Ken Walibora – Siku Njema
Is a popular (Swahili language|Swahili) novel written by the renowned Kenyan author, Ken Walibora. The novel was published in 1996 and saw Walibora become an instant household name in Swahili fiction. Written in the first person, the book deals with the life of a young man, who is born in Tanga, Tanzania and who faces family hardships with his single mother, who is a talented singer of taarab. Being a child born out of wedlock does not make life easier for him as he is chided by his schoolmates in a culture that frowns upon illegitimate children.
Overview
In Tanzania, the story dwells mostly in the struggles of Kombo
Prof Walibora
after his mother, Zainabu Makame dies. He has to struggle with school and at the same time live through the maltreatments meted by his aunt and foster mother. His brilliance in writing however, baills him out and he becomes quite a successful student later nicknamed Kongowea Mswahili in reference to a prize-winning essay he had written.
| Fasihi | Literature in Africa | 