“Maillu the moralist, Maillu the practical psychologist, Maillu the homespun philosopher, Maillu the comedian, Maillu the popular publisher, tries to provide the kind of stimulating entertainment that will satisfy the mental hunger of his people and thereby help to sustain ‘the human life’ in Kenya.” (Bernth Lindfors (1982)
David Maillu on self-expression: “I have four ways of expressing myself: a.Literature b.Painting and Drawing c: Building d.Music”
“Among his best-selling romances and crime fiction two short novels influenced by Ian Flemming’s James Bond and featuring African secret service agent Benni Kamba 009, are sf. In The Equatorial Assignment (1980) Benni Kamba fights the megalomaniac Dr. Thunder who tries to control the continent by placing puppet presidents in every African country. A ‘fight againtst the mysterious disease named ‘disconnector’ in a fictitious African country named Darba is the topic of Operation DXT (1986), where Benni Kamba discovers the epidemic is being manufactured by a conglomerate established in the Mediterranean.”(SF Encyclopaedia).
4:30 is the novel from 1974 that brought Maillu fame and shame. It has been released again and again with different covers. Been out of print for a long time, but now available on on-line reading platforms. However controversial he may be, David Maillu received the coveted Jomo Kenyatta prize literature in 1992.
