KENYAN POET DOMINION BREAKS HISTORY AT THE WORLD SLAM POETRY CHAMPIONSHIP

 Kenyan poet Dominion (Moses Kiptoo,) emerged 2nd in the just concluded World Poetry slam Championships held in Mexico. Crowned the 66th Slam King in the 2024/25 local Poetry Slam festival, Dominion would unleash his might on the world stage to emerge 2nd with a score 59.7/60 just 0.1 points behind the 2025 champion King Yaw of Ghana. The World Poetry Slam Championships were held in Ciudad Juarez Mexico from 30th May to June 1st drawing over 40 participants across the globe.

Dominion on stage after being crowned 66th Slam King (photo courtesy of Creative Spills)


Dominion is an upcoming poet following in the footsteps of poet greats that have graced the Kenyan stage. Inspired by renowned Kenya performance and written poet Mufasa, Dominion uses his voice to unearth identity struggles and the absurdities of modern living. His voice echoes the pains and struggles of social injustices, bad governance among other issues. 

A versatile poet, Dominion, does not just end his work on the stage but has been known to be a proactive activist who works with youth organizations in Kenya. His hard work and deep roots within the society work well to help him build evocative works that are deeply introspective and engaging. Laced with humour, satire and colourful imagery, Dominion not only engages but also entertains. 

His work on the world stage has shown a remarkable poet who is not relenting in his discipline. We truly are yet to see the best of him in the performance scene. Apart from Dominion, Slim Shaka (David Otieno), the 65th Slam King also represented Kenya well in the World Championships in Brazil in 2023. After the championships, Slim Shaka promised to mentor upcoming Kenyan poets on the requirements of the competitive world stage Slam poetry. During the Slam Festival held early this year, Slim Shaka hosted poets In ‘Death Riding Shotgun: The Essence of Slam Poetry.’ The poets were taken through the art of performance and owning one’s craft. His aim was to inspire Kenyan acts into creating international masterpieces that rival slam events around the globe.     

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