Kiswahili gains prominence with more productions at drama festivals

The promotion of Kiswahili as a national language continued to bear fruit with this year’s National Drama Festivals recording a high number of Swahili productions.

Kenya National Drama Festivals Chairman Mr Chokera Kahura said that unlike in the previous years where Swahili plays were eliminated in the early stages, the festivals have now expressed interest in Swahili scripts.

“A high number of scripts have made their way to the nationals this year and we expect more to turn up in the years to come,” said Mr Kahura.

He added that the high number of scripts in both plays and narratives have ensured that the campaign towards promotion of Kiswahili as the national language was bearing fruit.

He added that a number of schools, which include Kaporok and Tambach, had staged Swahili productions, promising that the same would reach the same level as English productions.

“The affirmative action towards embracing Kiswahili as a national language is bearing fruit and therefore expanding the various categories of competition in the drama festivals,” he added.

Mr Kahura added that with the fast growth in technology, the films category was experiencing a lot of competition with this year’s festivals marking the fourth edition.

“More students have shown interest in the film category where they are allowed to showcase the various films they have produced.

“This will take film production to the next level,” he said.