Kenya's Kiswahili guru Professor Ahmed Sheikh Nabhani is dead

Professor Ahmed Sheikh Nabhani

Lamu, Kenya: Leading Swahili researcher and poet Professor Ahmed Sheikh Nabhani has died of complications related to old age.

The self-taught language guru was 90 years old and took the final bow this morning and was buried at Matondoni Muslim Cemetery hours later in accordance with muslim custom.

Professor Nabhani who was teacher and mentor to many around the world is a recipient of the presidential Order of the Golden Warrior Award. He was born in Lamu November 27 1927 and is widely referred to as the modern father of Swahili poetry.

During his long illustrious career, he has assisted many researching the Swahili culture and

Poetry including John W.T. Allen who was collecting Swahili manuscript, songs, poetry and lullabies back in the year1965, Professor Ann Beirsteke who was researching Mwanakupona in 1983, Professor Chacha N. Chacha who was researching Swahili poetry in 1984, among a host of other scholars.

Nabhani is also credited with assisting in the collection of Swahili and Arabic Manuscripts for the University of Dar es Salaam as well as the translation of Swahili Arabic manuscripts for Hamburg University, Germany.