Mugabi Byenkya

✨ A beautiful night of poetry, music, storytelling & connection at Nafasi 🎤📚🎶 Thank you to Mugabi Byenkya for sharing such a powerful End of Residency Showcase with us, and thank you to everyone who came through and made the evening special ❤️🔥 ———————————————————————————————— ✨ Usiku mzuri wa mashairi, muziki, simulizi na kuungana hapa Nafasi 🎤📚🎶 Asante Mugabi Byenkya kwa onyesho zuri la mwisho wa residency, na asante kwa wote waliofika kushiriki nasi ❤️🔥 #nafasiartspace #swissembassytz #norwaytz

Justice for Mugabi has been achieved! Over 4 weeks later, my wrongful suspension of my Instagram and Facebook has been overturned! I now have access to my Instagram and Facebook. I'm immensely grateful to everyone who advocated for me, spread the word, and put me in touch with people who helped. I have the best community and have so much love and appreciation for y'all! ❤️ Anyone following me on @mugabibyenkya , this will now be a backup account that I rarely post on. Follow me on @mugabs ! Will respond to comments and DMs tomorrow. Busy prepping for my end of residency showcase at @nafasiartspace ! If you're in Dar and are seeing this on Friday May 15th, come through at 7 pm! Free entry! All are welcome! Spread and share the word! Still smiling!

[POETRY] SLAM POETRY NIGHT Where rhythm, rhyme, and live performance come together Welcome to another vibrant Slam Poetry Night, where rhythm, rhyme, and live performance unite to give voice to thoughts, emotions, and powerful stories. Inspired by the previous workshop on environmental conservation, this edition invites reflection on climate, nature, and our shared future. Through spoken word and performance, artists will explore urgent themes while creating space for expression, dialogue, and connection. Calling all writers, spoken word artists, poets, and anyone with something to say — whether stepping on stage for the first time or already experienced, there is a space for you here. 📅 Thursday, 21st April 2026 ⏰ 7:30 PM 📍 Le Jardin – Alliance Française de Dar es Salaam 🎟️ Free Entrance

🎤 Join award-winning Ugandan writer, performer & rapper Mugabi Byenkya for his End of Residency Showcase at Nafasi! 📍 From Kampala, Uganda, Mugabi is the author of two award nominated bestselling books and an award nominated album, known for blending literature, performance, and music into powerful storytelling. 📅 Friday, May 15th ⏰ 7 PM In this special showcase, he explores “BaSummer” a Ugandan term reflecting identity, diaspora, and belonging through poetry, prose & music inspired by the many places he calls home. Come through for a vibrant, thought-provoking night ✨🔥 ———————————————————————————————— *********************************************************** 🎤 Jiunge nasi kuja kushuhudia msanii mshindi wa tuzo kutoka Kampala, Uganda, Mugabi Byenkya , kwenye Onyesho la Mwisho la Residency hapa Nafasi! Mugabi ni mwandishi wa vitabu viwili vilivyoteuliwa kwa tuzo na vinavyouzwa sana, pamoja na albamu iliyoteuliwa kwa tuzo akijulikana kwa kuchanganya fasihi, uigizaji na muziki katika simulizi zenye nguvu. 📅 Ijumaa, Mei 15 ⏰ Saa 1 usiku Katika onyesho hili, ataangazia dhana ya “BaSummer”—akichunguza utambulisho, maisha ya ughaibuni na dhana ya nyumbani kupitia mashairi, hadithi na muziki. Karibu ujionee usiku wa burudani na tafakari ✨🔥

