# Rafiki
**Rafiki** (Swahili for "friend") is a 2018 Kenyan drama film directed by Wanuri Kahiu, telling the love story of two young women, Kena and Ziki, in Nairobi, where homosexuality remains a criminal offense. It was the first Kenyan feature film selected in the official competition of the Cannes Film Festival, screened in Un Certain Regard in 2018, and it became the center of a landmark Kenyan censorship case that ran from a 2018 ban to a 2026 Court of Appeal ruling.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/rafiki/) • [2](https://filmmovement.com/userFiles/uploads/films/rafiki/rafiki_presskit_4.8.pdf) • [3](https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2024/10/25/le-kenya-geant-economique-mais-nain-culturel-il-y-a-un-anti-intellectualisme-des-autorites_6359527_3212.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and year | Wanuri Kahiu, 2018; her second feature after *From a Whisper* (2009)[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/rafiki/) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-rafiki-wanuri-kahiu-afi-fest-20181110-story.html) |
| Source | Adaptation of Ugandan writer Monica Arac de Nyeko's short story "Jambula Tree", winner of the 2007 Caine Prize for African Writing[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-rafiki-wanuri-kahiu-afi-fest-20181110-story.html) |
| Cast | Samantha Mugatsia (Kena), Sheila Munyiva (Ziki), with Jimmi Gathu, Nini Wacera, Dennis Musyoka, Patricia Amira, Neville Misati, and Muthoni Gathecha[5](https://trigon-film.org/en/films/rafiki/) |
| Format | 82 minutes (listed as 83 minutes by some distributors), English and Swahili, Kenya with international co-production partners[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/rafiki/) • [6](https://filmmovement.com/product/rafiki) |
| Cannes 2018 | Un Certain Regard selection; the first Kenyan feature in the festival's official competition[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/rafiki/) • [3](https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2024/10/25/le-kenya-geant-economique-mais-nain-culturel-il-y-a-un-anti-intellectualisme-des-autorites_6359527_3212.html) |
| Kenyan ban | Classified RESTRICTED by the Kenya Film Classification Board in April 2018; lifted for one week by the High Court in September 2018; on appeal in January 2026 the ban was ruled no longer absolute[7](https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kehc/2020/6500/eng%402020-04-29/source) • [8](https://defenddefenders.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/FINAL-REPORT_pdf-3-1.pdf) • [9](https://staging.the-star.co.ke/news/2026-02-02-rafiki-unbanned-on-appeal-why-its-an-important-moment-for-african-film) |
| Reception | Metascore 68 from 17 reviews; IMDb rating 6.8/10 from about 3,700 user ratings[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8286894/criticreviews/) • [11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8286894/ratings/) |
## Spoilers
### Story and style
Kena (Samantha Mugatsia) and Ziki (Sheila Munyiva) are the daughters of rival politicians running against each other for county assembly in Nairobi. Both have grown up hearing that "good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives", but their friendship deepens into first love, and they must choose between happiness and safety in a conservative society.[1](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/rafiki/) • [12](https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/filmsocietyroundup/sample-page/rafiki/)
Kahiu describes her aesthetic as "Afrobubblegum", which she defines as "fun, fierce and frivolous African art", a philosophy shared with the production company she co-founded. The film's saturated neon pinks, purples, and blues contrast Nairobi's urban grit with the warmth of the two leads' intimacy, and it is buoyed by a soundtrack of Kenyan pop.[13](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2019/films/rafiki) • [14](https://africanmoviedb.com/title/rafiki-2018) • [15](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/tiff-review-rafiki/) Kahiu said she made the film because growing up she rarely saw African characters fall in love on screen: "I just wanted to see ourselves fall in love."[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-rafiki-wanuri-kahiu-afi-fest-20181110-story.html)
## The 2018 ban and High Court ruling
Kahiu submitted the film to the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) for examination on 10 April 2018. Board officials directed her to edit out what they called offensive classifiable elements; she declined and asked that the film be classified as it stood. In a letter dated 26 April, the Board classified the film as RESTRICTED, citing "homosexual practices that run counter to the laws and culture of Kenyan people" and stating that its moral message was "to legitimize lesbianism in Kenya contrary to the law". Exhibition or distribution anywhere in Kenya was prohibited under section 16 of the Films and Stage Plays Act, Cap 222.[7](https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kehc/2020/6500/eng%402020-04-29/source)
In September 2018 Kahiu sued the KFCB, arguing that the Act's system of administrative prior classification transferred control over expression from the creator to an administrative body and constituted censorship incompatible with constitutional guarantees of free expression under Article 33.[8](https://defenddefenders.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/FINAL-REPORT_pdf-3-1.pdf) • [16](https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/kahiu-v-mutua/) On 21 September 2018 the High Court in Nairobi lifted the ban so the film could screen for a single week and qualify for Academy Award submission. In her ruling, Justice Wilfrida Okwany stated that Kenyan society is not so weak that its "moral foundation will be shaken by seeing such a film."[8](https://defenddefenders.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/FINAL-REPORT_pdf-3-1.pdf) The film was ultimately not selected as Kenya's official Academy Awards submission.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-rafiki-wanuri-kahiu-afi-fest-20181110-story.html)
