Journalism wouldn’t have taken me anywhere – Abel Mutua reveals.
Written by Zenna Issa on January 27, 2024
Abel Mutua, an award-winning scriptwriter, film director, and actor, shared the hilarious events that led him to pursue film production and become a household name.
Abel, cheekily decided to apply for multiple courses, technical ones as well because he was scared that if he applied for one he might miss it.
Ironically, he was called to do an engineering course which he immediately refused.
“I told my mom uwongo mbaya! Twende jeshi! Let us go to the military… hii haiwezi, physics? Never, hiyo haingeweza. Never,” started the celebrated movie producer as he recounted his earlier years.
Abel went on to narrate how he was madly stressed as he could not picture himself doing an engineering course especially because he did not even do Physics in high school and had scored a D in mathematics after sitting for his KCSE.
“So manze I was there stranded so I went to the H.O.D. to plead my case. I was like, to be honest I had come here to do broadcast because I wanted to be on screen reading news and all that.”
“The H.O.D was like the course is full so unless you want to forfeit this chance and then try your luck next year,” he said while speaking on the CTA podcast.
The father of one went on to add that luckily, lady luck was on his side. Interestingly, he met with a guy in the same predicament as him which ended up changing the entire trajectory of his life.
“Kidogo kidogo tu, I think stories just spread. My case caught the attention of a guy known as Roy, he was in the same predicament as me. He was such a brilliant mind but had been called to do film production, deep down he was an engineer.
We met up with Roy and he told me he had been called to do film even though he wanted to do engineering.
I reasoned film was closer to broadcast so we decided for the rest of the day to attend each other’s classes and see how it goes. We went to the H.O.D afterwards and they agreed to switch us up,” Abel, who doubles as a digital content creator narrated.
Still narrating his hilarious campus days, Abel said now looking back at it all it was God looking out for him.
“All this time I was frustrated about not doing journalism but all along it was just God looking out for me,” the father of one animatedly narrated.
He went on to add that he was so grateful that things worked out the way they did as journalism would never have worked out for him and he’d never have gone far in life.
“God alikuwa ananitoa kwa ngori kwa sababu journalism haingenipeleka anywhere. Nothing!
Mimi ni mtu wa cinema, I grew up with Van Damme and Chuck Norris, I am a creative! Sasa broadcast niende nikafanye nini? Niende nikaokote news?“Abel Mutua recounted.
Finishing up he wholeheartedly thanked God and Roy for being at the right place at the right time.
“All this happened in one day. In the morning I attended a Physics class then went to the H.OD at 10 am and met with Roy at lunchtime, had Roy not been around that day I would not have gone to KIMC.
If he had lost hope and been like, since I missed engineering there is no use of me going to class it would have ended like that for me,“ Abel animatedly said.