KISWAHILI NOVELIST ADAM SHAFI SHEDS LIGHT ON AFRICAN AUTOBIOGRAPHIES

 I first met Zanzibar novelist, Adam Shafi in 1979.

He had just popped into then Tanzania Publishing House along Samora Avenue, downtown Dar es Salaam. His new book, Kuli, excited every Swahili reader and lover of literature. Kuli is a classic. Phenomenal. It is based on historical incidents during the colonial era in 1948. Port workers stage a strike that eventually contributes to Uhuru struggles for Zanzibar and Tanganyika (the older name of Tanzania) independence. 

Adam Shafi- pic by Mohammed Ghassani
 

LONDON GIVES POST ACHIEVEMENT AWARD TO SHAABAN ROBERT

Shaaban Robert's grand-daughter, Amina Wazir, collects award for her genius grand-dad from  Mr Frederick Sumaye. On the right, seated is His Excellency High Commissioner of Tanzania, Hon. Peter Kallaghe.   

 Pic by Jestina George

The writer Shaaban Robert, who died aged 53, in June 1962 was a very  “popular read” during the 1960s and early 1970s. Somewhere along the line, he was almost forgotten. Early 1990s, the newly launched Mkuki na Nyota revived this eminent Kiswahili genius, and thanks to the hard work of its founder Walter Bgoya,   many of Shaaban Robert’s masterpieces are readily available in bookshops across East Africa today.  For those unfamiliar with the author, I would recommend “Maisha Yangu Na Baada ya Miaka Hamsini” (My Life After 50).  The book sums most of the Tanga born thinker’s qualities:  essays, personal recollections, poetry, thoughts on life, racism in Tanganyika of the 1930s and 1940s, TANU and Nyerere, duty to society, role of writers, etc.

Kusadikika, his most famous novel which is said to have partially inspired late President Nyerere's Ujamaa  policies.