Welcome to Old Africa

your window into East Africa’s past.

Old Africa books

Old Africa books are well-told stories in the same tradition as the shorter pieces

our readers have come to enjoy from the pages of Old Africa magazine.

Old Africa magazine seeks to tell the story of East Africa’s past through well-written stories and vintage photographs. Founded in October 2005, the first issue featured a story about the Royal Navy’s ill-fated attempt to launch a naval presence on Lake Rudolph (now Lake Turkana) and an account of the Kedong Massacre. Since then the magazine has published stories and photos from Kenya’s diverse ethnic groups – African, Asian and European – to preserve East Africa’s history. 

A Titanic Survivor in Kenya: Amy Fenwick

A Titanic Survivor in Kenya: Amy Fenwick We often read about the activities of men in early Kenya, but we hear little of their wives. William Fenwick went to Kenya in 1920 as an administrative cadet, the first rank of those who became district and later provincial...

Naivasha Sports Club Celebrates 100 Years

100 Years at Naivasha Sports Club: 1922-2022 is a new book now available from Old Africa books. Contact blake@oldafricamagazine.com to order your copy. Shel Arensen and Chuck Bengough researched the history and wrote the book. A box filled with books of handwritten...

JW Arthur, Missionary

JW Arthur, Missionary: An Early Supporter of African Interests in Kenya John William Arthur, born in 1881, a medical doctor trained in Glasgow, joined the Church of Scotland Mission in Kenya in 1906. He was posted to the Kikuyu mission, where he arrived on 1 January...