Alan Donovan: A journey through Africa and the city he made home

The African Heritage House, in Mlolongo, Nairobi, was designed by Alan Donovan. [Gilbert Otieno, Standard]

It is late 1969. A second-hand Volkswagen Combi hurtles through the Sahara, braving the blinding sands around Timbuktu and the gusty winds of Djenne in Mali.

Cramped in the vehicle are six men and women from diverse backgrounds but tied together by a desire to conquer the African continent. Small disagreements about the orthodox travel plans and poorly planned accommodation grow to full-blown verbal assaults.

There was Willard, an...