South African wins 2016 Caine Prize

A South African writer, Lidudumalingani, has won the 2016 prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing.
The prize, the biggest literary prize for African writing awarded outside the continent, was won for his short story, ‘Memories We Lost.’
The Caine award, which is worth £10,000, will be presented today at Bodlein Library, Oxford, England .
As part of the package, Lidudumalingani will take up a month’s residence at Georgetown University as a Writer-in-Residence at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice.
He will also be invited to speak at the Library of Congress and receive invitations to take part in Cape Town’s Open Book Festival, Nairobi’s Storymoja and Nigeria’s Ake Festival.
The Caine prize is awarded annually to an African writer of a short story published in English.
This year’s panel of judges consisted of Delia Jarrett-Macauley, Adjoa Andoh, Muthoni Garland, Robert J. Patterson and Mary Watson.
Five writers, who made the 2016 shortlist alongside the winner included, Abdul Adan (Somalia/Kenya), Lesley Nneka Arimah (Nigeria), Tope Folarin (Nigeria) and Bongani Kona (Zimbabwe).
A writer, filmmaker and photographer, Lidudumalingani was born in the Eastern Cape province in a village called Zikhovane. He’s currently based in Cape Town.
His winning story, ‘Memories We Lost,’ explores mental health through the relationship of two sisters in a South African village, one of whom is schizophrenic and the other her protector.
The sister’s situation deteriorated as her care is entrusted to Nkunzi, a local man who employs traditional techniques to rid people of their demons.