Joseph Kang’ule M’Mwirichia, a teacher by profession, was born in 1943 at the height of the Second World War.  He is a witness of the Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya, which impacted his life in many ways, especially the sufferings people underwent as the result of the revolt.

His passion for writing dates back to his high school days. In 1966, while in high school at Miathene Secondary School, he wrote a poem, ‘On Top of Mt Kenya’, which was published in the school magazine. At Machakos Teachers College, he wrote an article, ‘The Hijacked Rocket’, published in the college magazine.

With the demanding career as an educator, M’Mwirichia did not get ample time to write until his retirement when he started working on his first book, Broken Hedges.