Ms. Nungu

What a weak statement. A whole institution has let one weird journalist put out something as embarrassing as this. First, the Caine Prize knew or should have known this would happen. People were already talking about this. Second if they decided to award the prize anyway then they should stand by their decision. Third they have failed in their duty of care to this writer which they are failing to clearly and unequivocally support. What does this statement mean? You have initiated a process to do what? Take him to the evil forest and make him swear an oath after you already said you believe him? Force him to turn over his computer and keys to his flat and trash can so you can investigate? Do you no longer believe him? Calling something a human centered approach doesn’t make it human centered. You have failed the African literary community in this case by being both slow and weak. Either you stand by what you think or you should not have awarded the prize to the story in the first place. You knew the story was coming, you said you stand by the author and now you want to investigate what exactly? Even if you end up saying you stand by the process you have already thrown doubt into the equation and nothing can fix this. The process is tainted by your capitulation. Either that or you never believed him in the first place and also had doubts about the story. Whatever the case this is a shame.

BREAKING: Updated entry guidelines for the literary prize next year: Video footage of you staring into the distance, forming your thoughts (preferable if you say it out loud when the idea comes). A work log detailing, keystrokes, time between paragraphs, version history, jotters where you wrote ideas. If electronic, story must be submitted with the device used for forensic analysis. A sworn affidavit from at least one other person you discussed the story with prior to writing. Persons you are having intercourse with or who you share blood with do not qualify. An ex who hates you is an exception. If characters are inspired by real persons, photos of said people together with any social media accounts they may have. A log showing your blood pressure and heart rate during writing and editing. A sworn statement signed in your own blood that every word is in fact not AI. At least one legitimate typo per page. A brief explanation of each metaphor and how you came about it. A sworn statement that you posses sufficient fear of god, of AI, and of journalists who may accuse you of AI use.