Paper long abstract:

The paper revisits the work of Kenyan writer, David Maillu, one the important contributors to the emergence of a distinctly African popular literature in English. Through a study of two of his novels, For Mbatha and Rabeka and Benni Kamba 009 in Operation DX, representing two particular forms of his writing, it argues that popular writers, such as Maillu, are not merely purveyors of “light reading,” or “immoral values” as some of their critics argue, but also are at the centre of engaging with debates on the nature of Post-colonial formation and its relationship to the outside world.