| Genre: | Comedy show |
| Starring: | Benson Wanjau; Mary Khavere |
| Country: | Kenya |
| Language: | Kiswahili |
| Location: | Nairobi |
| Channel: | KBC |
Vitimbi is a Kenyan television comedy show that premiered in 1985 on Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, then known as Voice of Kenya. It revolves around the family of Mzee Ojwang and his wife Mama Kayai as they experience challenges of managing a restaurant.
The term 'vitimbi' can be translated to mean 'machinations' or 'intrigues' or 'drama' in Kiswahili.[1] The popular actors and actresses are the late Benson Wanjau alias Mzee Ojwang Hatari, Mary Khavere alias Mama Kayai as Mzee Ojwang's wife, Davis Mwambili alias Mwala and Julius Nyambegere alias Mogaka. Over the years, the show has won numerous awards for its ability to entertain and at the same time educate Kenyans on various social issues.[2] Kenya's second president, was particularly fond of the show and the actors were always given an opportunity to perform during national celebrations.[3] The show was controversially ended in 2014 after airing for more than 30 years because the actors were deemed "too old".[4] The plan was initially to revamp the show by bringing in new and younger actors who would carry the names of older actors such as Mzee Ojwang and Mama Kayai. However, the show was pulled off air altogether and no longer airs on the national broadcaster.[5] The Show returned back to KBC in 2022, with some new talents[6] The new stars include Hussein Yussuf commonly called Bahali Yake Mwenyewe[7] and Scolly Cheruto as Chemasunde[8] and Mary Nzula Munyao as Regina Katunge and Hussein Yussuf commonly known as Bahali Yake Mwenyewe.