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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.
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.
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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.
Muhammed Said Abdulla or Abdullah, was a Tanzanian Swahili novelist who is often credited as a pioneer of Swahili popular literature.
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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.
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References
- ↑ "Voice of Agony"
- Beck, Rose Marie; Kresse, Kai (2016). Abdilatif Abdalla: Poet in Politics. Tanzania: Mkuki na Nyota Publishers. ISBN 9789987753383.
- Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku; Gates, Henry Louis (2012). Dictionary of African Biography. Vol. 6. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-195382-075.
