Star cartoonist Alphonse Omondi has won the prestigious African inaugural edition of the Hadaf Somalia International Cartoon Competition. Omondi was followed by Amin Amir, a Somali who works in Canada, while Damien Glez who is based in Burkina Faso came third.
He consequently pocketed Sh 250,000 (USD 3,000) in prize money, with Amir and Glez getting Sh125,000 (USD 1,500) and Sh62,500 (USD 750) respectively.
The competition was organised by the Association of East African Cartoonists (Katuni) with competitors either based in or originally from Africa. Omondi joins Star's Victor Ndula who last year won the Kartunist of the Year Award competition organised by Katuni.
The competition was the first of its kind in Somalia and attracted more than 800 entries from 265 cartoonists living in 50 countries. Fourteen Somali cartoonists, some of whom still live and work in Somalia, were among the participants. A selection of the cartoons was put on display at The GoDown Arts Centre in Nairobi from 2-30 April.
General Secretary of Katuni Patrick Gathara congratulated the winners saying this was a great achievement for cartoonists on the continent. "I wish to thank all who participated. This goes a long way to show that cartooning in Africa is alive and kicking and deserves to take pride of place among the continents' other achievements," he said.
The competition focused on the achievements of, and challenges facing, the Somali peace process and most of the cartoonists identified al-Shabaab as the main stumbling block to peace in the war-torn country.
Some were also critical of Somali politicians and the country's Transitional Federal Government. "We hope to make this an annual event since cartooning is an effective means to capture popular sentiment and initiate dialogue," said Mr. Gathara, adding that Katuni hoped to exhibit the cartoons in Mogadishu.
Source: All Africa
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