First Eswatini winner of writing prize shocked at award

The first Eswatini winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for Africa has said it was "unbelievably shocking" that he had won the award and that it was an honour.

It was the second time he had submitted a work for the prize, and he had no "expectation of winning", he told the BBC. He just wanted to practice and improve his writing.

Ntsika Kota, who is a trained chemist, wrote a story called And the Earth Drank Deep about the first human murder in prehistoric times.

He said his prize-winning story, was inspired by a thought that popped into his head: "Who was the first serial killer and how would they have behaved?"

He told Focus on Africa that his love for writing was "first ignited in school" but he decided to pursue science for further study because it was something he felt he "had to do".

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: Brittle Paper