Sheila Ajok Lubangakene, a Ugandan Creative Writer and Author, has won the “Book of the Year” award at the African Christian Author’s Book Awards (ACABA) 2022.
The African Christian Author’s Book Awards 2022 gala was held at CITAM Woodley in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday.
Lubangakene, the Principal Public Affairs Officer at Uganda Civil Aviation Authority, took home the award for Book of the Year in the Family Category for her book titled “Still A Mum”.
“Still A Mum”, published in December 2019, was also the First Runner-up in the Overall Book of the Year 2022 category coming after “Man with a Lion Heart” authored by Maureen Babu.
Lubangakene says “Still A Mum”, a fictional novel about infertility in marriage and its challenges, was birthed from her personal experiences.
“I had a lived experience with about two repeated miscarriages. I could tell the impact it takes on people. And when I got the opportunity to write, I needed to have deep conversations with people known to me who had walked this kind of journey,” she told RXRadio.ug.
Lubangakene holds a Master’s degree in Management Studies, Post Graduate Diploma in Management Studies from Uganda Management Institute (UMI) and Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Uganda Christian University.
Still A Mum was also First Runner-up Overall Book of the Year 2022, coming after : Man with a Lion Heart https://t.co/w4mlAu89TO pic.twitter.com/iXRtV36zKH
— Chris Lubangakene (@lc_kene) November 26, 2022
She has worked as a Communications Officer at Equal Opportunities Commission; Corporate Communications at National Medical Stores and Customer Experience Officer at Airtel Uganda.
Maureen Babu wins the “Overall Book of The Year Award”
This year’s Overall “Book of The Year Award” went to Maureen Babu for her book “Man with the Lion Heart”.
Babu describes herself as a lover of nature, a collector of unique ornamental plants and trees, and a practising Environment and Urban Management Practitioner.
Born and bred in Nairobi, Kenya, she moved to Uganda “because love found me in Tanzania, blossomed in Kenya and sealed in the Pearl of Africa”.
She says the “Man With The Lion Heart” is an autobiography of her great grandfather, Rev. Canon Ezekiel Apindi, whose life was beautifully documented in the early 1970s by the Late Rev. Peter Indalo and published in 1974 by the Africa Christian Press (ACP), Ghana.
“To read this biography is to be challenged by Rev. Canon Apindi’s courage and selfless efforts to help his people and preach to them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He met opposition, and discouragement, and was often in danger, but he refused to give up. A brave man of many firsts,” she wrote in her introduction on africanauthors.net.
She adds: “As one of the first missionaries in Western parts of Kenya, he shared the gospel with his community and beyond the country’s borders; started churches and schools (most of which are still some of the best performers to date); challenged the status quo on cultural issues that were not favourable to women and girls; coined the Luo naming of days of the week; contributed to Kenya’s pre-independence matters, among other notable achievements. I must say that I am honoured to call such a great man, my great grandfather.”
Book of The Year Award winner Maureen Babu for her book Man with the Lion Heart.#acababyclckenya #africanchristianauthors #RaisingAfricanVoices pic.twitter.com/zRFGKfIrsS
— CLC Kenya (@CLCKenya) November 26, 2022
About The Award
African Christian Authors Book Award program recognises, celebrates and promotes quality in Christian authorship in Africa. Presented annually to Christian authors, the Award program celebrates the “best of the year” in 10 categories. The awardee in each category is announced at a Gala held in November each year.
In addition, the following titles are chosen: African Christian Authors Content of the Year to represent the year’s best book for its literary merit, African Christian Authors Book Cover of the Year to represent the year’s best book cover for its design merit, African Christian Authors Book Program of the Year to represent the year’s best book for its extraordinary impact, Global Christian Publisher’s Pick for translation into a foreign language or for market penetration in a non-African nation.
At CLC Kenya we also take time to nurture young authors.#acababyclckenya #africanchristianauthors #RaisingAfricanVoices pic.twitter.com/sLWUl83JiM
— CLC Kenya (@CLCKenya) November 26, 2022
The Award Ceremony is ongoing.#acababyclckenya #africanchristianauthors #RaisingAfricanVoices pic.twitter.com/2FBWoXgMXI
— CLC Kenya (@CLCKenya) November 26, 2022
