A Flotilla Captive, Released
by Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún
Zukiswa Wanner is a South African writer who lives in Nairobi, Kenya. In 2020, she became the first African woman to receive the Goethe-Medaille, a prize given to “non-Germans who have performed outstanding service for international cultural relations,” whose past winners include Indigenous Bolivian artist Elvira Espejo Ayca and British writer Ian McEwan. Wanner is the author of many books—both novels and nonfiction—and two children’s books.
Wanner was one of 437 international activists abducted by Israeli forces from the 40-plus boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla on the night of October 1, 2025, in international waters off the coast of Gaza. Continent-wide protests and advocacy led to her release a week later, along with five other South Africans who had been kidnapped with her.
Wanner is no stranger to activism. In early 2024, she protested the complicity of the German government in what had already been characterized as a genocide in Gaza by returning her Goethe-Medaille, explaining her reasoning in an essay in Africa is a Country:
I understand Germany’s guilt for the Holocaust.
I do.
That guilt is appropriate and has enabled Germany to face its unconscionable past.
But it is this that makes its position on the current genocide in Palestine all the more shameful... as an African, I wish the German government exhibited the same regret for their history in Namibia with the Herero-Nama genocide and for the genocide during the Maji Maji Rebellion in Tanzania. Equally important, I wish that the German government, in reflection and saying “never again” would acknowledge that NEVER AGAIN should be for ANYBODY.
“We were so close,” Wanner wrote on X/Twitter of the nearness of the flotilla to Gaza when it was apprehended and prevented from distributing aid to the besieged residents.
The latest in a series of ceasefires in the conflict between Israel and Gaza is now in effect, facilitated by the U.S. Government and a number of Gulf States.
I have known Wanner for about a decade, through African literature channels, conversations, and collaborations. In February 2023, she translated a short story Moráyọ̀ by Sarah Ladipo Manyika into Shona for my OlongoAfrica Multilingual Translation Project. We spoke over the phone after her release last week about her confinement in Israeli hands, and her hopes for the future.
The conversation has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
Hello Zukiswa. Happy to see you out.
Thank you my brother, and thank you for looking out.
We have been worried, especially because of what we hear about how some abductees have been treated. Were you treated differently as an African?
No, we were all treated the same. But you know, South Africa doesn’t have an embassy in Israel, so the representatives had to come from Ramallah. They didn’t let anyone else speak with us. And then on Sunday, when they let the representatives come to speak to us, they limited contact to two minutes and then told us time was up. We made a lot of noise so they gave us five extra minutes.
Keep us breathing fire!
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