Uzima Printing Press

ACK Uzima Publishing House, then known as Uzima Press, was founded in December of 1974 to print and publish liturgical works (prayer and hymn books for the Anglican Church of Kenya, then known as the Church of the Province of Kenya (CPK). Uzima Press was founded as a company limited by guarantee and owned by the then seven dioceses of the CPK. The company was initially housed at Imani House at St John’s Gate in Nairobi, before moving to our current premises at the Junction of Ring Road and Professor George Saitoti Avenue in Westlands.

GOVERNANCE

ACK Uzima Publishing House Ltd has a board of directors consisting firstly of two Bishops of the church, one of whom chairs the Board. Others members are the Provincial Secretary of the ACK, the Director of Education and Training of the ACK who are ex-officio members. We also have three independent directors, one of whom serves as the Board Treasurer. Finally, the General Manager/CEO is a member of the Board and serves as its secretary. The current Board Chair is the Rt Rev’d Dr Julius Wanyoike, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Thika. The current General Manager/CEO is Mr Clement Ouko. Managed for the first decade by an expatriate, Uzima Press has since had four Kenyan General Managers to date.

OUR PROGRESS OVER THE YEARS

Initial production was of works whose copyright had previously vested with SPCK (The Society for the promotion of Christian Knowledge) This consisted of translations of the Book of Common Prayer, BCP, into the local languages of what could then be considered the Anglican strongholds, namely Kiswahili, Taita, Kikuyu, Luyia and Luo languages. There were also translations in the Taveta and Kalenjin languages. We also published a variety of church registers and the Church Lectionary and Diary, previously referred as the Churchman’s Diary. Lastly, a number of general titles and some textbooks were also published.

Uzima Press was for much of its history entirely donor funded. The reduction in donor funding that started with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and accelerated rapidly through the 1990s greatly affected the organisation. With the change of management in the turn of the century, attempts were made through the publication of non-liturgical works and the development of children’s Sunday school curriculum to diversify our income streams. These attempts were met with limited success.

Over the past decade, the emphasis has been on the roll-out of Our Modern Services, the landmark liturgy adopted in 2002 by the Province of Kenya, in the languages where the Anglican church has a significant presence. We have thus produced the Our Modern Services in Kiswahili, Kikuyu, Luo, and Kamba languages, with limited services being available in the Kisii and Luyia languages.

However, within the past two decades, the following significant milestones have been reached.

i.              An end to donor dependence for capital and recurrent expenditure.

ii.             The adoption of a leaner and more efficient organizational structure, accompanied by vigorous cost control.

iii.            Full engagement with the Anglican Church of Kenya, through the following measures:

The renaming of the organisation to ACK Uzima Publishing House.

  The amendment of our articles to make liturgical publishing our main objective.

  Increased presence in the church as a whole.

  A significantly increased mobilization and allocation of resources to liturgical development.

Ø  Completion of stalled liturgical projects, most notable being the Kikuyu Prayer Book, popularly known as Mahoya.

All of these changes led to a change in the organization’s long-term prospects, after a period of horrendous losses. ACK Uzima Publishing House is now an operationally profitable organisation, well positioned to fulfil its mandate to the church.

Our Vision

A Church Strengthened through worship and Discipleship.

Our Mission

To publish books that strengthen the church through worship and discipleship.

Our objectives

i.              To produce liturgical materials for the Anglican Church of Kenya.

ii.             To equip Christians for life and service through relevant discipleship and training manuals.

iii.            To Develop Kenyan Christian Authorship

Our Core values

i.              Excellence

ii.             Honour God.

ACK Uzima Catalogue 2014/15

Liturgical Books.

i.      Confirmation Lessons Book

A study Guide for those preparing for confirmation.

ii.            Kitabu Kipya Cha Ibaada

Swahili translation of ‘Our modern Services’

iii.           Kiswahili Prayer Book.

Kitabu Kipya Cha Ibaada (abridged)

iv.           Modern English services

These services from the 1662 Book of Common prayer have been put into modern English.

v.            Mothers’ Union Prayer Book.

Prayers of Supplication Including the Lord’s Prayer and Psalms which are translated into English, Kiswahili and Kikuyu.

vi.           Our Modern Services. (SC)

Our Modern Services. (HC)