The Sankofa Book Awards Kenya has announced its 2025 winners during an international workshop on African literature held in Nairobi highlighting the landmark contributions to African writing and cultural anthropology, celebrating authors whose voices echo far beyond the continent’s borders.
The Grand Prize went to Nituecheni Africano for The Recluse: The Beginning and the End of an Injustice. The jury praised the work for its “literary strength and social impact,” noting that it “gives voice to the many faces of contemporary Africa with authenticity, beauty, and philosophical depth.”
In the category of Best Book in African Cultural Anthropology, the award was presented to Maurício Francisco Caetano for The Bantu Through the Eyes of Mafrano – Volume II. Jury member Dr. Kwame Mwandu remarked:
“Caetano presents a profound, committed, and technically refined view of African cultural systems, building a bridge between traditional knowledge and contemporary thought.”
Senegalese literary critic Aminata Diallo, delivering a tribute at the workshop, said:
“The Bantu Through the Eyes of Mafrano represents a generation of African thinkers who refuse to simplify the complexity of our peoples. His work is courageous, necessary, and deeply human.”
Award coordinator Professor Elias Obuya of the University of Nairobi emphasized the selection process:
“We received works of the highest caliber. The selection was difficult, but carried out with rigor and integrity. Both Nituecheni and Maurício Francisco Caetano have delivered books to the world that will be remembered in the history of African intellectual production.”
The Sankofa Book Awards Kenya stands as one of the most respected literary honors on the continent, committed to promoting African cultural excellence, critical thought, and academic innovation.
The winning titles will be translated into multiple languages and integrated into recommended reading lists in educational and cultural institutions across Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
Congratulations, Nituecheni Africano and Maurício Caetano!
Bakare Oluwatobiloba
I write to educate, motivate and define history with literature. Just being me!
