Reflections on winning the Wahome Mutahi Prize

When my publisher challenged me to write a humourous novel that could potentially be entered for the Wahome Mutahi Prize, my first reaction was 'No'. Having written ‘more serious’ work like ‘The Last Villains of Molo’ and handled dark thematic concerns like extrajudicial killings, I was readying myself to settle for the ‘dark writer’ tag.

But they insisted, and in fact the editor told me he had pitched their idea to the board. I had no option but to write or lose my credibility.

The second, and perhaps the bigger reason for the hesitation was because of the very reason the award was established: the legacy of Wahome Mutahi. I grew up reading ‘Whispers’, the popular column by the satirist and author Wahome, who passed away in 2003. I felt that any work that even hopes to be associated with Wahome Mutahi needs to be as great as his own work. For this reason, I encountered the biggest writers block of my career.

Wahome left an indelible mark in the writing scene. As Dr. Tom Odhiambo, chair of the award committee said at the award ceremony on 28th September, more than 10 years later The Sunday Nation has been unable to find a replacement for Whispers. Writing humour is not easy – it is easier to tell tales of woe than to make people laugh. It is no wonder that in 2018, there was no winner of the award, since the judges did not find any submission worthy.

So, how does one write like Whispers, without copying him?

And yet, it is by studying the style and aesthetical building blocks of Wahome’s stories that I found a way out. I found that Wahome’s work was centred on three principles; Simplicity, Characterisation, and Message.

Simplicity

Wahome’s ‘Whispers’, and novel ‘Three Days on the Cross’ were very simply written, simplicity here meaning the absence of obscure and verbose language. The plot lines were straightforward and easy to follow. Wahome must have borrowed a leaf from Leonardo da Vinci’s famous statement: Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication.

If you make a story too complicated, people will not read it.

When I set out to write my manuscript, I stuck to the ideal of making the storyline simple and straightforward: a man who sells ‘mutura’ by the wayside gets drawn into a betting syndicate. In fact, some of the book’s readers have dismissed it as ‘nothing more than a high school composition’.

Characterisation

Those of us who followed ‘Whispers’ grew to love each of the characters: Pajero the Investment, Whispero Junior, Thatcher, Uncle Jethro and others. Wahome took time to build believable characters that we could all identify with and love. And did we love them!

I put all the love in Elisha the cobbler. In him, I could talk about societal issues without interfering with the characterisation of Thomas the ‘mutura’ man. It is only towards the end that the reader knows that these characters are not as simple as they thought, and that the pawns have fooled the players.

Message

Wahome taught us that even when using humour, a writer must not forget the reason that they write. Behind the humour, Whispers educated us about life, politics, corruption, friendship and much more. 

I thought I should write my book behind the jiko of a mutura seller; to make the world see what he sees, the clients he interacts with and general world view. It was also an indictment of the society, who will see roadside food vendors as dimwits, not capable of outsmarting the ‘players’. It is no wonder that Aria is visibly surprised to see Thomas’ well-kept house.

During the research for the novella, I was overwhelmed by stories of woe. I got in touch with people who had lost their livelihoods through betting. As part of my research, I signed up to several betting apps and lost quite a bit of money myself. I discovered why it is easy to get addicted – because you win some money and think you are in a winning streak, until you lose it all. I was also more conscious of the media messaging around betting.

I learnt a lot during my betting adventure; that betting is not for the faint hearted. It takes a high level of intelligence and awareness to be betting. This is contrary to what the non-betting population thinks about the people who bet.

I needed to have all this in the story, and that is why to the chagrin of many people, I don’t let the characters fall in love and live happily ever after.

These are the principles that guided my writing. I am happy that the judges saw the value of a simple story with a strong message.

Winning the Wahome Mutahi Prize means a lot to me. Most of the time I felt that I was shooting in the dark, in a theme and style that was unfamiliar. My mentor, John Sibi-Okumu, helped me realise that for me to succeed I needed to get rid of some self-limiting beliefs that were holding me back. “I can’t write humour.” “I can’t win this.” “This is unfamiliar territory.”

This win is a personal story of triumph. I am hoping that by sharing it, I will incite another writer to step up in this genre.

* My interview with Kenya's Daily Nation Newspaper was published on 19th October 2019. Here is the link: https://mobile.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/1950774-5316512-r4x4uc/index.html