Author of Popular KCSE Set Book Dies

Renowned novelist and creative writer Henry ole Kulet
Renowned novelist and creative writer Henry ole Kulet
File

Kenyan literature lovers are mourning the death of a prolific writer and author who rose to international acclaim through his art. 

The family confirmed on Wednesday, February 17 that Henry ole Kulet died at Mediheal Hospital in Nakuru.

Ole Kulet was aged 72 years at the time of his death and is the author of the current high school set book Blossoms of the Savannah which he published in 2008. 

Renowned novelist and creative writer Henry ole Kulet
Renowned novelist and creative writer Henry ole Kulet
File

Many of his novels capture aspects of the environment, culture and experiences of Maasai people.

Other titles in his name include Daughter of Maa, It is Possible, How to Become a Man, and Bandits of Kibi.

Ole Kulet was a three-time winner of the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature which is the highest honour for Kenyan authors. 

In 2019, he was awarded the Elder of the Burning Spear medal by President Uhuru Kenyatta for his contribution to literature in the country. 

The author grew up in Narok at a time when the colonial government ordered that all boys be sent to school. 

His writing began to develop early on with encouragement from his teachers. During that time, most of the boys in his high school, being sons of pastoralists, were encouraged to study range management and animal husbandry with the hope that they would improve their livestock.

He was attached to large-scale white settlers to learn farm management with short stints at Egerton College which, at that time, specialised in training dairy technicians and farm managers.

The author was employed as an assistant manager by the Kenya Farmers Association (KFA). It was while working there that he wrote his debut novel, Is it Possible?.  

Ole Kulet retired at the age of 41 in 1987 as a personnel executive in charge of a workforce of four thousand employees.

He went on to have a successful career as a novelist that has seen him sell thousands of copies over the past thirty three years. 

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