Mgonjwa Mwitu: A political play about Adani, a greedy businessman and dysfunctional systems

A man's voice breaks the silence. He's moaning - but not quite in pain. Then, bam - the stage lights flicker on, revealing Bilal Wanjau's commanding presence as Adani, draped dramatically across a couch, moaning from one of his many imaginary ailments.

This sets the tone for the innuendos that pepper the play, offering cheeky humour that, while hilarious at first, wears thin after a while. 

The innuendo culminates in a particularly absurd scene in which a fake lawyer, trying to trick Adani into signing over all his assets to his flamboyant socialite wife Belinda (played with flair by Terry Ngangi), cites a fictitious "Clause 69 D" from the Constitution.

Mgonjwa Mwitu is Kenya's sharp satirical take on Molière's 1673 classic Le Malade Imaginaire, and it blew away the audience that packed Lohana Hall in Nakuru.

A clever blend of satire, slapstick and farce, the play pokes fun at hypochondria, medical quackery and dysfunctional family dynamics. 

At the heart of the story is Adani, a wealthy man obsessed with his health. So obsessed, in fact, that he plans to marry off his daughter Angelica to Thomas, a clueless young doctor, in the hope of reducing his medical bills by keeping a doctor in the family.

But Angelica is in love with Clinton - a man who actually cares about her - setting up a clash between true love and her father's selfish schemes. 

Toneta, the sharp-tongued, quick-thinking maid, orchestrates a series of tricks and deceptions to help the lovers and expose Adani's ridiculous infirmities.

In the end, Adani is forced to face the truth: his illnesses are more in his head than in his body.

While Wanjau, an acting legend in his own right, brings much-needed gravitas to the play, it's Wakio Mzenge who steals the spotlight. Her performance as the quick-witted maid Toneta is nothing short of extraordinary.

Her comic timing is excellent and she struts the stage as if she was born on it. 

Moreover, her performance as the fake French doctor is easily one of the best in the play. Mzenge finds a way to contain her character's great energy while still allowing her presence to permeate the entire theatre.

The character of Adani is a deliberate reference to the controversial Adani Group, giving the play a timely political resonance.

But director Stuart Nash doesn't stop at clever naming - he updates the entire narrative, giving it a distinctly Kenyan flavour.

Mgonjwa Mwitu pulls no punches in its political satire. From the alleged sale of JKIA to Adani, the rebranding of NHIF as SHIF, salary cuts, the Gen Z protests and the impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, to the crumbling state of health and education, nothing escapes the show's commentary.