SPOKEN WORD POETRY ◆ ARTIVISM FOR SOCIAL CHANGE ◆ HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER ◆ VOICE OF THE MARGINALISED ◆ FORD GLOBAL FELLOW ◆ SPOKEN WORD POETRY ◆
STREET PERFORMANCE ◆ PUBLIC MURALS ◆ HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY National settle ◆ COMMUNITY LEAGUE ◆ ELECTIONS SURVEY ◆ CIVIC EDUCATION ◆
I am not a poet, my life is a poem
WILLIE OEBA
This is a spoken word piece that explores the true living experience of a realist. It is not just poetry, it is the art of living. It is the story of life laced in lyricism, metaphor, music, rhythm and flow. It is the story of a country that disenfranchises the youth, where the marginalised are forgotten and Injustice is too loud to be silenced. So, the poet has to speak out. Not because they are talented but because that is the only tool at hand.
After a near death experience on 21 January 2017, Willie Oeba decided to dedicate his voice to amplify social justice issues and defend human rights through music and poetry. This poetic piece paints the picture of a country that supresses voices, where freedom of speech is a death warrant and protesting is not a democratic right but a capital offence that leads to detention without trial on a good day, or death by one bullet if you are lucky enough.
Regardless, Willie Oeba speaks to inspire a new generation of artivists who use art for social change. As Tony Cade Bambara states, the work of an artist is “to make revolution irresistible.”
MEDIUM
SPOKEN WORD POETRY
YEAR
2026
COLLECTIVE
ARTIVISTS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE
TERRITORY
NAIROBI, KENYA
THEMES
SOCIAL JUSTICE / HUMAN RIGHTS / TRUTH / ACTIVISM
STILL SHOTS
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Willie Oeba
Willie Oeba — NAIROBI, KENYA
Willie Oeba is an African poet who empowers young people to fight inequality and foster social justice through spoken word. He believes that activism through art requires people to stand in the gap between what is real and what is possible and to respond to challenges by expanding whose stories get told.
He is the Safaricom Blaze Music Winner 2017, East Africa Poetic Battle King 2018, Human Rights Defender Of The Year 2021, Pan African Pulse Positive Impact Award Winner 2024, Poet Of The Year 2025, A Ford Global Fellow Class of 2024 and Change Maker Award Winner 2016-2026.
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