Prize-winning Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina has died in Nairobi after a short illness at the age of 48. He won the Caine Prize for African writing in 2002 and was best known around the world for his satirical essay How to Write About Africa. Wainaina was also named among Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in 2014 for his gay rights activism.
Last year, Wainaina announced his engagement on Facebook. “I asked my love for his hand in marriage two weeks ago. He said yes, nearly immediately,” he wrote. “Nothing has surprised me more than coming to love this person, who is gentle and has the most gorgeous heart.”
Wainaina’s death comes just days before a long-awaited court ruling in Kenyathis Friday on whether to abolish laws that criminalise homosexual activity. The Kenyan laws, as in many other African countries that outlaw same-sex relations, are vestiges of British colonial rule.
For 17 years, Binyavanga’s name has featured predominantly in the newsreel, for his literary finesse and controversy alike. His death from stroke in Nairobi on Tuesday night brought down the curtains of not just a highly fruitful career in writing, but also on social activism.
Sporting events are more than moments of competition, national pride, and entertainment. They are economic activities that can stimulate tourism, create employment, support local businesses, and generate revenue across multiple sectors of the economy.
Umntwana womgquba a term traditionally used in the Nguni language that means “born out of wedlock,” but nowadays it is used to emphasise that one is born kwisintu. As lontwana, I look back on my own adventures: sometimes I pat myself on the back, and sometimes I wish I could redo them.
Each September, South Africa turns its attention to the rich cultural tapestry that defines our nation. Heritage Month is a time to honour the traditions, languages, histories, knowledge systems, customs and creative expressions that have been passed from generation to generation, while recognising that our heritage is not confined to the past.
My first encounter with heritage at the Mandela Bay Development Agency was, appropriately, somewhat uncomfortable. It began with cleaning. The Gale Monument, the Horse Memorial and the Queen Victoria statue became my first practical introduction to the business of preserving history.
