Nairobi, Feb. 17 -- Tanzanian authors Philipo Oyaro and Fatuma Salim have won the top prizes at the 2023 Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature competition.

Oyaro won the first prize in the Fiction category for his novel Dunia Duara (The Earth is Round), while Salim's poetry collection Changa la Macho (Sand in the Eyes) took the top prize in the Poetry category.

They received $5,000 each.

This is the first time a woman has won in the poetry category in this prestigious competition.

Dunia Duara is a crime detective story that employs technology in solving crimes. It has credible characters, powerful descriptive language and makes effective use of suspense.

Read: Shortlist out for Kiswahili Literature Prize 2023

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