A Judicial officer with a passion for writing books

Joseph Ismael Madega is an author of ‘Ukileta Ukaidi Nakumaliza’ book.

He holds bachelor degree in Law from Open University of Tanzania.

He is employed at the Judiciary of Tanzania, Morogoro district court. Success Magazine interviewed him about his passion for writing.

Tell us more about your book?

The book is about revenge, investigation, solidarity and unity. Generally, it talks about a woman struggling to avenge her husband’s death. In her pursuit of said vengeance, she encounters numerous obstacles like abduction and threats aimed at impeding her efforts.

The core message of the book is to inspire women to work hard and never give up on pursuing a certain cause.

The books also shows the power of unity and humanity. When you read the book you will meet characters like Bob Robbin, Bi Hawa and their company working together in order to reach their goals.

How hard is it to establish and maintain a career in writing?

It’s difficult if your underlying objective is to make money first. It is so hard to make people understand and support what you are doing even if you are doing it well. Example, the first book which I published was met with a lot of criticism in areas where I distributed it. This didn’t dampen my resolve to continue writing.

What makes this particular book stand out from the rest?

Firstly, the language usage. I have used simple words which make it easier for the reader to understand and concentrate. Also, the story can be read by people of all ages.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

Just like everything else in life, what is most difficult for me may be easy for you and vice versa. From my own experience the hardest part of completing this project was designing the book cover.

What did you enjoy most working on this project?

I think I liked seeing where the plot went. I don’t plan my books. I don’t use an outline. For this particular book, I was curious because the story took on a life of a woman and her company and led me to some unexpected places.

I enjoyed writing this book so much that at times I felt a connection with one of the characters – Koplo Levezi.

What is the most important thing that people don’t know about your subject/genre that they need to know?

Unity is strength, division is weakness. When there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.

Who are some of your favorite authors that you feel were influential in your work? What impact have they had on your writing?

The late Elvis Musiba. We read together books such as Kikomo, Kufa na Kupona, Hujuma, Uchu, Hofu and so many others.

The late Ben R Mtobwa, Beka Mfaume, Hussein Issa Tuwa, Emmanuel Mbogo, these are some of the authors who played a great role in making me follow this path.

What did you find most useful in learning to write? What was least useful or most destructive?

There are so many reasons for one to write such as to educate society, to criticize, to influence people and their culture, but what I found most useful in learning is that, people should write a book just to express their own thoughts. Writing is the easiest means of expressing our own thoughts and they will be cherished forever.

Tell us about your other occupations and how they’ve impacted your writing.

I am a record management assistant, employed with the judiciary of Tanzania at Morogoro district court. This career has impacted my writing career a lot, through reading various cases, discussing and sharing experience with my co-workers, and advocates. This has enabled me to get many things to write about.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned during research for your book?

Recap every chapter: after writing a chapter, don’t just quickly rush to the next chapter or put the work away. Instead, I take anywhere from 1–5 minutes to recap the chapter (in my mind) I just read. The brain takes a while to put all the information in the right place, and taking just a few minutes to recap is beneficial.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I’ve written eight books so far, some of which are unpublished novels and several works of non-fiction which are lingering around on my hard drive.

For those who are interested in reading my work they can follow me on my social media accounts: Insta – madega_jan, Facebook – madega jan.

Email - [email protected]