VETERAN KENYAN POET SITAWA NAMWALIE AWARDED AT THE GRAND SLAM FESTIVAL IN NAIROBI

 Sitawa is a veteran Kenyan poet and playwright who has not only represented Kenya in different disciplines but also worked for the World Bank and the UN. 

 Grand Slam kicked off in Nairobi on January 25th 2025. Among the activities of the festival were the Grand Slam Poetry competitions, Workshops and Rising Voices Schools. Meanwhile, within the flurry of activities at the Kenya national Theatre, there was a steaming cup of conversation and debate on the role of Creative Arts and the contribution of various individuals in the growth of the performance art. The chief guest was Sitawa Namwalie aka Betty Wamalwa Muragori. 

Sitawa Namwalie, photo courtesy of Creative Spills 

Under the auspices of All African Women Poetry Festival (AAWPF), Sitawa Namwalie would be celebrated and awarded a plaque for her outstanding contribution to poetry, art and drama on the African continent. The moderator of the event was none other than the director of AAWPF Freestyle poet Emma Ofosua Donkor from Ghana. AAWPF is an annual celebration of women voices. It aims to celebrate literature and literary legends, empower African women and women of African descent, educate the youth and engage marginalized communities through sustainable events. Now on its third year, the festival honored Sitawa Namwalie in a special way through performance and discussion.

The conversation centred on the theme, memory and loss, in which they observed femicide in Kenya, loss of culture, identity and language and how individuality was eroding empathy and humanity in society. The panelists, who were also entertainers of the evening observed that through love a lot can be regained and culture nurtured through resilience and defiance despite the current phase of hardships.  

Featured performances were from the 2022/23 Poets You Should Know women’s Slam winners Nyangari Macharia (Nyash) and Winnie Madoro (Kazu,) Emma Ofosua Donkor and Sitawa Namwalie herself. The festival has in the past also honored Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo among others.

Sitawa Namwalie is a Kenyan creative with a lot of collars on her shoulder. She has in the past worked for the World Bank and the United Nations. A holder of BSc in Botany and Zoology from the University of Nairobi and an MA from Clark University in Massachusetts, USA, Sitawa has truly lived a full life and achieved a lot in many areas. As youth, she represented Kenya internationally in tennis tournaments. 

As a performer, Sitawa has a rich body of works performed on various platforms in Kenya. Her works include: ‘Cut of my Tongue performed in 2009 at the Hay festival, the 2011 ‘Homecoming,’ ‘Silence is a Woman 2014, among others. She has also staged two plays; ‘Room of Lost Names and ‘Black Maria on Koinange Street’ in 2015.

Sitawa would also try her hand in curating by showcasing a photographic exhibition entitled ‘Our Grandmothers in Miniskirts 2019' during the annual Macondo Literary Festival. The exhibition covered a period of almost a century (1900-1980) bringing to light the freedoms enjoyed by young women as far as dressing is concerned. This was in response to the scandalous stripping of ‘inappropriately’ dressed women in Kenya’s public transport by men for indecent dressing. In her view, Sitawa aimed to remind the overzealous men of their origin and how skimpily dressed women were appreciated and not condemned for their choice. The exhibition, made up of 30 crowd sourced photos was well received and contributed to the growing debate under ‘My Dress My Choice’ in Kenya. 

Talking to Creatives Spills Director Ian Gwagi before the Slam Festival, he had mentioned about a session to honour significant women in the Kenyan Literary scene as part of the Slam Festival. It was great to see that he followed through by bringing in Sitawa Namwalie to inspire upcoming women creatives and as well share her insights about the growth of the Kenya Artscene. Hopefully, Sitawa will not be the last to be recognized by the Slam Festival.