## The Court of Appeal, 2026
The constitutional challenge continued for years. In *Kahiu v. Creative Economy Working Group & 6 others* ([2026] KECA 132 (KLR)), decided in late January 2026, the Court of Appeal of Kenya at Nairobi held that the High Court had erred in finding that its jurisdiction had been prematurely invoked, clarifying that constitutional challenges to legislation and administrative decisions can be brought before the High Court even where a statutory appeal mechanism exists.[16](https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/kahiu-v-mutua/) On 23 January 2026 the court struck down key provisions of the Films and Stage Plays Act relied upon by the KFCB, opening a legal pathway for the film's reclassification and exhibition in Kenya. The ban was not automatically lifted but was ruled no longer absolute: Kahiu could seek review by the Cabinet Secretary within 30 days, and the restriction on exhibition was lifted pending classification.[17](https://www.sinemafocus.com/wanuri-kahiu-rafiki-court-of-appeal-arts-censorship-kenya/) Commentators described the unbanning as a moment that opens space for Kenyan audiences to encounter queer lives on screen.[9](https://staging.the-star.co.ke/news/2026-02-02-rafiki-unbanned-on-appeal-why-its-an-important-moment-for-african-film)
## Reception and honors
At Cannes the film won no prizes but drew wide international attention; [Le Monde](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-monde) reported that it was authorized for only one week in Kenyan cinemas yet achieved considerable international success.[3](https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2024/10/25/le-kenya-geant-economique-mais-nain-culturel-il-y-a-un-anti-intellectualisme-des-autorites_6359527_3212.html) Samantha Mugatsia won Best Actress at FESPACO in [Ouagadougou](https://www.edgepedia.org/ouagadougou) in 2019, the largest African film festival.[3](https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2024/10/25/le-kenya-geant-economique-mais-nain-culturel-il-y-a-un-anti-intellectualisme-des-autorites_6359527_3212.html) Other festival honors include the Prix du public at the Geneva international queer film festival Everybody's Perfect, the Public Prize at the Bratislava International Film Festival, Best Actress and Best Music Score at the Carthage Film Festival, and the Silver Q-Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival.[5](https://trigon-film.org/en/films/rafiki/) Critics praised the chemistry between Mugatsia and Munyiva; Variety's Guy Lodge wrote that their "relaxed, sparking chemistry quickens its heartbeat", while some reviewers, including [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter)'s David Rooney, found the narrative simpler than mature audiences might wish.[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8286894/criticreviews/)
## References
1. [RAFIKI, Festival de Cannes](https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/f/rafiki/)
2. [RAFIKI 2018 presskit, Film Movement](https://filmmovement.com/userFiles/uploads/films/rafiki/rafiki_presskit_4.8.pdf)
3. [Le Kenya, géant économique mais nain culturel, Le Monde (2024)](https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2024/10/25/le-kenya-geant-economique-mais-nain-culturel-il-y-a-un-anti-intellectualisme-des-autorites_6359527_3212.html)
4. [Q&A: Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu on her once-banned film 'Rafiki', Los Angeles Times (2018)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-rafiki-wanuri-kahiu-afi-fest-20181110-story.html)
5. [Rafiki, trigon-film](https://trigon-film.org/en/films/rafiki/)
6. [Rafiki, Film Movement](https://filmmovement.com/product/rafiki)
7. [Republic of Kenya, High Court at Milimani, Petition No. 313 of 2018, judgment of 29 April 2020](https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kehc/2020/6500/eng%402020-04-29/source)
8. [Defending Diversities report, DefendDefenders (2018)](https://defenddefenders.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/FINAL-REPORT_pdf-3-1.pdf)
9. [Rafiki unbanned on appeal: why it's an important moment for African film, The Star (2026)](https://staging.the-star.co.ke/news/2026-02-02-rafiki-unbanned-on-appeal-why-its-an-important-moment-for-african-film)
10. [Rafiki (2018), Metacritic reviews via IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8286894/criticreviews/)
11. [Rafiki (2018), IMDb ratings](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8286894/ratings/)
12. [Rafiki General Info, Coming of Age, Dartmouth College](https://journeys.dartmouth.edu/filmsocietyroundup/sample-page/rafiki/)
13. [Rafiki, International Film Festival Rotterdam](https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2019/films/rafiki)
14. [Rafiki (2018), African Movie Database](https://africanmoviedb.com/title/rafiki-2018)
15. [TIFF review: Rafiki, NOW Magazine (2018)](https://nowtoronto.com/movies/tiff-review-rafiki/)
16. [Kahiu v. Creative Economy Working Group & 6 others, Columbia Global Freedom of Expression](https://globalfreedomofexpression.columbia.edu/cases/kahiu-v-mutua/)
17. ["I Wanted to Defend the Constitution": Wanuri Kahiu, 'Rafiki' and the Law, Sinema Focus (2026)](https://www.sinemafocus.com/wanuri-kahiu-rafiki-court-of-appeal-arts-censorship-kenya/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Coming-of-age films › Coming-of-age films released 2010 onward*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license