Abdallah Mwasimba - The King of Traditional Poetry

Abdalla Mwasimba
A Tribute to a Celebrated Swahili Poet 1937- 2022
A literary great of the Swahili poetry genre, Abdalla Mwasimba, had
passed on. He hailed from Matuga, Kwale County but found a second
home in Kaloleni, Nairobi. Born in 1937, his generation of Swahili
poets had the art directly passed down to them by those in the 19th
century who truly romanticized Swahili poetry from its 18th century
beginnings. He was one of a dying breed who understood that it
wasn’t enough to recite a poem reading through like an essay, it had to be
sung. A fading art.
One of his memorable poems ‘Nini raha ya pombe?’, (What is the
pleasure of Alcohol).
Abdalla Mwasimba falls into this category of poets who raised awareness on societal issues. He served the nation commendably as a radio presenter for the Voice of Kenya and on Idhaa ya Kiswahili, now Radio Taifa, reciting poems in his typical melodious fashion. He was one of those that carried classical Swahili poetry and literature into the modern era, a resolute defender of the fading genre, a role which now lacks an obvious replacement.
I say fading because TV programmes like Sanaa ya Kiswahili on Kenya
Broadcasting Corporation that played a key role in keeping Swahili literature
alive are not as popular today as they were in the 90s and early 2000s.
Kudos to the new generation custodians of Swahili language and all its literary branches fighting the good fight on social media, you are the ones to keep the spirit of Abdalla Mwasimba alive. Like the great poets before him, he no longer belongs to us, he now belongs to the ages.
He was an inspiration to many who loved listening to the way he articulated his poetry in his programme Mashairi.
...more of Abdalla Mwasimba’s Mashairi(poems) can be found on
YouTube under Abdalla Mwasimba poems.
Q Sheikh for Sema Jambo!