Cheche Bookshop and Cafe

28/04/2026

Poetic Ruminations and Exchange
May 6th

1:30 PM — Poetry Workshop with award-winning poet Nick Makoha

Join award-winning poet and playwright Nick Makoha for an intimate writing session focused on developing your poetry in a supportive, thoughtful space.
Open to poets at all stages.

Register via the link in bio.
Selected applicants will receive a confirmation email.

… and in the evening, from 6:00 PM

Join us for poetry readings, reflections, and conversation led by Nairobi-based writer + poet Abigail Arunga. We’ll gather around words, ideas, and reflections on Nick Makoha’s latest collection, The New Carthaginians, and more.

Free Entry!

18/04/2026

📢Join us this Friday for an evening of Congolese art, live music and food in benefit of the collaborative project Building a Pan-African Library

On Saturday evening, we will be screening the short MWAN'ENGO and the documentary film From Patrice to Lumumba followed by a panel discussion.

And of course book donations are still being accepted till the end of April. Let's build this library together.

All are welcome! ✨️

Artwork by

16/04/2026

📢Join us next Wednesday for the Nairobi launch of The Friendship Bench: How fourteen Grandmothers Inspired a Mental Health Revolution. Visiting Zimbabwean psychiatrist and author Dixon Chibanda will be in conversation with the insightful Mshaï Mwangola.

This book is a primer on how human connection forms the bedrock of our resilience. It gives readers the tools to facilitate transformative healing by reaching out to those who are struggling and isolated from the world around them. In a world where su***de is now a leading cause of death amongst young people, the book is a case study of how interventions supported by robust scientific evidence rooted in African cultural values can be scaled using community elders. Ultimately, it’s a celebration of the collective wisdom and knowledge of those rooted in their communities and their profound ability to foster belonging, purpose, and healing.

Books will be available for purchase and signing. All are welcome! ✨️

10/04/2026

25/03/2026

📢Join us this Sunday afternoon as we delve into March book, the Maya Angelou classic I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. If you haven't started yet, there's still time, get your copy at Cheche or read it in the space this week. Follow for all things Noname Book Club Nairobi chapter.

All are welcome! ✨️

🗓 Sunday March 29th
🕐 3PM
📍 Cheche Books

02/03/2026

📢Join us on the 12th of March for iftar from 6PM. All money raised will go to Artistic Hope Organisation based in Mombasa and Nairobi.

Short performance from our resident poet: Jaaziyah

✨️Tickets available at link in our bio ✨️

If you are unable to attend please consider sponsoring a ticket for someone else.

19/01/2026

📢Due to overwhelming demand, the Nairobi launch of SLOW POISON at Cheche has been moved to Jain Bhavan auditorium and a second date has been added.
RSVPs for the previously annonuced event at Cheche will be honored at Jain Bhavan for the same date (Friday 23rd).
Tickets for Friday evening and Saturday afternoon are now available to purchase at the link in bio.

SLOW POISON is available for 2500ksh

14/01/2026

📚 EVENT ALERT

On Friday 23rd January from 6:30 PM, we’re honoured to host the Nairobi launch of Slow Poison, the powerful new book by renowned scholar and public intellectual Mahmood Mamdani. Mamdani will be in conversation with Dr. Mshai Mwangola and writer Parselelo Kantai.

In Slow Poison, Mamdani offers a searing, deeply personal account of Uganda’s postcolonial journey—from the violence of Idi Amin’s rule to the long, corrosive legacy of Yoweri Museveni’s regime. Drawing on lived experience and sharp political insight, he traces how colonial strategies of power were reinvented after independence, hollowing out the promise of decolonisation while entrenching violence, inequality and external control.

This is a vital conversation about history, memory, power and the unfinished business of freedom in East Africa.

📖 Slow Poison will be available for sale and signing
🎟️ RSVP through the link in Bio
🌍 All are welcome

Date: Friday 23rd January
Time: 6:30 PM

12/12/2025

On Thursday 19th December from 6:30 PM, we welcome Somali-Canadian writer Hashem Abdi to the space as we celebrate the Nairobi launch of his compelling new novel, When the Last Tree Falls. Hashem will be in conversation with Kenyan writer, critic and international lawyer Njahira Gitahi.

Set in the years following the collapse of Somalia’s federal government, When the Last Tree Falls unfolds in Qilad—a secluded mountain village safeguarded for generations by dense forests and a life-giving river. Naeem, the eldest son of the village leader, has always known the path laid out for him: the family he will build, the friends who stand beside him, and the community he is destined to guide. But when tree poachers begin stripping the neighbouring forest, Naeem and his two closest friends attempt to intervene, only to trigger consequences far more destructive than they imagined. As the thieves grow bolder and the land begins to unravel, Naeem is driven from the only home he has ever known. Confronting the wreckage of his choices, the encroaching violence, and the forces threatening his loved ones, he must find a way to restore what has been broken—or risk losing everything.

We’re also thrilled to have our friends from Rex’s Ice Cream joining us for the evening, scooping flavours that are fast becoming neighborhood favorites—and who knows? There might just be a brand-new bookstore flavor making its debut… 👀🍨

When the Last Tree Falls will be available for sale and signing.

Free Entry

All are welcome!

Date: Thursday 19th December
Time: 6:30 PM