We have lost a passionate writer, a bold thinker, and a tireless champion of African voices, Mary Karooro Okurut.
I first met Mary in the 1990s at the University of Nairobi’s Department of Literature. She had just visited Nairobi, radiating warmth and a quiet determination that stayed with me. The last time our paths crossed was on 22 November 2023 at Kyambogo University in Kampala, during the Pan African Writers Association conference organised together with FEMRITE, the remarkable organisation she founded to give women writers a platform.
On behalf of the Creative Writers Association of Kenya, I extend our heartfelt condolences to FEMRITE, our sister national writers’ association in Uganda, and to the entire creative community in East Africa.
When a writer dies, society loses more than a voice; it loses a keeper of memory, a shaper of dreams, and a guardian of truth. Mary’s words and work will continue to speak across borders and generations.
Rest well, sister. Your pen has left an indelible mark.
