The board of Trustees of the African Writers Development Trust (AWDT) has approved the selection of judges for the 2020 African Writers Awards. This was revealed in a statement by Olukaejire Sakanwi Junior, Chairperson of the board. The judges were selected based on their track record, commitment to excellence, and pedigree in the African literary space. The panel of judges comprises Sabah Carrim, Benny Wanjohi, Henry Joe Sakala, and Nahida Esmail who will serve as head judge of the Wakini Kuria Prize for Children’s Literature.
Sabah Carrim (Mauritius)
Sabah Carrim is an author of two novels, Humeirah and Semi-Apes, both set in Mauritius where she was born. Her short stories have been shortlisted and published in various competitions organised internationally by Commonwealth Writers, Goethe Institute South Africa, Odd Voice Out Press, and recently the Bristol Short Story Prize. One of her nonfiction works was also a semi-finalist in the Gabriele Rico Challenge for Creative Non-fiction and was published in Reed Magazine in 2020.
In 2019, Sabah was amongst the panel of judges for the 2019 African Writers Award and also delivered the keynote speech on Cultural Stereotypes in African Literature at the 2019 African Writers Conference held in Nairobi. Sabah is a law lecturer, and holds a PhD in Genocide Studies and Prevention with a focus on the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge era.
Benny Wanjohi (Kenya)
Benny Wanjohi is a Kenyan poet who has written over 300 poems that have been featured on various literary platforms. He is the author of the Christian poetry ebook titled ‘Wings of Hope’ and is set to launch two additional poetry books in June 2020. Benny is the founder of Friendswhowrite, a group that brings together talented writers in Kenya.
Benny is also the Coordinator of Writers Space Africa-Kenya (WSA-K), the Kenyan chapter of Writers Space Africa. He is a poetry editor for the Writers Space Africa magazine and runs a poetry mentorship program for upcoming poets across Africa. He served as the chief judge for the Pantoum poetry contest organized by Writing This Gospel.
In addition, Benny participated in organizing the 2019 African Writers Conference held in Kenya in September 2019. He participated as one of the panelists, alongside 6 others from 5 African countries, during the 2nd edition of the AWDT Writers Mingle held in March 2020 in Kenya. Benny is currently based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Henry Joe Sakala (Zambia)
Henry is a writer, actor, director, and producer who has written several award-winning plays in Zambia and across Africa. His works include, “Living with the Enemy”, “The Last Steps,” and “A Judas Affair.” Other plays written by Henry, include Town Boy (Best Script, April International Theatre Festival 2014), Surviving the Wilderness, Without a Kiss, and Love Song for an Impotent Son-in-law (Co-written with Samuel Kasankha Phiri).
Henry also has credits in Zambia’s budding film industry. He wrote the screenplay for the 2009 multi-award-winning feature film of the year; “Reflection of Sadness.” Some of his works also include TV productions, short films and feature films. He is behind the scripting and development of hit TV dramas such as the award-winning Survivors, Konstable, Brothers, and Dancers shown on MUVI TV. In 2017 he was head writer for the Zambezi Magic hit TV series Mfuti in which he also starred as Boss Bob. He was also head writer for another Zambezi Magic TV series, Landlady.
Henry is the Head Writer of Mpali in which he also stars as Zondani.
Nahida Esmail (Tanzania)
Nahida Esmail will serve in a returning capacity as the chief judge for the Wakini Kuria Award for children’s literature. Nahida is an award-winning author born and raised in Dar es Salam, Tanzania. Her five young adult novels, Living in the Shade, Lesslie the City Maasai, Detectives of Shangani, Living in the Shade: Aiming for the Summit and Karafu: A freed Slave have all received CODE’s Burt Award for African Literature. She has nearly 30 published books including children’s picture books and textbooks.
Nahida graduated from Goldsmiths College, University of London, with a BSc in Psychology. She also has a Masters in Child Development with Early Childhood Education from the Institute of Education, University of London.
Nahida currently lives in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania as a part-time writer and a full-time mother of two girls. She enjoys reading, cycling, mountain climbing, photography, and travelling. She has lived in London, Cairo, and Durban. Nahida was the keynote speaker at the 2018 African Writers Conference in Abuja, Nigeria and a recipient of the African Writers Award of merit.
