Fadhili William
Singer and guitarist
His recordings helped carry East African music around the world.
- Theme
- Arts & Letters
Fadhili William became internationally associated with Malaika, helping popularise the song through performance and recording. His guitar playing and singing formed part of the development of East African popular music.
The authorship of Malaika is disputed, and he is not presented here as its undisputed sole composer. His documented contribution as a performer remains important to the song's history and to the circulation of Kenyan music.
Life and work
Fadhili William Mdawida (November 11, 1938 – February 11, 2001), often referred to simply as Fadhili William, was a Kenyan recording artist and composer who is most famous as the first person to record Adam Salim's song "Malaika" which he recorded with his band The Jambo Boys around 1963.
Fadhili William was born to Halima Wughanga and Ramadhan Mwamburi in Taita-Taveta District near Mombasa. His father, who died when Fadhili was only seven, was a traditional musician. Like three of his siblings – Ali Harrison Mwataku, Esther John and Mumba Charo – he became a musician.
He started singing while in primary school in Taita. He went on to Government African School, in Pumwani in Nairobi. He then dropped out of Shimo la Tewa Secondary School, where he had joined Form Three, to pursue a musical career.
It was while at Pumwani, he said in an interview, that he fell in love with a beautiful girl, "an angel," to whom he composed and recorded Malaika (Angel) to console her when she was given away to an older man who could pay a bride price.
Malaika was recorded at the Equator Sound Studios under the guidance of Charles Worrod, who went on to promote and distribute the ballad.
He was also the author and singer of the famous hit song "Taxi Driver", which he narrates a story about him trying to rent a cab to Nakuru, where a woman wrote him a letter to go to Nakuru so he doesn't break a promise. His tire got a puncture when he was in Naivasha, hence the song, where he is trying to rent a cab. He is recognized and appreciated in Kenya as one of the founding fathers of Classics, or commonly known as "Zilizopendwa." Although he died in 2001, his legacy lives on and his music still touches many hearts to this day.
The uncertainty about authorship does not make the history of a recording unimportant. Songs travel through performers, arrangements, instruments, studios and audiences, and each can contribute to the version that listeners remember. William's association with Malaika is best understood within that process. Giving him credit for his documented performances allows the archive to honour his musicianship while keeping the separate question of composition open. It also draws attention to the working musicians and recording networks through which an East African song reached a much wider public.
His story is also a reminder that popular music is a working culture. A memorable recording depends on musicians learning from one another, adapting material and finding audiences willing to carry a song beyond its first setting.
This section adapts selected passages from Fadhili William by Wikipedia contributors. It is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected and edited passages, with additional editorial context; lists and reference markers omitted; punctuation and paragraph breaks adjusted. Photographs have separate licences.
