To: The St. Lawrence Community
From: President Daniel F. Sullivan
Date: April 27, 2009
Subject: In Memory: Bantu Mwaura
We received the very sad news this morning that Bantu Mwaura, an adjunct faculty member for St. Lawrence and husband of Susan Bantu, our Swahili instructor in 2006-07 and 2007-08, was found dead on a main road in Nairobi. Nairobi police are investigating his death. Bantu guest lectured in our African literature class in spring 2008 and also taught in the Performance and Communication Arts department.
Sources said that family members of Bantu, who was also a renowned thespian, director, poet and storyteller, had reported him missing on Friday. Bantu was a respected poet whose work in English, Kiswahili and Gikuyu has been published in several journals. He had a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from the New York University and a Master’s in Theatre Studies from Leeds University (UK).
Our colleagues in African Studies advise us of the Kenyan practice of harambee, or fund-raising for the family of the deceased, and I share this with you if you wish to honor Bantu Mwaura’s memory in this way. You may contact Patricia Alden, director of international and intercultural studies, or Professor Celia Nyamweru for more information or to make a donation.
On our campus, we have created a
memorial Web page where Laurentians may post their condolences and reflections. I invite you to share your expressions of sympathy with Susan Bantu and their family in this way. Ann and I will extend our own, and the University’s, sense of grief and sadness at this terrible loss.
