Kenyan author Idza Luhumyo is the recipient of the 2022 Caine Prize for African writing, a prestigious annual short story award worth £10,000.

Luhumyo is the fifth Kenyan to have won this prize; she suggested that this might be due to Kenyans’ talent for storytelling and their very expressive culture. 

Her short story, Five Years Next Sunday, opens with a beautiful description of hair: “My locs are just shy of five years. They flow, like water. They are fluffy and black. They are dark. I forbid anyone to touch them. I use a black scarf to cover them. And how they coil, and how heavy they are, weighing me down with the expectations of my quarter."

Pili, the main character, has the power to call the rain through her hair and the story focuses on the choices she has to make because of that.

"What we liked about the story was the mystical office of the protagonist, who is both ostracised and yet holds the fate of her community in her hair," judging panel chair Nigerian novelist Okey Ndibe said.

The AKO Caine Prize for African Writing is a registered charity whose aim is to bring African writing to a wider audience using their annual literary award.