Strathmore University, in partnership with The Technical University of Kenya (TUK), has launched a journal to capture African ideas through African voices exclusively.

The journal, Writing the Arts & Humanities in Africa (WAHiA), is a milestone for African scholars and academics who have long sought to share their ideas through their perspectives.

According to the partners, the journal is intended as a platform to display cultural memory, scholarly rigour, and intellectual reimagination. The journal also reaffirms the leading role that African scholarly work plays in articulating context-specific knowledge and shaping the intellectual future of the continent.

“This journal is unique because it addresses African studies from an African voice or point of view. It presents the perspective of African scholars (and others) from the framework of the lived experience of most of the population,” said Dr Maureen Syallow, research director at the school of humanities and social sciences at Strathmore University.

Diverse target audience, authors

“WAHiA emphasises research rooted in the lived realities of the continent’s population. It prioritises insider perspectives, allowing African scholars to critique and reframe narratives about Africa for themselves and the world,” Syallow told University World News.

According to Syallow, WAHiA’s target audience is varied and includes:

• The academics and scholars of African communities;

• The postgraduate and undergraduate student interested in matters African, from an insider perspective;

• Lecturers and researchers of African arts, humanities, and social science studies; and

• General readers who wish to broaden their knowledge of Africa, its history, current issues, and future direction.

“Its contributors will include scholars, academics and postgraduate students of the histories, literature, media and related issues about Africa and its relation to global affairs. It also includes writers committed to highlighting Africa through local lenses,” she explained.

WAHiA’s inaugural issue, ‘The Murals of Dagoretti : Examining visual communication and its significance on social change’, is already available online and highlights Nairobi’s Dagoretti area, an urban settlement characterised by a rich history of resistance, migration, memory, and identity.

Capturing African ideas

“Most of the journals used by our researchers and scholars are based abroad and, as researchers and scholars in Africa, we must follow certain protocols to have our work published in them. As such, these journals have been unable to capture African ideas the way Africans envision them,” said Dr Lydia Muthuma, senior lecturer in the department of creative arts and media, TUK.

“WAHiA thus gives us the ability to be able to tell our stories the way we live it. A good example is when researchers from outside try to bring some change in an area such as Dagoretti. They will mostly have to rely on the information available online. Meanwhile, it is the people of Dagoretti who know exactly what they need, and only by understanding their history can one bring the type of change that they may be looking for,” Muthuma said.

“The only way to achieve this is by having African scholars and researchers highlight their ideas and stories in a unique way that is understood by them and the people they intend to help.”

Muthuma added that WAHiA is open-access, meaning that anyone is free to post their work there. However, like any other journal, any work posted on the platform will undergo a vetting process – it must have a minimum of two peer reviews.

“Many African scholars are discouraged by the Western biases or paywalls, and they find it hard to publish in top-tier journals that undervalue local perspectives. They also struggle to secure funding for their fieldwork and many also lack publication fees required by most of the available journals,” she said.

“Our journal, therefore, offers a critical alternative by providing a platform dedicated to African issues and voices, keeping publication accessible and inclusive, especially for early-career researchers, while building a community of support, mentorship and collaboration,” she added.

Bridge between analysis, experience

Syallow said WAHiA aims to bridge the gap between academic analysis and real African experiences. “It will promote visibility among African scholars by creating forums, events, and dialogues to engage the academic and non-academic public. It will also promote visibility by publishing accessible open-format issues and will also partner with cultural institutions.”

She added that the journal will ensure that it captures African voices by encouraging storytelling that blends academic, oral, and lived traditions; prioritising narratives shaped by Africans themselves; and welcoming multilingual and multidisciplinary voices. It will also welcome community-informed knowledge systems, rather than just limiting them to academia.

The journal’s editorial board consists of a multidisciplinary team to steer a publication dedicated to African perspectives on African realities. Members of the editorial board are all affiliated with the TUK.