Aug 25 — Cosplay has taken hold in Kenya, where fans must often get creative to dress up as their fantasy heroes
Thousands attended the latest edition of the Otamatsuri anime and manga convention in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, this weekend — one of the largest in Africa — with many in extravagant costumes inspired by hits like One Piece and Naruto.
A cosplayer dressed as a character from the popular manga and anime series One Piece takes pictures next to an entrance sign during the Otamatsuri convention in Nairobi on August 22, 2026. The annual gathering, held since 2019, brings together fans of anime, video games and manga and culminates in a cosplay competition
Sourcing the materials can be a challenge, though.
Julius Mokaya, a building caretaker who has twice won the event’s costume competition, does not have money to import expensive costumes so relies on cardboard and other material that he salvages from recycling bins.
His modest apartment is full of homemade weapons, masks and accessories, and he spent months designing this year’s costume, based on Enjin, from the manga Gachiakuta, a story about an exile in a dumping ground.
Cosplayer Julius Mokaya, 34, takes the stage while cosplaying as Enjin, a character from the popular manga series Gachiakuta during the Otamatsuri convention in Nairobi on August 22, 2026
Fittingly, the message of the story is “that trash and things thrown out aren’t really bad”, he told AFP.
It can still be an expensive hobby, though: “I’m broke half the time, but… I love the creative aspect, the deep dive into research and understanding the character,” he said.
This year’s winner, 24-year-old Yvonne Chockey, dressed as Angewomon, an angel character from a Japanese franchise.
She, too, had to get her hands dirty, using a hot-sand technique to heat and bend PVC pipes that became the frame for eight massive white wings.
Cosplayer Yvonne Chockey creates content with a friend for her social media accounts while cosplaying as Angewomon, a character from the popular Digimon anime series, ahead of the Otamatsuri convention at the rooftop of her home in Kutus on August 17, 2026
“I had to cut each feather one by one and then attach them to the base. That was the most difficult part,” she said.
Even in a highly globalised country like Kenya, the hobby can still raise a few eyebrows.
“Relatives saw what I was doing on social media and asked my father if I had joined a cult,” said Mokaya.
But the convention’s organiser Jotham Micah, co-founder of the Movie Jabber company, said more than 4,000 people had attended this weekend’s event, and that “the beauty of anime and manga has transcended the borders of culture”.
“It gives you life. It gives you inspiration,” he said
Cosplayers and Japanese culture fans discuss their outfits during the Otamatsuri convention in Nairobi on August 22, 2026
