Gabriel Ruhumbika (born 1938) is a Tanzanian born novelist, short story writer, translator and academic. His first novel, '' Village in Uhuru'', was published in 1969. He has written several subsequent novels in

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language officially used in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes. * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa. * Swahili culture, the culture of the Swahili p ...

. He has also taught literature at a number of universities, and, until his retirement in 2016, he was a professor of Comparative Literature at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

in the USA.

Early life

Ruhumbika was born in 1938 on

Ukerewe Island Ukerewe Island (''Kisiwa cha Ukerewe'', in Swahili) is a freshwater island located in Lake Victoria. The island is administratively part of Ukerewe District in Mwanza Region, Tanzania. The island fifth-largest lake island in the world. With an ar ...

Ukerewe District Ukerewe District is one of the seven districts of the Mwanza Region of Tanzania. It is located on Ukerewe Island, Ukara Island and other neighbouring islands within Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a sur ...

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropics, tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface are ...

of modern day

Mwanza Region Mwanza Region (''Mkoa wa Mwanza'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions, covering a total land area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state ...

. After studying for an undergraduate degree at the

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

in Uganda, then Makerere College of the University of London, he completed a PhD (''Docteur de l'Université'') at the

University of Paris-Sorbonne Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; ) was a public university, public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Paris. In 2018, it m ...

in France.

Career

Ruhumbika's first novel, '' Village in Uhuru'', was published in 1969; this was the second English-language Tanzanian novel, after Peter Palangyo's Dying in the Sun (1968). This is a historical novel, based on real events relating to questions of ethnic and national identity in the context of the

Tanganyika African National Union The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was the principal political party in the struggle for sovereignty in the East African state of Tanganyika (now Tanzania). The party was formed from the Tanganyika African Association by Julius Nyere ...

's struggles for sovereignty in Tanganyika (now Tanzania). Although ''Village in Uhuru'' was written and first published in English, Ruhumbika decided to write all of his subsequent novels in Swahili, a decision similar to that of Kenyan writer

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (; born James Ngugi; 5January 193828May 2025) was a Kenyan author and academic, who has been described as East Africa's leading novelist and an important figure in modern African literature. Ngũgĩ wrote primarily in Eng ...

. His Swahili-language novels, which mainly cover the

Pan-African Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...

Uhuru Movement The African People's Socialist Party (APSP) is a pan-Africanist political party in the United States. APSP leads its sister organization, the Uhuru Movement (pronounced , Swahili for "freedom"). Both APSP and Uhuru formed in 1972 from the me ...

, include ''Miradi Bubu ya Wazalendo'' (''Silent Empowerment of the Compatriots'', 1991), ''Janga Sugu la Wazawa'' (''Everlasting Doom for the Children of the Land'', 2002) and ''Wacha Mungu wa Bibi Kilihona'' (''The God-loving Children of Grandma Kilihona''), 2014. He also wrote a collection of short stories, ''Uwike Usiwike Kutakuche'' (''Whether the Cock Crows or Not It Dawns''). Outside of his own writings, he has worked as a translator, mainly from French to Swahili, although he also translated

Aniceti Kitereza Aniceti Kitereza (1896–1981) was a Tanzanian Catholic cleric and novelist, born in 1896 on the island of Ukerewe, in Lake Victoria, in modern day Ukerewe District of Mwanza Region in Tanzania. In 1945, he wrote the first novel in his native lang ...

's novel ''Myombekere and His Wife Bugonoka, Their Son Ntulanalwo, and Daughter Bulihwali'' from Kikerewe into English. Ruhumbika is a nephew of Kitereza and had unique access to the Kitereza’s manuscripts and diaries. Ruhumbika has also taught literature at various universities, in both Africa and the USA. He has lectured at the

University of Dar es Salaam The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) (Swahili: ''Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam'') is a public university located in Ubungo District, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. ...

(from 1970 to 1985) and

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

(from 1985 to 1992). From 1992 until he retired in 2016, he was a Professor of Comparative Literature at the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruhumbika, Gabriel Tanzanian novelists 1938 births University of Georgia faculty Makerere University alumni English-language writers from Tanzania Swahili-language writers University of Paris alumni People from Mwanza Region Living people