By BAMUTURAKI MUSINGUZI

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Nigerian author Munachim Amah has won the fifth Writivism short story award with a cash prize of $400.

His story, Stolen Pieces, is about the challenges of sexuality in Africa. The story revolves around a young man named Nkem who is struggling with his identity and gender and discovering himself.

Nkem is not sure if he is male or female. He behaves like a man or woman depending on the occasion and situation.

The first time the nine-year-old primary six pupil learnt about his sexuality was during a school holiday at his mother’s apartment in Awka when his cousin asked him for a kiss.

“While we were playing husband and wife in my room, he threw his huge arms around my neck and asked me to kiss him. Suddenly, I couldn’t think anymore. I couldn’t breathe anymore. My head was swollen. My legs felt heavy. ‘Please,’ he said, bringing his mouth to my face in slow motion. That was when I stepped back. I ran to the bathroom and bolted the door with trembling hands,” Amah writes.

At the age of 11, Nkem fell in love with a boy called Ifediba in their secondary school. But when Ifediba left the school, he never communicated with Nkem.

In university, Nkem fell in love with a girl, and he began doubting his gender.

The 2017 Writivism Festival was held at the Square in Kampala from August 17 to 20. The festival included book launches, poetry, comedy, plays, panel discussions, music, and exhibitions.

Amah’s story beat Fairies, by Saaleha Bhamjee (South Africa), Mobache, by Régine Gwladys Lebouda (Cameroon), The (Un)Lucky Ones, by Andrew C. Dakalira (Malawi), and This Story Has No End, by Blessing J. Christopher (Nigeria).

Amah also won a one-month writing residency at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

Accepting the prize in Kampala, Amah said: “I have received positive feedback since I published this story. Many people who have read it said they felt moved. I dedicate this prize to anybody going through a personal struggle.

“This story was inspired by my observation of people’s experiences and struggles with identity. Winning this prize means a lot, and I have to work harder to improve my craft,” Amah told The EastAfrican.

Amah is an alumnus of the 2016 Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop, and his short fiction and creative non-fiction stories have been published in Saraba Magazine, African Writer, Kalahari Review, and are soon to be featured in Bakwa Magazine.

At the festival, the $500 Koffi Addo Prize for creative non-fiction went to South Africa’s Charles King for his short story Meat Bomb.

The story is about the devastating effects of the war that was led by the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) to liberate South West Africa (Namibia today) from the apartheid South African regime.

Meat Bomb revolves around the life of a young white man, raised by his staunch nationalist father to believe that one should fight for one’s country.

The young man, who was conscripted in the army at the age of 19, recalls the mortars, snipers and the aggressive army ants and snakes they faced during the war. He also remembers the manipulation and the propaganda machine of the apartheid state.

“The rip and shred of flesh being hacked and sliced and bone being broken at the centre of the circle were so distinct in the darkness it was as if it was happening inside my very head.

“Except that it wasn’t.

“I was sitting on my haunches on the very edge of the circle.

“The dry, sparse earth was still hot from the relentless day.

“I faced outwards, into the darkness and the wildness.  My hunched back shielded me from the hellish epicentre just five metres behind me,” King writes.

A Long Way from Home, by Vivian Uchechi Ogbonna (Nigeria) and Finding Binyavanga, by Sada Malumfashi (Nigeria) were close contenders for the creative non-fiction prize.

“This is a true story of my life. It is about my coming of age and enlightenment. It happened a few days before my 21st birthday,” King said.

He is a lecturer and writer in Cape Town where he lectures on climate change and homophobia.

The five shortlisted short stories have already been published in the Munyori Literary Journal as in previous years. The three shortlisted non-fiction stories have been published in Enkare Review.

The annual festival is organised by the Centre for African Cultural Excellence.