The Elephant Dance by Henry Ole Kulet – Published by Longhorn Publishers
Kulet takes a somewhat indirect approach to the dangers that local communities stand in when international powers and local authorities connive to steal cultural heritage. The novel is a voice sounding against illegal animal poaching and it shows how some business empires are built on the back of depleting natural resources.
Adult Category in Kiswahili
Mashetani wa Alepo by Tom Olali – Published by Jomo Kenyatta Foundation
Although the novel is written in Kiswahili, it is well blended to invite foreign eyes to learn about the dangers of man’s inhumanity in resource depletion without discrimination or plan to leave time for it to regain its height of production. It reads like a Science Fiction that speaks a local language to everyone interested in reading.
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Youth Category in English
Ghost and the Fortune Hunters by Goro wa Kamau –Published by Longhorn Publishers
A story that highlights the importance of hardwork and resilience and the need not to succumb to circumstances but to keep rising. It also points out the defects of the ignorance of many to albinism and gives room for change without necessarily sounding like a lecture.
Youth Category in Kiswahili
Majilio ya Mkombozi by Mwenda Mbatiah – Published by Moran Publishers
Though it almost sounds like the age-old ‘good triumphs over evil’ cliche story, it lends new voice and helps those coming of age to see the need to be selfless and avoid greed. It also emphasizes the importance of women in building well-functioning societies.
Children Category in English
Koko Riko by Muthoni Muchemi –- Published by Storymoja
Employing the traditional method of telling tales by partly illustrating them, Muthoni Muchemi writes impressively to teach children the importance of saving.
