Sekai Nzenza

Sekai Nzenza in 2023

Sekai Irene Nzenza Kanhutu is a Zimbabwean writer, cultural critic and politician.[1]

Biography

She was born in rural Zimbabwe, where she trained as a nurse, before doing additional nursing studies in England and subsequently going to live in Australia.[2] She held senior positions in Melbourne and Los Angeles.[3]

Her semi-autobiographical first book, Zimbabwean Woman: My Own Story, was published in 1988. Her book Songs to an African Sunset (1997) describes her return to her family's village in the early 1990s.[4][5] She has a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Melbourne.[6][7]

Sekai wrote a weekly column for The Herald newspaper from 2011 to 2018,[8] often returning to the theme of Zimbabweans reclaiming their cultural heritage and village roots. She entered politics as the Member for Chikomba East in Zimbabwe's 2018 harmonised elections.[9] She was appointed as Zimbabwe's Minister of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare on 7 September 2018.[10]

Bibliography

  • Zimbabwean Woman: My Own Story, London: Karia Press, 1988. ISBN 978-0946918218.
  • Songs to an African Sunset: A Zimbabwean Story, Lonely Planet Publications, 1997. ISBN 978-0864424723.

References

  1. ^ "Sekai Shand". AustLit. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  2. ^ Busby, Margaret (ed.), "Sekai Nzenza", in Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present, London: Jonathan Cape, 1992; Vintage, 1993, p. 855.
  3. ^ "Contributors", in Philip Darby, From International Relations to Relations International: Postcolonial Essays, Routledge, 2015, p. xii.
  4. ^ Nzenza-Shand, Sekai. Songs to an African Sunset: A Zimbabwean Story (1997) (ISBN 978-0864424723).
  5. ^ (30 October 2003) "Life Matters: Feature Interview: Dr Sekai Nzenza-Shand", Radio National
  6. ^ Sylvester, Christine, Fictional Development Sovereignties, in Edkins, Jenny, et al. (eds), Sovereign Lives: Power in Global Politics, Routledge 2004, pp. 143–44 (ISBN 978-0415947350).
  7. ^ Bond, Marybeth, & Pamela Michael, A Woman's Passion for Travel: True Stories of World Wanderlust, 2004, p. 65 (ISBN 978-1932361148).
  8. ^ Nzenza, Sekai, "A farewell to readers of my column", The Herald, 16 May 2018.
  9. ^ Matabvu, Debra, "Chikomba East ready for Dr Nzenza", The Sunday Mail, 15 July 2018.
  10. ^ Butaumocho, Ruth, "Nzenza: People’s servant with heart of gold", The Herald, 26 September 2018.


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