The Africa Institute at Global Studies University (GSU), Sharjah, has announced Goretti Kyomuhendo, Nzube Nlebedim, and Godfrey Mwampembwa, known professionally as Gado, as its Fall 2026 Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellows.
Their projects explore lives shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, family histories connected to the Nigerian Civil War, and the conditions surrounding radicalization in East Africa. Working across distinct literary and visual forms, the fellows bring questions of memory, belonging, inequality, and resilience to their residencies in Sharjah.
Named in honor of the late Nigerian scholar and critic Tejumola Olaniyan, the fellowship supports writers connected to Africa and the African diaspora, providing space to develop creative projects within the Institute’s academic community.
Goretti Kyomuhendo is a Ugandan novelist and the founding director of the African Writers Trust and TUBAZE African Books. She is the author of five novels, including Secrets No More (1999), which won the Uganda National Literary Award for Best Novel; Waiting (2007), translated into Spanish; and Promises (2025).
Kyomuhendo holds a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She was the first Ugandan woman to receive an International Writing Program fellowship from the University of Iowa and was named among New African’s 100 Most Influential Africans in 2019. A founding member of FEMRITE, Uganda’s women writers’ association and publishing house, she served as its first director for ten years.
During her residency, Kyomuhendo will develop The Invisible Enemy, a novel following four characters through the global lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploring migration and exile, loss, love, and resilience, the project examines the everyday struggles of life during and after the pandemic.
Nzube Nlebedim is a Nigerian essayist, literary critic, and editor. He holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Ibadan and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Lagos. A graduate of the 2025 Granta Memoir Writing Course, he has received funding from the Hawthornden Foundation.
In 2019, Nlebedim founded The Shallow Tales Review, a journal of African and Black literature. His debut essay collection, At Night Men Take the Lonely Way Back Home, was published in 2024.
At the Institute, Nlebedim will develop Hotel Lumumba, a memoir tracing the lives of his maternal and paternal grandfathers and their roles during the Nigerian Civil War. At its center is his discovery that his maternal grandfather, whom he never knew, owned a hotel named in tribute to Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba. The memoir connects these family histories with Nlebedim’s childhood memories of Nigeria’s transition to democracy in 1999.
Godfrey Mwampembwa, known professionally as Gado, is a Tanzanian editorial cartoonist, graphic journalist, animator, and television producer. His work has appeared in publications including The Continent, Daily Nation, Le Monde, Courrier International, and Deutsche Welle.
He is co-founder of Buni Media and the creator and producer of The XYZ Show, a weekly satirical puppet series broadcast on Kenyan television since 2009. A graduate of Vancouver Film School’s Classical Animation program, he has received the Prince Claus Award, the Cartooning for Peace International Editorial Cartoon Award, and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. In 2022, the French government named him a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.
During his residency, Gado will develop The Martyr, a graphic novel examining economic inequality, marginalization, radicalization, and violent extremism in East Africa. It follows Omar, a young Kenyan sculptor who joins al-Shabaab after being wrongfully arrested and imprisoned for two years.
Drawing on the region’s historical and political context, the project considers the roles of state institutions, security agencies, religious and political leaders, and the international community. It also explores how comics can contribute to public understanding and dialogue about radicalization and its effects on individuals and communities.
The Africa Institute at Global Studies University (GSU), Sharjah, has announced Goretti Kyomuhendo, Nzube Nlebedim, and Godfrey Mwampembwa, known professionally as Gado, as its Fall 2026 Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellows.
The Africa Institute at Global Studies University (GSU), Sharjah, has announced Goretti Kyomuhendo, Nzube Nlebedim, and Godfrey Mwampembwa, known professionally as Gado, as its Fall 2026 Tejumola Olaniyan Creative Writers-in-Residence Fellows.
Their projects explore lives shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, family histories connected to the Nigerian Civil War, and the conditions surrounding radicalization in East Africa. Working across distinct literary and visual forms, the fellows bring questions of memory, belonging, inequality, and resilience to their residencies in Sharjah.
Named in honor of the late Nigerian scholar and critic Tejumola Olaniyan, the fellowship supports writers connected to Africa and the African diaspora, providing space to develop creative projects within the Institute’s academic community.
Goretti Kyomuhendo is a Ugandan novelist and the founding director of the African Writers Trust and TUBAZE African Books. She is the author of five novels, including Secrets No More (1999), which won the Uganda National Literary Award for Best Novel; Waiting (2007), translated into Spanish; and Promises (2025).
Kyomuhendo holds a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. She was the first Ugandan woman to receive an International Writing Program fellowship from the University of Iowa and was named among New African’s 100 Most Influential Africans in 2019. A founding member of FEMRITE, Uganda’s women writers’ association and publishing house, she served as its first director for ten years.
During her residency, Kyomuhendo will develop The Invisible Enemy, a novel following four characters through the global lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploring migration and exile, loss, love, and resilience, the project examines the everyday struggles of life during and after the pandemic.
Nzube Nlebedim is a Nigerian essayist, literary critic, and editor. He holds a master’s degree in English Literature from the University of Ibadan and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Lagos. A graduate of the 2025 Granta Memoir Writing Course, he has received funding from the Hawthornden Foundation.
In 2019, Nlebedim founded The Shallow Tales Review, a journal of African and Black literature. His debut essay collection, At Night Men Take the Lonely Way Back Home, was published in 2024.
At the Institute, Nlebedim will develop Hotel Lumumba, a memoir tracing the lives of his maternal and paternal grandfathers and their roles during the Nigerian Civil War. At its center is his discovery that his maternal grandfather, whom he never knew, owned a hotel named in tribute to Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba. The memoir connects these family histories with Nlebedim’s childhood memories of Nigeria’s transition to democracy in 1999.
Godfrey Mwampembwa, known professionally as Gado, is a Tanzanian editorial cartoonist, graphic journalist, animator, and television producer. His work has appeared in publications including The Continent, Daily Nation, Le Monde, Courrier International, and Deutsche Welle.
He is co-founder of Buni Media and the creator and producer of The XYZ Show, a weekly satirical puppet series broadcast on Kenyan television since 2009. A graduate of Vancouver Film School’s Classical Animation program, he has received the Prince Claus Award, the Cartooning for Peace International Editorial Cartoon Award, and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. In 2022, the French government named him a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.
During his residency, Gado will develop The Martyr, a graphic novel examining economic inequality, marginalization, radicalization, and violent extremism in East Africa. It follows Omar, a young Kenyan sculptor who joins al-Shabaab after being wrongfully arrested and imprisoned for two years.
Drawing on the region’s historical and political context, the project considers the roles of state institutions, security agencies, religious and political leaders, and the international community. It also explores how comics can contribute to public understanding and dialogue about radicalization and its effects on individuals and communities.
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