🎤 Join award-winning Ugandan writer, performer & rapper Mugabi Byenkya for his End of Residency Showcase at Nafasi! 📍 From Kampala, Uganda, Mugabi is the author of two award nominated bestselling books and an award nominated album, known for blending literature, performance, and music into powerful storytelling. 📅 Friday, May 15th ⏰ 7 PM In this special showcase, he explores “BaSummer” a Ugandan term reflecting identity, diaspora, and belonging through poetry, prose & music inspired by the many places he calls home. Come through for a vibrant, thought-provoking night ✨🔥 ———————————————————————————————— *********************************************************** 🎤 Jiunge nasi kuja kushuhudia msanii mshindi wa tuzo kutoka Kampala, Uganda, Mugabi Byenkya , kwenye Onyesho la Mwisho la Residency hapa Nafasi! Mugabi ni mwandishi wa vitabu viwili vilivyoteuliwa kwa tuzo na vinavyouzwa sana, pamoja na albamu iliyoteuliwa kwa tuzo akijulikana kwa kuchanganya fasihi, uigizaji na muziki katika simulizi zenye nguvu. 📅 Ijumaa, Mei 15 ⏰ Saa 1 usiku Katika onyesho hili, ataangazia dhana ya “BaSummer”—akichunguza utambulisho, maisha ya ughaibuni na dhana ya nyumbani kupitia mashairi, hadithi na muziki. Karibu ujionee usiku wa burudani na tafakari ✨🔥

2 Gifts that have brought me solace during my most recent flare: 1. The magnificent @the_0nly gifted me this spectacular illustration in December after the onset of my flare. I've been taking it in often. Seeing me glowing and radiating chill vibes, that I wasn't able to access during my flare, was a balm. It will continue to be a balm during future flares. It's a reminder that I never know how long a flare is going to last (weeks, months, years). I live in an incredibly volatile, severely disabled body. I've been flaring for over 70% of the past 11 years. Yet, I'm still able to find joy amidst flares and after flares. Better moments exist both within the depths of a flare and with a lot of work with my physical therapist and healthcare team, flares eventually subside. I don't know how long I'll be at my baseline, but I know that I'm going to soak up and make the most of every moment. 2. A poem by the late and great @andreagibson . Sent to me from @nissleylaura (who can relate) via @weena.bee . This poem brought me so much solace. I've long struggled with tying my self-worth to my ability to work and engage with the hypercapitalist society we live in. What a beautiful way of reframing the life we disabled and chronically ill folks live (and all the grief astronomers). The way this poem takes everything I beat myself up about and shifts it into strengths, left me in awe. The way it grappled with the harsh realities of our lives. The way it interrogates how our very existence adds so much value to the world. Thank you to my friends for seeing me. Shout-out all my fellow Grief Astronomers.

5/6: Dear Postal Service by Mugabi Byenkya (@mugabs ) Shot by @gervazlushaju #poetry255 #decemberedition #videoseries #poetry #closure

Bringing you the final 3 poets featured for the Poetry255’s December Edition video series under the theme ‘Closure’. Each piece in this series reflects a deeply personal journey of acknowledging, understanding, accepting, letting go, and moving forward as the year comes to an end and a new one begins. We can’t wait for you to experience the powerful stories they’ve shared. ✨ Congratulations to all the poets and to our final three! 🎉 @nivardmwageni @mugabs and @m.w.a.n.a.u.m.e Artwork designed by: @gervazlushaju #Poetry255 #VideoSeries #DecemberEdition #2025 #Closure #Poetry #Tanzania #Explore

#RawRealRare What's up with Whats App @mugabs @nafasiartspace

Are you in #daressalaam🇹🇿 ? Come through to my workshop at @nafasiartspace ! 24th October. 2 - 4 pm. Free entrance! Anyone and everyone is welcome! Poster Design: Sean Makame Photo: Cassandra Yerkes P.S. I've been out of commission in a severe flare up of my disabilities for the past ten months. Unable to read, process or type text. Largely bedbound these past ten months. If you've reached out to me, I will eventually reply. Give me patience, give me time. I live in a highly volatile severely Disabled body. I'm currently in flare recovery, but have to work within my limits. Survival is an act of resistance ✊🏿 #ArtistInResidence #DisabledAndProud #ImASurvivor

