ABSTRACT
Kenya has experienced unspeakable and horrifically gross violations of human rights characterized by ethnic conflicts. Such violence included massacres, torture and ill-treatment, and various forms of violence. In the light of this fact, artists have also contributed as much on the subject, poets included. Poetry is one of the most important Kiswahili literary genres with a long history serving different purposes, where the poet warns, incites, chronicles, or foretells. This chapter, therefore, explores how atrocity and protest are expressed in a poetic and disquieting fashion in three Swahili anthologies of poetry: Chembe cha Moyo (Mazrui, 1988), Bara Jingine (Mberia, 2001), and Sauti ya Dhiki (Abdalla, 1973). Often brutality on innocent victims precipitates action, a reassurance of an obvious end with retribution. Swahili Poetry is seen as a tool to reflect on various social and political violations and as a means of expressing personal reactions to violence. It is read as an avenue to revolt against oppressive situations and regimes, convey the “unconveyable”, and provides an alternative voice for articulating issues bedevilling society.
