The government has announced plans to establish Kenya’s first Hall of Fame dedicated to celebrating the country’s most influential literary and cultural figures.
The initiative, spearheaded by the State Department for Culture and Heritage in partnership with the Kenya National Library Service (KNLS), will be housed at the Sanaa Centre Auditorium within the Maktaba Kuu Headquarters in Upper Hill, Nairobi.
Principal Secretary Ummi Bashir said the project aims to preserve the works and legacies of celebrated Kenyan writers, including Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Ali Mazrui, Prof. Grace Ogot, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, and Joseph Muthee, among others.
Speaking during a History Conference at the University of Embu on Saturday, PS Bashir said the Hall of Fame will act as a repository of cultural memory, helping future generations understand the nation’s literary journey while honouring those who shaped it.
“This site will ensure that the contributions of our great authors and scholars are not lost to time. It will give Kenyans and visitors a central place to connect with their works and be inspired to tell more of our stories,” she said.
The Hall of Fame will also include a digital archive documenting biographies and literary works of inductees, alongside artefacts linked to Kenya’s cultural heritage some of which the government is still working to repatriate from foreign institutions.
Bashir commended the University of Embu for celebrating the scholarly achievements of Prof. Stanley Mwaniki, a renowned historian whose works have preserved the oral traditions of the Embu community through publications such as Embu Traditional Songs and Dances and Migrations and Settlement of Mount Kenya Peoples.
According to the PS, the new Hall of Fame will not only celebrate the past but also inspire new generations of authors and content creators to carry forward Kenya’s storytelling legacy.
