World Swahili Day Celebrated at KICC

Kenyans, led by the Kenya Wildlife Service band, will be marking World Swahili Day at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) today.

The celebrations will lead to a procession to the national museum of Kenya, which will be led by the cabinet secretary for sports Amina Mohammed and the cabinet secretary for tourism Najib Balala.

This is the first celebration following last year’s Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declaration for the day to be observed on July 7 every year, making it the first African language to be honoured by the UN.

Kiswahili, a combination of Bantu and Arabic, is one of the most widely spoken languages in the East African Region. It stands as an official language in East Africa’s Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda also recently recommended the officiality of the language in the country.

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The language is also widely spoken in parts of Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). South Africa and Botswana also introduced the language in schools, which is also offered as a course in US schools, universities, and colleges.

History Behind July 7

July 7 was the day in 1954 when Mwalimu Julius Nyerere – led Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) adopted Kiswahili as the unifying language for independence struggles. It is remembered as Saba Saba day in Tanzania.

In Kenya, Saba Saba day is remembered as the day when the nationwide protest took place. On July 7 1990, Kenyans took to the streets to demand free elections. The politicians who had called for the demonstrations, Kenneth Matiba and Charles Rubia, were arrested days before the protest.

Other politicians such as George Anyona and the current Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga and others were beaten up and detained by the then-dictator President Moi.

In present-day Kenya, Saba Saba has taken on a new meaning. Human rights defenders (HRDs) and civil society organizations such as the Kenya Human Rights Commission, National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders, and the Social Justice Centers’ Working Group, among others, are asking for respect of the constitution. These entities have also called for an end to police brutality and killings, advocating for a favourable legal and policy environment in Kenya.