After 30 years behind the scenes, Mwaniki Mageria is reinventing himself as an actor

For more than thirty years, Mwaniki Mageria has lived in the engine room of Kenyan film and television. 

He has produced, directed, and shaped some of the industry’s most recognisable work. 

Yet now, after decades behind the cameras, Mageria is experiencing a renaissance of sorts, this time, right at the centre of the frame.

His journey to on-screen has been shaped by roles in Kona, Rush, Salem, and most recently, The Chocolate Empire. 

Those performances, small but memorable, acted like stepping stones, paving the way to the commanding presence he now brings to his latest role.

Today, Mageria stars as Mark Mbotela in Lazizi, the newest telenovela lighting up Maisha Magic Plus. 

It’s a role that doesn’t just challenge him, it completes a full-circle moment in a career defined by reinvention.

A Mogul With Secrets

In Lazizi, Mageria plays a powerful sugarcane tycoon whose decision to run for governor seems driven by ambition, until viewers learn that for Mbotela, politics is protection. 

Beneath his crisp suits and calculated charm lies a tangle of buried secrets, forbidden love, and a family war waiting to explode.

To embody him, Mageria drew from two places: his own discipline and the memory of his father.

“My dad was very corporate, very focused, very much in the public eye,” he says.

 “That’s the backbone of Mbotela. The darker, romantic parts — those I borrowed from The Chocolate Empire.”

From Director’s Chair to Actor’s Mark

For a man who has built an entire ecosystem behind the lens, stepping in front of it feels like an unexpected joyride.

“When you’re a producer, the headache is massive,” he laughs. 

One of those people is his Assistant Director, young enough to be his daughter, and Mageria loves every second of it.

“She says, ‘Stand up, go there!’ and I listen,” he jokes. “It’s humbling and hilarious.”

The Gen Z Takeover

The fulfilment Mageria finds on the Lazizi set has little to do with fame. Instead, it’s the unexpected mentorship moments that move him.

“Younger actors come to me asking about life, planning, vision, purpose,” he says. “Being able to pass that torch… that means everything.”

What has impressed him even more is the professionalism of Kenya’s new wave of performers.

And for him, the show’s biggest triumph is simple: Lazizi is a Kenyan original, written, produced, and acted right here. The stories are ours. That is the biggest win.

Balancing Food Content & Filmmaking

Away from the camera, Mageria is also known for his culinary content, a side of him that fans adore. But balancing both worlds?

“Very, very hard,” he admits. “We’re shooting six days a week. I barely have time to create food content. Food is reality; this is scripted. They require different energies.”

Still, he hopes to return to his culinary storytelling once the production pace eases.

Kenyan Stories He Wants to See on Screen

Like any storyteller worth his salt, Mageria carries a quiet list of Kenyan stories he hopes the industry will one day tackle.

Top of the list? Olympic legend Samuel Wanjiru.

His second pick is a sweeping political epic.

In a way, these choices mirror the kind of characters he plays now: complex, layered, heroic, tragic, and profoundly Kenyan.

The Man Behind the Magic Finally Takes Centre Stage

Asked to describe himself in three words, Mageria doesn’t hesitate: smart, energetic, outgoing. And in many ways, his role in Lazizi feels like the culmination of all three.

After years of shaping the industry from the shadows, Mwaniki Mageria’s moment in the spotlight has arrived, not as an act of reinvention but as a natural progression of a career that has always been rooted in craft, passion, and a deep love for storytelling.

In Lazizi, he is not just acting. He is reflecting, teaching, absorbing, and finally allowing audiences to see the face behind decades of Kenyan screen magic.

And he’s doing it with the grace of a man who knows he has earned every moment.