Kenya’s iconic comic character Bongoman has made the leap from newspaper pages to mobile phones with the launch of Bongoman: The Game, an action-adventure game based on veteran cartoonist James Kamawira’s creation.
The game was launched at Alliance Française de Nairobi during the East African Comic Worlds event. It was developed by Mellowphant Games in collaboration with Kamawira, popularly known as Kham, giving younger audiences a new way to interact with a character that has entertained newspaper readers for decades.
The launch also coincided with the release of Kham’s new children’s comic book, Babu & the Kidnappers, published by e-Kitabu.
Alliance Française described the game as a way of “reimagining an iconic character for a new generation of audiences and players”.
Bongoman first appeared in newspapers in 1989, although Kham says he conceived the character two years earlier while working as a graphic designer in Nairobi.
“Bongoman was conceived in 1987 while I was a graphics designer in a small design firm in Nairobi, but it was not until I joined the Kenya Times newspaper in 1989 that it started running in the newspaper,” Kham said in an interview.
Set in Nairobi’s Eastlands, the comic strip follows the everyday struggles of an ordinary Kenyan trying to make ends meet. Bongoman is married to Mama Boi and is the father of 10-year-old Boi.
“Bongoman is the ordinary Kenyan who resides in the Eastlands suburbs of Nairobi,” Kham explained. “He is unemployed most times but ‘hassling’ to earn a living although the household is largely supported by the wife who runs a grocery store in the estate.”
Kham describes the character as “the alter ego of the typical Kenyan man who gets to do what most would want to do but can’t or won’t”.
The blend of humour, family life and social realities has helped sustain the comic strip’s appeal over the years.
Born in 1965 in Nyeri County, Kham is a self-trained artist who began drawing as a child and has worked as an editorial cartoonist for more than 25 years.
His career began in the mid-1980s when he worked as a trainee graphic artist at Central Arts Promotion in Nairobi from 1985 to 1987. He later joined advertising agency Hill Ayton, now known as Ayton Young and Rubicam, as a finished artist.
In 1989, he joined Kenya Times Media Trust as an editorial cartoonist, the same year Bongoman began appearing in the newspaper.
“I began my working career as a trainee graphics designer and two years later I joined an Advertising Agency, Hill Ayton, as a finished artist,” Kham said. “I still had a burning desire to do cartoons for the media and I finally got the chance to do so when I was invited by the Kenya Times Media Trust to be their editorial cartoonist in 1989.”
After Kenya Times collapsed, Kham moved to Media House before joining the Standard Group, where he worked as an editorial cartoonist until 2013. During his career, he continued producing the daily Bongoman strip and the Sunday children’s comic Babu.
Beyond Bongoman, Kham has created several other characters, including Babu, JJ and Inspector Kamata.
“As a cartoonist I have created many characters, some never even saw the light of day,” he said. “A comic artist is always in the process of creation. I may create some other character in the future, who knows.”
His work has also reached international audiences. He has held joint exhibitions with prominent Kenyan cartoonists, including Paul Kelemba, popularly known as Maddo, the late Frank Odoi and Gado, in Kenya, Tanzania, Switzerland, Italy and Norway.
Kham has also created cartoons for the World Bank, the BBC and publications in Norway, the United States and Finland. He was among the principal artists involved in developing the internationally recognised POPED series.
Asked about his inspiration, Kham pointed to everyday experiences and storytelling.
“Largely from everything about me and my love for a good story,” he said. “I enjoy the very act of bringing a fictional character to life.”
The mobile game marks another step in the evolution of Bongoman, taking a character rooted in print into interactive entertainment. It also offers an example of how Kenyan creative work can reach audiences beyond traditional publishing as younger consumers increasingly engage with digital content.
Alliance Française described Bongoman: The Game as an action-adventure video game inspired by what it called Kenya’s longest-running comic strip, with local developer Mellowphant Games leading the digital adaptation.
The game is available on Android devices. Players can search for “Bongoman the Game” on the Google Play Store.