Abdulrazak Gurnah is first Tanzanian novelist to win Nobel Prize in Literature

He is the first Tanzanian writer to receive the prestigious award.

He was a professor at the University of Kent’s English department until his recent retirement.

“I was just thinking ‘I wonder who’ll get it,'” he said.

“I thought it was a prank, I really did.”

I dedicate this Nobel Prize to Africa and Africans and to all my readers.

They don’t come empty-handed," Gurnah said.

“A lot of them are talented, energetic people, who have something to give.”