No visa, just vision: How free movement turned East Africa into a stage for rising voices

“Art chose me, and in art I found myself,” says Ugandan poet Destiny Gladys, reminiscing about her poetic journey.

It began during her O-levels when she took part in a school competition. Dissatisfied with her team's performance, she decided to take poetry more seriously—and soon began crafting punchy verses that seized every stage she graced. Winning became routine.

By 2019, she joined Uganda’s all-female poetry house, Echo Minds Poetry. It was there she learned about a regional event that would change her life—the East Africa Poetic Hour Battle, a competition drawing creatives from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Rwanda.

“The idea of stepping on a global stage doing what I love was thrilling,” she says.

When Destiny received an invitation to the 2022 edition in Kisumu, Kenya, it marked not just her first international performance, but her first time traveling outside Uganda.

According to Godfrey Emoja, Managing Director of Talent Industry Limited, the East Africa Poetic Hour Battle began humbly.

Poetry and music

“The first gathering was just an hour-long meet-up under a mango tree,” he recalls.

Its purpose: to give artists a space to express themselves through poetry and music. Quickly, the community grew. The event stretched to two hours, then drew in creatives from Uganda, and eventually expanded across the East African Community (EAC).

Now in its eighth edition, the event has hosted over 160 participants from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Each year, more than 100 artists apply, though only 20 are selected to perform.

 “This wouldn’t be possible without the free movement policy under the EAC,” says Emoja.

Dr Ali-Said Matano, former Executive Secretary of the Lake Victoria Basin Commission and now Senior Advisor on Blue Economy and Lakefront Development in Kisumu, says this free movement is anchored in a 2010 Protocol that came into force in 2011.

The policy allows citizens of EAC member states—Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda—to travel, work, and reside in partner countries without visas or work permits.

“One can literally have breakfast in Kenya, lunch in Kampala, dinner in Kigali, and return to Nairobi,” he says.

This ease of movement, Dr Matano explains, was designed to boost trade, labour mobility, cultural exchange, and regional integration. One-stop border posts and acceptance of national IDs further reduce bureaucracy.

Destiny Gladys attests to this benefit. “We didn’t need to process visas to travel to Kenya. That made all the difference.”

Polished acts 

Though travel was easier, Destiny’s 2022 competition experience wasn’t without challenges. Kenyan poets arrived with themed costumes and polished acts. She had to improvise, using available clothing to add flair to her delivery.

Still, she clinched third place, walking away with a trophy, smartphone, and a sense of purpose.

“Back in Kampala, I founded Hatma Creative to train more women poets to claim their space,” she says.

Since then, her network has expanded. Together with other artists, she co-organized a Ugandan competition dubbed “Africa the Chain Breaker” to demystify harmful stereotypes. It featured poets from Kenya, South Sudan, the DRC, and even the United States.

“We started thinking about opening borders for skill sharing across East Africa,” she says.

The next year, Destiny and her peers were invited by the Uganda Animal Protection Unit to perform at an awareness event. More networking followed, including a Valentine’s Day event dubbed “Mapenzi Beyond Borders” (Swahili for "Love Beyond Borders") hosted in Kampala with poets from Kenya and South Sudan.

South Sudan also has a visa-free agreement with Uganda. That allowed us to create poetry without constraints,” she says.

Yet challenges persist. “We are yet to receive participants from countries that still require visas to enter Kenya,” says Mr Emoja. “Hopefully, the borders will keep opening to allow more inclusion.”

Dr Matano acknowledges that while Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda have fully implemented the free movement policy, Tanzania and Burundi are making progress, and others like Somalia and the DRC are still internalising it.

Challenges remain: inconsistent national policies, security concerns, administrative bottlenecks, and at times, limited political will.

Yet the impact is clear—increased cross-border interaction, cultural cooperation, and mobility. Events like the Poetic Hour Battle are tangible proof of these policies in action.

Felicity Mudis, a Kenyan poet from Kisumu, discovered her voice in 2021 when she was invited to perform at the monthly Poetic Hour edition.

“Initially, poetry was just fun,” she says. “But performing in public for the first time changed everything.”

She was selected for the regional battle the following year, and though she came fourth, the event sparked a shift.

“I realised I could actually pursue this as a career,” says Felicity.

During the workshops accompanying the event, artists learned about creative entrepreneurship, branding, networking, and building sustainable artistic ventures.

Art and Fashion 

Felicity went on to found Mudis House of Art and Fashion, where she fuses poetry and fashion to advocate against gender injustice.

 “I run an annual poetry show every October called Sister Darling,” says Felicity. “It’s now in its fourth edition.”

The event promotes women’s voices in poetry and has tackled themes like climate change, sexual and reproductive health, mental health, and Pan-Africanism.

Through connections from the East Africa Poetic Hour, Felicity has been invited to perform in Uganda multiple times.

“Sometimes your talent needs someone to recommend you. These regional connections have changed my path,” she says.

Yet the gender gap remains an issue.

“Many women exit the arts after marriage or motherhood,” notes Mr Emoja.

Felicity agrees. “Poetry has long been dominated by men. But who better to tell women’s stories than women themselves?”

Today, Destiny has performed in two more international festivals, including the Bagamoyo International Festival of Arts and Culture in Tanzania, where she won top honours.

She now sits on the advisory board of the Artists Change Program under the Global Fund for Women.

“There are ongoing regional policy reviews and initiatives designed to incentivize full adoption of the free movement protocol,” says Dr Matano.

He believes the creative economy is a force that binds innovation, identity, and economic development.

“When we break down borders, we unlock a shared ecosystem—one where stories travel, artists connect, and opportunities grow.”

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DISCLAIMER: This content is produced as part of the Move Africa project, commissioned by the African Union Commission and supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of GIZ or the African Union.