The ‘invisible’ histories and ‘inaudible’ stories in the confessions of infamous serial killers: a reading of The Cannibal and I Killed Eighteen

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses The Cannibal and I Killed Eighteen, KTN’s two documentary Case Files that profile Geoffrey Matheri and Philip Onyancha’s confessions as serial killers. With the hindsight that documentaries generally document true crime stories, the discussion closely follows the journalist’s narration vis-à-vis the victims’ confessions, truths, and evidences and it attempts a closure to Dennis Onsarigo’s observation that each of the two cases is still a case open. The study is informed by two observations; first, despite the victims’ glaring testimonies of their macabre killings, both were jailed for the lesser allegations of attempted rape crimes and assaults, and second, though Onyancha publicly confessed to have murdered eighteen, he still contemplates writing a book ‘The Untold Story’ of which he says the book will allow Kenyans to know the truth, Guided by Narrative Theories, this study activates ‘invisible’ histories and ‘inaudible’ stories and it considers how the aesthetic qualities of the documentary and production process place the works between their actuality and the supposed reality in the outside world.

KEYWORDS:

• Invisible
• inaudible
• stories
• histories
• crime documentaries
• serial killers

Acknowledgments

I sincerely thank Moi University’s Cluster Centre, particularly Prof Peter Tirop Simatei, for sending me to Kyoto University, Japan to finalize the revision of this paper. I extend my gratitude to the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies (ASAFAS) at Kyoto University for its warm welcome and for making Inamori Center always available for my research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This article is the outcome of research conducted within The Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany’s Excellence Strategy – [EXC 2052/1–390713894].

Notes on contributors

Charles Kippng’eno Rono

Charles Kipng’eno Rono is a postgraduate Research Assistant in the Department of Literature, Linguistics, Foreign Languages and Film Studies, Moi University. He is particularly interested in postcolonial literature’s engagement with issues of disease, illness and medicine. His recent publications include; “Hippocratic Oath, Illness, and Metaphors of Politics in Margaret Ogola’s I Swear by Apollo” (2022), “Evolution, Transformation and Continuity in Kalenjin Traditional Songs” (2022), “Haunting ‘Presences’: A Discourse on Dreams and Dedications in Francis Imbuga’s Drama” (2021), “Subverting Autobiography: Illness, Narratives and Negotiating Dis-Ease in Margaret Ogola’s Place of Destiny” (2021), “Network Novel: Ngũgĩ wa Thiongo’s Wizard of the Crow and Dialogues in African Literature” (2021), “Kipchamba Arap Tabotuk’s Music: Oral Narratives, (Hi)story and Culture of Kalenjin People” (2019), and several book chapters. His current project, Decoloniality and African Writing, highlights the ways Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Margaret Ogola, Meja Mwangi, and Henry Ole Kulet, and other artists, critique colonialism in creative works and polemical essays.