Kofi Awoonor, Ghanaian poet, killed in Westgate Attack
by Alice Vincent
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Professor Kofi Awoonor, one of the speakers at Storymoja Hay Festival, has died after sustaining injuries during the attack at Westgate shopping centre. At least 39 people have been killed and 150 injured after a gang of Islamic terrorists stormed an upmarket Kenyan shopping mall with guns and grenades and started executing non-Muslims. Professor Kofi Awoonor (inset), one of the speakers at Storymoja Hay Festival, has died after sustaining injuries during the attack at Westgate shopping centre.
Ghanaian poet and diplomat Kofi Awoonor is among the 39 killed during the attack on Westgate Mall. He died on Saturday, aged 78, from injuries sustained in the attack on Westgate Mall, Nairobi.
The Ghanaian government confirmed Awoonor’s death early Sunday morning. Awoonor’s son had been shot in the shoulder during the attack, for which Somali militant group Al-Shabab has claimed responsibility, and was treated and discharged from hospital late on Saturday. In addition to the 39 people killed, it is estimated 100 have been injured in the attack.
Awoonor was in Nairobi to speak at the Storymoja Hay Festival, a four-day celebration of writing, thinking and storytelling. Along with Ghanaian poets Nii Parkes and Kwame Dawes, he was due to perform on Saturday evening as part of a showcase of award-winning poetry from both sides of Africa.
He said during the festival that the event had “the best representation of Ghanaian authors that we have ever had” and commended the fellow authors and writers there: “Together we are discussing the birthing pains of countries.” During a poetry masterclass that Awoonor held at the festival he discussed mortality and said he was unafraid of death. Julie Muriuki, a writer who attended, posted on a blog afterwards: “I’ve been looking for my writing voice and Awoonor has shown me where to find it. I’m eternally grateful.”
Awoonor was born in 1935 and became known for his poetry, early collections of which were heavily inspired by the dirge singing and oral poetry of his native Ewe tribe. He published his first collection, Rediscovery and Other Poems, in 1964. Awoonor gained a masters degree in literature at University College London in 1970. His second collection, Night of My Blood, was released in 1971 and was a series of poems that explore Awoonor’s roots and the impact of colonialism and foreign rule in Africa.
[from The Telegraph, 22 September 2013]
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