What ails Kiswahili literature?

Literature critics can observe the development of Kiswahili literature using three main approaches: one is by categorising when writers wrote their works; two, by looking at the quality of works being churned out; and lastly, by analysing the paradigm shift by some writers whose works no longer conform to the realism mode of writing.

By using the first approach, one can classify Swahili writers into generations. Thus, we have the Fumo Liyongo and Muyaka Bin Hajji al Ghassanniy generation that wrote Swahili poetry before the 20th century.

There is also the Shabaan Robert generation that wrote some prose works, the generation of Said Mohamed Abdulla – who is generally regarded as the father of the investigative Swahili novel. After Said Mohamed, writers like Said Ahmed Mohamed and his contemporaries such as Shafi Adam Shafi, Euphrase Kezilahabi and Ebrahim Hussein came to the fore.

Generation

The early 1970s and late 1980s generation includes names such as the late Prof Jay Mashanga Kitsao, Zainab Burhani, Rukiya Himid, Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha, Kimani Njogu, Alamin Mazrui and Rocha Mzungu Chimerah.

In the late 1990s, writers such as Prof Kyallo Mitila, Kitula King’ei, Kithaka wa Mberia, Ken Walibora, Clara Momanyi, Prof John Hamu Habwe, Rayya Timammy and Mwenda Mbatiah made their mark.

In the 2000s, we have Timothy Arege, John Kobia, Ali Hassan Njama, Bitugi Matundura, Omar Babu and Rebecca Nandwa, among others.

The second approach is that of analysing the quality of Swahili literary works being published today. There seems to be an upsurge of Swahili writers – mostly from academia whose capability of writing a good creative work is questionable.

Innate gift
Literature, like any form of art, requires some sort of innate gift. There is a big misconception among Swahili scholars in our public and private universities that to be recognised, one has to write a creative work – even at the expense of academic papers.

This has contributed to every Tom Dick and Harry rushing into creative writing even when it is obvious that not everybody has the talent to. As a result, Kiswahili literature is now crowded with the so-called short-distance writers whose works may not necessarily contribute to the growth of Kiswahili literature.

In such a scenario, publishers and editors in the publishing industry ought to be blamed for publishing manuscripts without evaluating them critically to establish if it adds any value to the growth of Kiswahili literature. And as a result of every Swahili scholar forcing his or her way into creative writing, very little critiquing of published works is being done, affecting the quality of Kiswahili literature.

The third and last approach is that of looking at the way some Swahili creative writers have intentionally divorced themselves from writing novels and even short stories conforming to the formalist way of writing.

For instance, when one reads works such as Babu Alipofufuka, Dunia Yao and even Nyuso za Mwanamke all by Said Ahmed Mohamed, one can easily notice the paradigm shift we are talking about.

Other Swahili novelists who have shifted gear into another level of writing are Prof Kyallo wa Mitila of Kenya, and Euphrase Kezilahabi and William Eliezer Mkuya; both from Tanzania.

Enock Matundura, author of Mkasa wa Shujaa Liyongo, teaches Swahili literature at Chuka University College