Former cowhand now milking money from riveting books

Jeff Mandila took his first book manuscript to a publisher but was rejected on sight. Years later, his books are on demand. (Photo:Robert Amalemba/Standard)

When his dad passed on while he was 16, Jeff Mandila’s life was almost shattered.

His mother, a house wife, could hardly take care of their family of six. Difficult as it was, he did not wallow in self-pity. He started off as a milkman and is now an award winning writer.

He shares his life of determination, sheer hard work and finally triumph in the face of misery and poverty following his dad’s death.

“I missed several classes because of being sent home for fees, but by the grace of God, I was able to finish my high school studies. After Form Four, a Good Samaritan advised that I go to Uganda to further my studies. I did Form Five and Six, passed and got a chance to study at Bugema University. I got a sponsor who helped pay my fees,” says Mandila.

At Bugema University, he pursued a Bachelors degree in Education majoring in Kiswahili and CRE.

After completing his degree, Mandila came back home eager to share what he had learnt and participate in economic building.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  Kenyan startups must prioritise sustainable practices to survive

But settling in was not as easy as he had envisioned.

“I applied to several places in vain. I became desperate and started looking for any job,” he recalls.

“I found my mum was doing as badly as I left her and my sisters had gotten married. After searching tirelessly, I got a job as a milkman on a rich man’s farm. It was not paying well but at least mum and I were able to survive,” he recalls the painful memories.

Life as a milkman as not easy and this is what inspired him to write his first book Sikitiko la Sambaya.

The book speaks about how difficult life was after his father passed on, his experience as a milkman and his yearning for success.

So how did he transform from a milkman into a celebrated author?

“I used to take the cows to the grazing fields and as they fed on the lush grass, I would sit under a tree somewhere and pen down my experiences just to vent. I had no idea that one day they would be published into inspiring books,” Mandila says.

When his manuscripts were filled into hundreds of pages, one day, something challenged him to take the books to a certain publisher in Nairobi.

“I said ‘why not just give it a try?’ If a publisher rejected them, well and good, and if they were received well, it would be good for me,” he says.

As expected for first timers, when he dropped his manuscript at a certain publisher, he was not well received.

 “I was given very cold treatment and my manuscript was rejected. Maybe it was because I was not dressed well. But I vowed not to give up. I soldiered on,” he recalls.

That same day, he walked with the ‘rejected’ manuscript from Nairobi’s Kariobangi to Industrial Area where the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation Publishers (JKFP) is located. It was here that he was received well.

“I met one Philip Ochoi who welcomed me warmly and even bought me tea as we discussed the manuscript. They accepted the manuscript and it was published into my first book Sikitiko la Sambaya in 2010,” says Mandila.

One year after landing in the market, Sikitiko La Sambaya went on to win a Wahome Mutahi Award for Adult Fiction.

After that breakthrough, his manuscripts were on demand. Interestingly, even the publisher who had ‘rejected’ him, called him.

He took his second manuscript which was a play, titled Upepeo wa Mvua, to JKFP because of the warm reception he had received. The play was published in 2013.

What inspired him to become an author?

“There were these Tanzanian books; Kitumbua Kimeingia Mchanga and Kiu which happened to be setbook texts for Kenyan secondary schools a while ago. The theme in the books was Tanzanian, even their diction. How does a student deep in Rift Valley or even Western know what Kitumbua is? Yet that is what was recommended for us as a setbook. This inspired my writing. I write to suit the entire East African setting,” he says.

Mandila who is also a personal assistant to Kakamega Deputy Governor Prof Philip Kutima says he will continue to write as long as there are ills that need to be highlighted. He says writing keeps him going.