Abdilatif Abdalla

Last updated

Abdilatif Abdalla (born 1946 in Mombasa) is a Kenyan writer and political activist. He was imprisoned for his support of the Kenya People's Union, and began writing poetry in solitary confinement. A collection of poems from this time were published as a book titled Sauti ya Dhiki [lower-alpha 1] (1973), which was awarded the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature.

Contents

Early life

Abdilatif Abdalla was born in Mombasa, Kenya, in 1946, where he was brought up by his grandfather Ahmad Basheikh bin Hussein. Abdalla attended school in Faza, before undertaking further studies at the British Tutorial College. He began his political involvement after working for the Mombasa City Council as an assistant accountant, writing the pamphlet Kenya Twendapi? (Eng: Kenya, Where Are We Headed) in support of the Kenya People's Union in 1968. [1] [2]

Political imprisonment and writing

When the Kenyan Government of Jomo Kenyatta conducted a crackdown on KPU activists, Abdalla was imprisoned for conspiracy between 1969 and 1972. He was at first held in Kamiti Prison, and later in Shimo la Tewa Prison, where he was kept in solitary confinement. It was while imprisoned that he wrote the poems that would be collected in the 1973 work Sauti ya Dhiki, whose title translates to "Voice of Agony". These were written in the Mombasa version of the Swahili language [1] and published by his older brother Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir. He later explained that writing the poems in solitary confinement had kept him sane. [2]

After he was awarded the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature for Sauti ya Dhiki in 1974, he moved in exile to Tanzania. While there he worked as a senior researcher on Swahili at the University of Dar es Salaam and collaborated editing a Swahili dictionary. In 1979, he moved to London and worked for BBC Swahili department, later editing the news magazine Africa Events. Abdalla's only English language poem was published in 1988, entitled Peace, Love and Unity for Whom?. This was in response to an attempt by Daniel arap Moi's government to bribe Abdalla into no longer working with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. Abdalla has since taught Swahili at Leipzig University. [1]

Works

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Akyeampong & Gates 2012, pp. 17–18.
  2. 1 2 wa Wanjiru, Kimani (14 October 2010). "Abdilatif Abdalla: 'My poems gave me company'". Pambazuka News. Retrieved 20 October 2016.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Kenya</span>

A part of Eastern Africa, the territory of what is known as Kenya has seen human habitation since the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic. The Bantu expansion from a West African centre of dispersal reached the area by the 1st millennium AD. With the borders of the modern state at the crossroads of the Bantu, Nilo-Saharan and Afro-Asiatic ethno-linguistic areas of Africa, Kenya is a multi-ethnic state. The Wanga Kingdom was formally established in the late 17th century. The Kingdom covered from the Jinja in Uganda to Naivasha in the East of Kenya. This is the first time the Wanga people and Luhya tribe were united and led by a centralized leader, a king, known as the Nabongo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swahili language</span> Bantu language spoken mainly in East Africa

Swahili, also known by its local name Kiswahili, is a Bantu language originally spoken by the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique. Estimates of the number of Swahili speakers, including both native and second-language speakers, vary widely, generally ranging from 60 million to 150 million; most of its native speakers reside in Tanzania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaaban bin Robert</span> Tanzanian poet, author, and essayist

Shaaban bin Robert, also known as Shaaban Robert, was a Tanzanian poet, author, and essayist who supported the preservation of Tanzanian verse traditions. Robert is celebrated as one of the greatest Tanzanian Swahili thinkers, intellectuals and writers in East Africa and has been called "poet laureate of Swahili" and is also known as the "Father of Swahili." He is also honoured as the national poet.

The Daily Nation is a Kenyan newspaper. It was founded in 1958 and is published in Nairobi.

Koigi wa Wamwere is a Kenyan politician, human rights activist, journalist and writer. Koigi became famous for opposing both the Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi regimes, both of whom sent him to detention.

Swahili literature is literature written in the Swahili language, particularly by Swahili people of the East African coast and the neighboring islands. It may also refer to literature written by people who write in the Swahili language. It is an offshoot of the Bantu culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammed Said Abdulla</span> Tanzanian novelist

Muhammed Said Abdulla or Abdullah, was a Tanzanian Swahili novelist who is often credited as a pioneer of Swahili popular literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyota Ndogo</span>

Nyota Ndogo is a musician from Kenya who performs taarab-influenced pop music.

Maina wa Kinyatti is a Kenyan Marxist historian and former political prisoner under Daniel arap Moi's dictatorship. He is considered the foremost researcher on the Mau Mau in Kenya, one of the primary reasons that Kinyatti was arrested and imprisoned. After being released from prison on 17 October 1988, he fled the country to Tanzania, fearing a re-arrest by Moi's government. After a month in Dar es Salaam, Kinyatti was forced to apply for political asylum in the US. Kinyatti was awarded the PEN Freedom to Write Award in 1988.

The Text Book Centre Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature is a biennial literary award given by the Kenya Publishers' Association. It has been called "the most prestigious literary award in the country".

Enock Ondego was a Kenyan songwriter, singer, author, and founder of The Mwakigwena Choir Group and most notable for his biography, The Life Of Mzee Ondego, published by the Kwani trust, and his two songs: Wimbo huu ni wimbo wa historia and Kenya ni nchi ya ajabu. Mwakigwena Choir used to perform for the then president Jomo Kenyatta in the late 1970s.

Christopher R. Mwashinga, Jr is a Tanzanian author and poet from Mbeya, Tanzania who lives in the United States. He has published books of Christian poetry, theology, mission, and religious history. His poetry has been published in reputable anthologies in the United States, and other countries including Kenya, Singapore, and Tanzania. He writes in English and Kiswahili.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdillahi Nassir</span> Kenyan Islamic scholar (1932–2022)

Abdilahi Nassir was a Kenyan Shia cleric based in Mombasa. Though raised a Sunni, Nassir converted to Shiism, and in the wake of Iran's Islamic revolution publicly identified himself as Twelver Shia.

Fred Kubai was one of the Kapenguria Six, members of the Kenya African Union arrested in 1952, tried and imprisoned.

World Swahili Language Day is observed annually on 7 July. This began when UNESCO declared 7 July as Swahili Language Day in 2022. On 7 July 1954, Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) leader Julius Kambarage Nyerere, the future first president of Tanzania, adopted the Swahili language as a unifying language for African independence struggles. Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya, followed suit and also used the Swahili language to mobilize and unify the people of Kenya in the struggle against colonialism through the use of the popular "Harambee" slogan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abby Chams</span> Tanzanian multi-instrumentalist

Abigail Chamungwana largely known by her stage names Abigail Chams and Abby Chams is a Tanzanian multi-instrumentalist, social activist and a singer signed under Sony Music. She was born in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Lulu Khadija Hassan is a Kenyan journalist, news anchor, producer, and CEO of Jiffy Pictures. She co-hosts the Nipashe Wikendi news bulletin on Citizen TV alongside Rashid Abdalla. The Swahili-language bulletin airs on Saturday and Sunday.

David Gian Maillu is a Kenyan author and publisher. He is considered East Africa's most prolific writer, having published over 60 books between 1972 and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed Sheikh Nabhany</span> Kenyan poet and scholar (1927–2017)

Ahmed Sheikh Nabhany was a Kenyan academic scholar, poet, lexicologist, historian and professor often regarded as the father of modern Swahili poetry. He was the recipient of The Order of the Grand Warrior (O.G.W).

References

  1. "Voice of Agony"