Who owns Kiswahili, really?

u Julius Nyerere and his successor Ali Hassan Mwinyi pose for a photo in a past event. The two are known for their immense contribution towards spreading use of Kiswahili in Tanzania and beyond. PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Tanzania has been the de-facto owner of Kiswahili for a long time. Tanzanian born Kiswahili writers have ruled the world of Swahili literature for a long time, but in recent years, we have seen others coming up from different nations
  • It is high time as a nation we put in place plans on how Tanzanians will benefit from globalisation of Kiswahili language