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Storyteller, Actor & Filmmaker
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Abel Mutua Musyoka, popularly known as “Mkurugenzi”, is a Kenyan actor, scriptwriter, filmmaker, content creator and entrepreneur born on 28 August 1986 in Nairobi. A Kenya Institute of Mass Communication alumnus, he first captured the national imagination as “Freddie” on Citizen TV’s high school drama Tahidi High, before transitioning behind the camera as a writer and creative force on shows such as Hapa Kule News and The Real Househelps of Kawangware. In 2012, he co-founded Phil-It Productions with director Philip “Director Phil” Karanja, growing it into one of Kenya’s leading film and TV production houses. Through Phil-It, Abel has written and co-created acclaimed projects including the feature film Grand Little Lie (2021), which reportedly grossed over KSh 4 million in under a week before landing on Netflix in 2024, and the action drama Click Click Bang (2022), which also went on to stream globally on Netflix in 2023. His more recent work includes the hard-hitting film Makosa Ni Yangu (2024), centred on gender-based violence and launched via a record-breaking premiere in Nairobi that drew well over 5,700 attendees, as well as the dramedy series Untying Kantai, which premiered on Showmax in May 2024. In the digital space, Abel has reinvented himself as one of East Africa’s most influential storytellers. His YouTube channel—home to series such as Young & Stupid, Celebrity First Encounters, Mkurugenzi Diastories and Headline Hitters—blends humour, nostalgia and meticulous narrative structure, attracting a large and devoted online community. He has extended this storytelling ethos into audio with The Mkurugenzi Podcast, which ranked among the top three most listened-to podcasts in Kenya on Spotify in 2024. His impact has been recognised beyond viewership numbers: he was honoured at the Young Entrepreneurs Awards in 2018 and, as head writer of Untying Kantai, has been associated with the series’ multiple nominations and wins at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, underscoring his role in shaping contemporary Kenyan film and television.
Pioneering Kenyan film and TV creator: Rose to fame as “Freddie” on Tahidi High, then became a leading scriptwriter and co-founder of Phil-It Productions, shaping hit shows like The Real Househelps of Kawangware and multiple high-profile TV and film projects
Award-winning filmmaker with global reach: Wrote feature films such as Grand Little Lie and Click Click Bang, which achieved strong local box office performance and later secured Netflix distribution, cementing his status as one of Kenya’s most commercially and critically successful screenwriters.
In mid-2024, Abel Mutua faced intense online backlash after a podcast interview where he recounted allegedly altering a Tahidi High script so he could film an on-screen kiss with co-star Sarah Hassan (“Tanya”). Critics on social media accused him of abusing his position as a scriptwriter and framed the story as unprofessional and unethical, prompting a wider debate about consent and power dynamics in the industry.
In late 2023, he was criticised following the death of his younger brother, with some Kenyans on social media accusing him of neglecting his sibling and later of planning to “monetise” the story on YouTube. Abel publicly responded, defending himself against the claims, stating that many fans knew the full story, that he had been supporting his brother during illness, and that sharing the story in future would be intended to help others rather than exploit the tragedy.
News articles featuring Abel Mutua
Record-breaking premieres and socially impactful storytelling: Wrote Makosa Ni Yangu, a film tackling gender-based violence that premiered in 2024 with one of Africa’s largest film premieres, drawing about 5,700–6,000 attendees and using cinema as a platform for social change; also head writer of Untying Kantai, a Showmax Original dramedy that has earned major regional award recognition
Digital-era storytelling leader and recognised entrepreneur: Built a powerful personal brand through his YouTube storytelling series (Young & Stupid, Celebrity First Encounters, Mkurugenzi Diastories) and The Mkurugenzi Podcast, which ranked among Kenya’s top podcasts on Spotify in 2024; additionally honoured at the Young Entrepreneurs Awards in 2018 for his impact in creative entrepreneurship
