RENOWNED Zimbabwean poet, author and cultural advocate, Albert Nyathi, has been named among 100 African icons crowned by Being African for their remarkable contribution to the preservation of African culture.
Being African is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and preserving African cultures to empower individuals of African descent.
If focuses on connecting Africans globally through education, cultural life cycle documentation, community building and coaching
Nyathi is being honoured for his work which has carried the country’s oral traditions into the future without dropping the drum.
He turned poetry into protest and protest into purpose; he gave more than words, he gave wells, books and beginnings, and though he rises in the world, he remains rooted in the soil that raised him.
Being African founder Gladys Jakachira said Nyathi was a custodian of memory, builder of a legacy and the voice that had echoed across generations and borders, thus, deserving the honour.
“Through his poems, read in universities, taught in schools, and through every child who finds their voice in his footsteps, he reminds us that poetry is not just an art form; it is a way of life. It is a vessel, a memory keeper and a living archive,” she said.
Added Jakachira: “He also reminds us that Being African is not a statement, it is a responsibility. These icons are living today to be celebrated alive.
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“We are going to do a lot of work for them in the sense that we are going to provide audios, we are going to provide the work that they have done.”
She said they we honouring a certain category of people and growing their brands, people whose work spoke for itself, while aligning with the organisation’s mission.
“The big idea is to have all of Africa and the world recognise what is possible, hopefully other people will be mentored by these icons,” Jakachira said.
“We are looking for people who we do not need to provide a lot of explanation for, because their work speaks for them.
“They have done the work, it only takes someone very little effort to ascertain the truth of who these people are.”
Nyathi expressed gratitude for the honour, promising to deliver even more.
“I am so humbled by this gesture. Being chosen among millions of brilliant African people, I do not take this honour lightly. I have won awards and been honoured before, but this is beyond my imagination,” he said.
“The pressure is now on me to prove that you were right in choosing me to be part of this honourable crop of 100 African icons.
“I hereby promise to continue to deliver and make Africa proud, make you proud.”
Meanwhile, Ignatius Tirivangani Mabasa, a Zimbabwean storyteller, writer and academic, who creates oral narratives and folktales in his mother tongue, Shona, was also honoured for his work.
