Overview
Winners of the Safal Kiswahili Prize for Africa 2024 unveiled in Dar es Salaam
Thursday July 03, 2025: The Committee for Safal Kiswahili Prize for African Literature has announced winners of the 2024 competition at a colourful ceremony held at the University of Dar es Salaam with Tanzanians walking away with most of the prizes.
The prize, which was established by Dr Lizzy Attree and Dr Mukoma Wa Ngugi in 2014 to recognise writing in African languages and encourage translation from, among and into African languages, is sponsored by SAFAL Group through ALAF Tanzania and Mabati Rolling Mills-Kenya.
The winner in the Novels category is Mayasa Abdalla (Tanzania) who received $5000 through his master piece, ‘Kitanzi cha Mauti.
The first runner up in that category was Ali Othman Masoud (Tanzania) who walked home with $2500 through his piece ‘Nyaraka za Wafu’.
Bashiru Abdalla (Tanzania) who submitted a piece that goes by title ‘Bure Ghali’ emerged victorious in the Poetry category and received $5000 while the first runner up, Mohamed Idrisa (Tanzania) won $2500 through his piece -‘Laana ya Uovu’
Edwin Omindu from Kenya walked away with $2500 after he was announced as the winner in the Short Stories category through his piece– ‘Mungu Hadanganywi’
Gracing the occasion, the Minister for Information, Culture, Art and Sports,, Prof. Palamagamba Kabudi lauded all the winners and thanked SAFAL Group for being on the Frontline in promoting Kiswahili.
“The competition has indeed grown and attracted more participants including from outside Africa hence we have every reason to be proud of this unique language and embrace it with both hands, he said.
He further noted that the Government will continue investing more in ensuring Kiswahili is well popularized as it is currently used in most African countries and some Europeans countries where it is taught in higher learning institutions hence a good job creating opportunity for Tanzanians.
He lauded Mkuki na Nyota Publishers and Africa Poetry Book for volunteering to publish the winning pieces and called on other institutions to follow suit.
ALAF Tanzania CEO, Mr Ashish Mistry, said Safal Group, which owns ALAF Tanznaia and Mabati Rolling Mills in Kenya, has continued sponsoring the award due to the fact that it has been growing year after year and the importance of Kiswahili in promoting unity and trade among nations.
The Chairperson of 2024 competition judges, Dr Salma Hamad, of the Open University of Tanzania-Zanzibar said: “The number of entries was overwhelming, but we were well entertained because we read creatively written and crafted manuscripts and learned that there is a huge treasure of Kiswahili literary talents. If developed, Kiswahili literature will not go bankrupt.”
On his part, the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Prize, Abdilatif Abdalla, added: “It is very gratifying to see that since the competition was launched in 2015, this prize continues attracting many participants from various countries. The level of the quality of entries competing also is increasing every year, thereby enriching Kiswahili literature.
Other judges who joined Dr Hamad in reading and selecting the winners of the 2024 competition were Prof Richard Wafula from Kenyatta University, Kenya, and Dr Caesar Jjingo from Makerere University, Uganda. A total number of 210 manuscripts was read by a panel of judges.
To Editors:
The Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature is awarded annually to outstanding manuscripts in novel, poetry, biography, drama and graphic novel genres. The manuscripts should not have been published in books or otherwise made available to the public. Best manuscripts are published by Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, Tanzania. The best poetry manuscript is translated into English and published as a book by Africa Poetry Book Fund.
The prize is sponsored by Safal Mauritius Limited (whose subsidiaries include Mabati Rolling Mills Limited, Kenya, and ALAF Limited, Tanzania) collectively known as Safal Group. It is the largest producer of corrugated iron sheets in 12 African countries. www.safalgroup.com
Mabati Rolling Mills Limited (MRM) was established over 50 years ago. It is the largest manufacturer of roofing iron sheets in Kenya, and leads in this field. It is also leads in Africa in manufacturing iron sheets using the most advanced technology available in the world. Its renowned iron sheets are trusted by millions of builders. www.mabati.com
Safal MRM Foundation, based in Kenya, is a unit of Mabati Rolling Mills and Safal Group which is involved in providing various types of assistance. Among the assistance provided in Mariakani, Kenya, is the establishment and ongoing funding of Mabati Technical Training Institute, and Mabati Medical Centre. www.safalmrmfoundation.org
ALAF Limited (ALAF) is a leading Tanzanian company in the manufacture of roofing iron sheets. Since its establishment in 1960, ALAF has continued contributing significantly to construction activities in the country. ALAF not only manufactures roofing iron sheets, but also steel wires used in roof construction. ALAF also manufactures metal pipes used in various technical activities. www.alaf.co.tz
Mkuki na Nyota Publishers is an independent publishing house that publishes progressive, liberation, affordable and attractive books. The organisation was established in 1991 due to a lack of quality books in Tanzania. Its motto is to publish “Useful, Affordable, and Attractive Books.” http://www.mkukinanyota.com
Africa Poetry Book Fund strengthens and promotes the publishing of poetry through its books, competitions, workshops, seminars, as well as collaboration with publishers, pageants, agents, colleges, universities, symposiums, and other groups concerned with African poetry. http://africanpoetrybf.unl.edu/
Board of Trustees: Abdilatif Abdalla (Chairperson), Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Lizzy Attree, Walter Bgoya, Sarit Shah, Anthony Ng’ang’a, Chege Githiora, Clarissa Vierke, Farouk Topan, Carole Boyce Davies, Ida Hadjivayanis and Zuweina Farah.
Director: Munyao Kilolo
Website: http://blogs.cornell.edu/kiswahiliprize/
X: @KiswahiliPrize
Contacts: Prof Mukoma Wa Ngugi, Cornell University, Dr Lizzy Attree, Moses Kilolo kiswahiliprize@kiswahiliprize.org, kiswahiliprize@gmail.com.