What does it mean to create while living with pain? To turn vulnerability into power? To make art that fights for justice — and still sings? 🎶🔥 This Thursday, October 16 (4–6 PM), join us at Nafasi Art Space for an Artist Hangout with Mugabi Byenkya — a Ugandan writer, poet, and musician whose work blends literature, hip hop, poetry, and truth. From Dear Philomena to Songs for Women, Mugabi’s art dives deep into disability, identity, and resilience, reminding us that art can heal, connect, and transform. Writers. Poets. Musicians. Activists. Dreamers. If you believe art should do something, this space is for you. 📍 Nafasi Art Space 🗓 Thursday, 16th October | 4–6 PM ———————————————————————————————— Inamaanisha nini kuumba ukiwa unaishi na maumivu? Kugeuza udhaifu kuwa nguvu? Kufanya sanaa inayopigania haki na bado kuimba? 🎶🔥 Alhamisi hii, tarehe 16 Oktoba (saa 10–12 jioni), unakaribishwa Nafasi Art Space kwa Artist Hangout na Mugabi Byenkya, mwandishi, mshairi, na mwanamuziki kutoka Uganda 🇺🇬 ambaye anachanganya fasihi, hip hop, ushairi, na ukweli. Kuanzia Dear Philomena hadi Songs for Women, kazi za Mugabi zinachunguza kwa undani ulemavu, utambulisho, na ustahimilivu, zikionyesha kuwa sanaa inaweza kuponya, kuunganisha, na kubadilisha. Waandishi. Washairi. Wanamuziki. Wanaharakati. Watafutaji ndoto. Kama unaamini sanaa inapaswa kufanya jambo — basi nafasi hii ni yako. 📍 Nafasi Art Space 🗓 Alhamisi, 16 Oktoba | Saa 10–12 jioni #NafasiArtSpace #MsaniiWaMakazi #MugabiByenkya #SanaaKwaMabadiliko #UbungoWaSanaa #DarEsSalaam

What does it mean to create while living with pain? To turn vulnerability into power? To make art that fights for justice — and still sings? 🎶🔥 This Thursday, October 16 (4–6 PM), join us at Nafasi Art Space for an Artist Hangout with Mugabi Byenkya — a Ugandan writer, poet, and musician whose work blends literature, hip hop, poetry, and truth. From Dear Philomena to Songs for Women, Mugabi’s art dives deep into disability, identity, and resilience, reminding us that art can heal, connect, and transform. Writers. Poets. Musicians. Activists. Dreamers. If you believe art should do something, this space is for you. 📍 Nafasi Art Space 🗓 Thursday, 16th October | 4–6 PM ———————————————————————————————— Inamaanisha nini kuumba ukiwa unaishi na maumivu? Kugeuza udhaifu kuwa nguvu? Kufanya sanaa inayopigania haki na bado kuimba? 🎶🔥 Alhamisi hii, tarehe 16 Oktoba (saa 10–12 jioni), unakaribishwa Nafasi Art Space kwa Artist Hangout na Mugabi Byenkya, mwandishi, mshairi, na mwanamuziki kutoka Uganda 🇺🇬 ambaye anachanganya fasihi, hip hop, ushairi, na ukweli. Kuanzia Dear Philomena hadi Songs for Women, kazi za Mugabi zinachunguza kwa undani ulemavu, utambulisho, na ustahimilivu, zikionyesha kuwa sanaa inaweza kuponya, kuunganisha, na kubadilisha. Waandishi. Washairi. Wanamuziki. Wanaharakati. Watafutaji ndoto. Kama unaamini sanaa inapaswa kufanya jambo — basi nafasi hii ni yako. 📍 Nafasi Art Space 🗓 Alhamisi, 16 Oktoba | Saa 10–12 jioni #NafasiArtSpace #MsaniiWaMakazi #MugabiByenkya #SanaaKwaMabadiliko #UbungoWaSanaa #DarEsSalaam