Keeping up with acrobatics and humour of Victor Ndula’s cartoons

Githuku Mungai complains that the Nation “has never told us” who this cartoonist who “signs off as VCNDLA” is. If that is his name, Githuku demands, can it be so confirmed? And then he says: “When it comes to caricaturing, he’s at the top of the game.”

So, who “signs off as VCNDLA”? There sure is a handwriting reading challenge here. I read Victor Ndula’s sign-off as “VCNDUL0” and I’m sure other readers, like Githuku, may have their own versions. So I asked Ndula what the correct reading of his sign-off is. I also asked him about the significance of “number 27”, which appears in his sign-off. 

“It’s VICNDULA, the short form of my full name, Victor Ndula,” he said, and what I read as “number 27” is “supposed to read 21, the last two digits of the year 2021”.

Further, I asked Ndula when he joined the Nation, and from where. “I joined NMG in May 2019,” he said. “I have worked here for two years, now going to my third. I used to work for The Star; I was there for 11 years. This isn’t my first stint with NMG, though. I used to contribute a weekly cartoon for the Coast Express many years back, before it folded up.”

I also asked Ndula how and when he learnt cartooning. “I learnt (cartooning) on the go, through opportunities to contribute cartoons for newspapers and periodicals. I also worked closely with Gado, Maddo, the late Frank Odoi and Khamawira, picking tips of the trade, making many mistakes along the way too. I’m still learning.”

Ndula is the best political cartoonist in the NMG stable. He employs to great effect all the techniques of political cartooning. Most of his principal characters have agile and elastic limbs and are often seen in motion. Their acrobatics bring vigour, energy and vitality to his messages.

Take the “Optimism in a nutshell” political cartoon published on Wednesday, for example. We see President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM party leader Raila Odinga riding a cart overladen with “BBI Report”. The cart is drawn by a wooden rocking horse. The left-handed Uhuru is holding the reins with his right hand while clasping Raila, who is clinging on to his back, with the left. Raila is using his elongated feet and arms to hang on to Uhuru’s pot belly. The cartoon is chock-full of symbolism, irony, analogy, satire and humour.

Uses words sparingly

Ndula acutely analyses political events. What distinguishes him from most other cartoonists is that he analyses events rather than merely illustrating them. He is the best thing that has happened to the Nation since Gado (Godfrey Mwampembwa), who, for over two decades, dominated the political cartoonist scene. But while Gado used words, including captions and speech bubbles, to communicate his messages effectively, Ndula uses words sparingly. Some of his best cartoons are wordless.

In one of his latest wordless cartoons, Ndula depicts National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi trying to crown himself. Muturi is seen holding a crown on top of the head of another Muturi perched on Uhuru’s lap. His eyes are on Uhuru, who has folded his arms across his chest, as if he’s hesitant or not interested. However, Uhuru’s face is not shown, so we can’t see his facial expression.

In another cartoon, whose only words are “Mt Kenya” posted on a direction sign, Uhuru is shown holding a crown. Next to him is ANC Party Leader Musalia Mudavadi peacocking on a red carpet, eager to be crowned. But he, like Uhuru, is startled by the appearance of MPs Moses Kuria and Kimani Ichung’wa, who are right behind him rolling out their own red carpet on top of his. MP Alice Wahome is sprinkling petals of flowers on the carpet as Deputy President William Ruto goose-steps on the carpet.

Cartoons with very few words or none can be more effective because they don’t depend on one’s command of English to understand the nuances of the message. Also, because they have no words to guide the reader, you can have more fun interpreting the message. This is one of the reasons why Ndula’s cartoons are so entertaining.

The Public Editor is an independent news ombudsman who handles readers’ complaints on editorial matters including accuracy and journalistic standards. Email: [email protected]. Call or text 0721989264.