Florence Chanya Mwaita | The worst insect. The winning essay: Mdudu Mbaya Zaidi, cleverly weaves and lures readers into the brutal predatory tactics of a Tarantula Hawk wasp. An insect that stings and paralyzes its prey - a Tarantula spider, uses the decaying body to lay eggs, which then the growing larva feeds on. Florence uses this analogy to explore the topics of greed, corruption, and predatory governance systems. A relevant and timely essay, ahead of the upcoming Kenyan elections.

Florence is a communications specialist and alumni of Daystar University, Kenya. She’s a writer, a poet, and a Kiswahili writer, published in newspapers such as Taifa Leo, (Nation Daily) - Kenya’s mainstream newspaper in Kiswahili, among other publications. She was also the former chief editor of Daystar University's The Involvement newspaper.

Elias B. Shelukindo| A letter from the street. The essay, Barua kutoka Mtaani, looks into the lives and exploitation of street children. Elias directly addresses the reader and this gripping approach forces readers to think of the neglect and unjust living conditions destitute children are exposed to. Elias is a budding writer and a student of commerce at the University of Dodoma, Tanzania.

This blog post is adopted from Hekaya Arts Initiative blog post, which gives a deeper dive into each story. Read the complete blog post here in Kiswahili.