said he was 22 when he first met Imbuga, who was then 47 and serving as dean in the Arts Department at Kenyatta University. At the time, Gachoka could not afford a typewriter and had taken a play script to a local television station, only for it to be turned away because it was handwritten.
He later showed the rejected work to Imbuga in the hope of borrowing a machine. Instead, the professor was impressed enough to let him use his Olympia Traveller DeLuxe portable typewriter.
Gachoka said he prepared for the handover carefully because he knew the moment would be emotional. He told the audience that in July and August that year he carried the typewriter to meetings and other events before finally parting with it.
“It is yours now. I gave it to you,” Gachoka recalled Imbuga telling him when he returned the machine, a remark that left him stunned at the time. He said the typewriter remained in working condition, although it was slow.
The machine was used to produce Gachoka’s first novel, Divided Life, which he said opened doors for him in the literary field. He added that the book brought him into contact with established figures in the industry, including Prof Egara Kabaji, who attended the launch.
Standard Group chief executive officer Orlando Lyomu, the chief guest at the event, said the exhibition would allow Kenyans to engage with Imbuga’s ideas and legacy. He urged people with drama-related ideas to work with the media and said Standard Group would continue partnering with the Kenya National Archives in support of national heritage.
Other guests included Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology vice chancellor Fred Otieno and his Kenyatta University counterpart Paul Wainaina. The exhibition, titled An Exhibition of Prof Francis Imbuga’s Literary Works, includes photographs from his days as an actor, images of his young family and pictures taken shortly before his death.
Imbuga remains one of Kenya’s best-known playwrights, with Betrayal in the City among the most studied works in local schools. His other books include Aminata, Man of Kafira, The Burning of Rags and The Successor. His writing often explored tensions between modernity and tradition in African society.
Among the items on display is the typewriter that Gachoka says helped launch his career and later became part of the tribute to Imbuga’s literary contribution.
