Kenya Wins Two At the 2025 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards

The 11th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) were held this past weekend, and Kenya sailed high with two significant victories that solidified the nation’s expanding dominance in African television and movies. 

Bringing together the best of African entertainment, the glitzy event in Lagos, Nigeria, celebrated storytelling, creativity, and cultural greatness.

Abel Mutua’s triumph for Best Writing in a TV Series for “Untying Kantai,” which is presently available for streaming on Showmax, was one of the night’s most notable moments. A man with dissociative identity disorder, Kantai is the focus of the compelling drama, which examines how his reality and relationships are shaped by trauma, secrets, and identity. The drama has found great resonance with viewers throughout East Africa because to its gripping story and complex characters.

Makosa ni Yangu, another outstanding Philit production, won Kenya’s second prize of the evening in the Best Indigenous Language Film (East Africa) category. The play in Swahili explores the terrible repercussions of sexual assault on a community, focusing on a family’s path of denial, remorse, and eventual reconciliation. Both viewers and the AMVCA jury were moved by its candid depiction and depth of feeling.

Abel and Philip posted a combined Instagram message after their 2025 victories, saying: “Thanks to your steadfast support, we started our film journey four years ago. Here you have the results of your labor. The Wakurugenzi Effect is accurately shown. Both of the nominations turned out to be wins. We are flying the flag of our region. A big thank you to @africamagic. Africa learns about the potential of the East via you.

Even though Kenya received 11 nominations this year, these two victories were especially noteworthy because they were the result of works by Philit, the influential company that was established by Abel Mutua and Phil Karanja. Following the success of their 2017 single Sue na Jonnie, the duo has been rapidly rising in East Africa’s entertainment industry. Their feature film Click Click Bang continued their impressive run of success at the 2023 AMVCAs, winning Best Movie (East Africa) and Best Indigenous Language Film (Swahili).