Abdilatif Abdalla
Abdilatif Abdalla | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1946 Mombasa, Kenya |
| Occupation(s) | Author, political figure, Swahili researcher, editor, instructor |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Known for | Poetry collection Sauti ya Dhiki, political activism with Kenya People's Union |
Abdilatif Abdalla (born 1946 in Mombasa) is a Kenyan author and political figure. Detained due to his allegiance to the Kenya People's Union, he began composing poetry while held in solitary confinement. His poetry collection Sauti ya Dhiki (1973), translated as "Voice of Agony," earned him the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature.
Early life
Abdalla was born in Mombasa and brought up by his grandfather, Ahmad Basheikh bin Hussein. His education took place in Faza and at British Tutorial College. Prior to his political involvement, he worked as an assistant accountant for Mombasa City Council. In 1968, he wrote the pamphlet Kenya Twendapi? ("Kenya, Where Are We Headed"), which endorsed the Kenya People's Union.
Political imprisonment and writing
Following the government's suppression of KPU members under Jomo Kenyatta, Abdalla was incarcerated from 1969 until 1972. Initially held at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, he was later transferred to Shimo la Tewa Prison, where he experienced solitary confinement. During this period, he composed poems that were later published as Sauti ya Dhiki by his brother Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir, using the Mombasa variant of Swahili. Creating these works served as a crucial means for him to preserve his mental well-being.
After being awarded the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 1974, Abdalla sought refuge in Tanzania. There, he held the position of senior Swahili researcher at the University of Dar es Salaam and contributed as co-editor to a Swahili dictionary. In 1979, he relocated to London to join the BBC Swahili service and took on editorial responsibilities for the news magazine Africa Events. His sole poem written in English, Peace, Love and Unity for Whom? (1988), was a response to an effort by Daniel arap Moi's administration to bribe him into ending his collaboration with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. Subsequently, he served as a Swahili instructor at Leipzig University.
Works
- Utenzi wa maisha ya Adamu na Hawaa (1971)
- Sauti ya Dhiki (1973)
References