{"id":771,"date":"2026-02-07T02:47:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T02:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/?post_type=news&#038;p=771"},"modified":"2026-02-14T16:52:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T16:52:22","slug":"professor-john-gongwe-kiango","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor John Gongwe Kiango &#8220;The Giant of African Languages&#8221; 05.09.1949 \u2013 04.02.2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The African Academy of Languages of the African Union (AU) has lost one of its founders, Professor John Gongwe Kiango, who passed away on 4 February 2026 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Professor Kiango made significant contributions to ACALAN as a linguist and Coordinator of the Kiswahili Commission. He was a dedicated professional committed to strengthening African languages. It is important to note that Professor Kiango authored the original concept note for ACALAN on cross-border languages, which laid the groundwork for establishing other cross-border language commissions in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Professor Kiango was not just a teacher but also a guiding force and source of inspiration for African languages worldwide through his service and presentations. His profound scholarship was matched only by his humility. The passing of Professor Kiango is deeply felt as ACALAN marks its 20th anniversary since its inception in 2006 in Bamako, Mali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG.webp?resize=800%2C400\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-772\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.webp?resize=1024%2C512&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.webp?resize=300%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.webp?resize=768%2C384&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.webp?resize=1536%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.webp?resize=2048%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.webp?w=1600 1600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.webp?w=2400 2400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While we mourn the loss of a brilliant scholar, the giant of African languages, we also celebrate the life he devoted to the pursuit of truth and understanding in African languages, particularly Kiswahili. Professor Kiango\u2019s departure has left a void, but his linguistic legacy will continue to guide us for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recognition of his contributions to the development of Kiswahili and other African languages, ACALAN extends its condolences to his family, relatives, friends, and all stakeholders in Kiswahili and African languages worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though Professor Kiango\u2019s light may have dimmed, his academic work and teachings will shine on, illuminating our path forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We wish Professor Kiango a peaceful rest, believing that the foundation he laid for ACALAN will serve as a beacon for future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With heartfelt condolences,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":773,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-771","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Professor John Gongwe Kiango &quot;The Giant of African Languages&quot; 05.09.1949 \u2013 04.02.2026 - The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Professor John Gongwe Kiango &quot;The Giant of African Languages&quot; 05.09.1949 \u2013 04.02.2026 - The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The African Academy of Languages of the African Union (AU) has lost one of its founders, Professor John Gongwe Kiango, who passed away on 4 February 2026 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Professor Kiango made significant contributions to ACALAN as a linguist and Coordinator of the Kiswahili Commission. He was a dedicated professional committed to [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-14T16:52:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C1280&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/news\\\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/news\\\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\\\/\",\"name\":\"Professor John Gongwe Kiango \\\"The Giant of African Languages\\\" 05.09.1949 \u2013 04.02.2026 - The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/news\\\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/news\\\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/acalanau.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C1280&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-07T02:47:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-14T16:52:22+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/news\\\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/news\\\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/news\\\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/acalanau.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C1280&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/acalanau.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C1280&ssl=1\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/news\\\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Professor John Gongwe Kiango &#8220;The Giant of African Languages&#8221; 05.09.1949 \u2013 04.02.2026\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website\",\"description\":\"The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) is a specialized institution of the African Union (AU) established in January 2006. ACALAN originated from the transformation of the Mission for the African Academy of Languages (MACALAN), which was created by a Presidential Decree in Mali in 2000. \",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/acalanau.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/ACALAN_Logo_20-Years-03.png?fit=1970%2C738&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/acalanau.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/ACALAN_Logo_20-Years-03.png?fit=1970%2C738&ssl=1\",\"width\":1970,\"height\":738,\"caption\":\"The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/acalanau.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Professor John Gongwe Kiango \"The Giant of African Languages\" 05.09.1949 \u2013 04.02.2026 - The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Professor John Gongwe Kiango \"The Giant of African Languages\" 05.09.1949 \u2013 04.02.2026 - The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website","og_description":"The African Academy of Languages of the African Union (AU) has lost one of its founders, Professor John Gongwe Kiango, who passed away on 4 February 2026 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Professor Kiango made significant contributions to ACALAN as a linguist and Coordinator of the Kiswahili Commission. He was a dedicated professional committed to [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/","og_site_name":"The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website","article_modified_time":"2026-02-14T16:52:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C1280&ssl=1","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/","url":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/","name":"Professor John Gongwe Kiango \"The Giant of African Languages\" 05.09.1949 \u2013 04.02.2026 - The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C1280&ssl=1","datePublished":"2026-02-07T02:47:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-14T16:52:22+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/acalanau.org\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C1280&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Gongwe-Kiango_BG-scaled.png?fit=2560%2C1280&ssl=1","width":2560,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/news\/professor-john-gongwe-kiango\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Professor John Gongwe Kiango &#8220;The Giant of African Languages&#8221; 05.09.1949 \u2013 04.02.2026"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/","name":"The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website","description":"The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) is a specialized institution of the African Union (AU) established in January 2006. ACALAN originated from the transformation of the Mission for the African Academy of Languages (MACALAN), which was created by a Presidential Decree in Mali in 2000.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/#organization","name":"The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website","url":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ACALAN_Logo_20-Years-03.png?fit=1970%2C738&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acalanau.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ACALAN_Logo_20-Years-03.png?fit=1970%2C738&ssl=1","width":1970,"height":738,"caption":"The African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) Website"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acalanau.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}