May 3, 2010 – Members of the theatre and literature fraternity will be meeting at the Wasanii Restaurant (Kenya National Theatre) on Saturday 8th May to commemorate the first anniversary celebration for renowned thespian Bantu Mwaura Ndung’u.

Bantu was a respected stage director, poet, storyteller and lecturer. His poetry, in English, Kiswahili and Gikuyu has been published in several journals. He was also a human rights and political activist who used theatre and performance to highlight social issues.

The fierce writer, who was founding editor of Jahazi, an arts and culture journal, had a PhD in Performance Studies from the New York University and a Masters in Theatre Studies from Leeds University (UK).

Bantu died in 2009 in mysterious circumstances, leaving behind his wife Susan and two daughters. A few days to his death, the award winning artist had appeared in talk shows at KTN and Citizen TV, to contribute strongly on land and governance issues.

The memorial ceremony, to start at 2 pm, will also incorporate an exhibition of literary works. In attendance will be the who’s who in Kenyan literary and theatre circles. We also expect a host of performances from Bantu’s comrades who put up a strong show at a similar memorial at the Goethe Institut last year.