Widow Champion, a documentary by award-winning filmmaker Zippy Kimundu, explores widows’ rights against deeply ingrained patriarchal systems.
It follows Rodah Nafula Nekesa, a widow from Ahero in Kisumu, whose displacement from her land by her in-laws after her husband’s death sparks her advocacy for widows.
Through her story and those of two others, Mary and Theresa, the documentary delves into eviction, property grabbing, stigma, and harmful practices that widows endure in rural areas.
Directed by Kimundu and co-produced by her and Emmy-winning filmmaker Heather Courtney, Widow Champion was screened at Unseen Cinemas in Nairobi throughout May after its global festival premiere.
The film shows Rodah, with very few resources, mobilising widows to join her efforts in advocating for their agency. It also follows their everyday life in their roles as businesswomen, mothers, caregivers, and leaders, who stand up to maintain their dignity and break traditional barriers like being part of the council of elders.
Kimundu and her team spent six years with widows, in-laws, elders, and chiefs to understand different perspectives.
“We followed different cases as they were reported and resolved, but for the film we focused on Rhoda, Mary and Theresa, whose experiences mirror the hundreds of widows we met. There is laughter, tears, and a true spirit of sisterhood. It reveals resilience, beauty, and connection to the land,” says Kimundu.
She explains that the film doesn’t place African traditions in conflict with human rights but looks at how modern pressures, misunderstanding, and exploitation have distorted African belief systems.
It also shows how traditions can be part of the solution through their ways of resolving conflict and co-existing peacefully. For instance, the filmmakers worked hand in hand with the communities to tackle the injustices through mediation efforts led by the Luo Council of Elders and NGO Kelin, which have been involved in women’s land rights.
“It’s not about saying all traditions are wrong. It’s about how they are interpreted and practised. When a widow and her children are denied basic needs, it goes beyond culture; it becomes a question of humanity,” she says.
The film also depicts how gendered power imbalance allows silences and injustices to continue.
Kimundu felt the need for Widow Champion to be told while working on the film Our Land, Our Freedom, when her co-producer, Courtney, informed her about widows’ eviction from their homes in Kisumu.
They then travelled to various sub-counties in Kisumu and saw women and children living in markets and on street corners; they grabbed their late husband’s property.
“The agency these women had in reshaping their lives from within their own communities needed to be told. They are often unspoken, uncelebrated heroes, doing the quiet, difficult work of reclaiming their rights and dignity,” she says.
Some of the challenges they faced in telling this story were navigating remote villages, extreme weather, and convincing funders on a documentary that she did not know exactly its final form yet. They were later supported by Sundance Stories of Change, the Sundance Documentary Fund, the Ford Foundation, the Hot Docs Blue Ice Fund, the Inmaat Foundation, among other private donors.
They collaborated with teams in Kenya, the US, and Brazil from post-production to music, with Polycarp Fancy Fingers of Sauti Sol and Winyo as composers.
Last year, it originally premiered at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto, then at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, the Zanzibar Film Festival, and its Kenyan premiere in Nairobi, Seattle International Film Festival, Doc Munich, Hot Springs, and DC/DOX.
Rodah, who was present during the premieres, received a standing ovation and support from people who approached her to help fund her CBO to help widows in her community. She also received a college fund for her children.
Kimundu describes her as a hero who reaches across cultures, languages, and geography through her selfless work helping her fellow widows; she is an inspiration to not give up despite the many challenges.
“It's a universal story about a mother providing for her children, addressing universal issues of women’s rights and fighting back against the patriarchy,” she says.
She hopes this film, which will travel to grassroots communities countrywide, is used to educate and help widows and women with land and property rights around the world.
It is now an advocacy tool around the proposed Widowed Persons Bill, in collaboration with Come Together Widows. Alongside a screening at the judiciary, the film is part of a three-year campaign to address gender, land, and justice.
“We hope the widows feel seen and heard and that they will be inspired to fight for what is rightfully theirs. And that they are inspired by the spirit of sisterhood. That it will help connect some to resources and widows’ groups that can help them to keep or win back their land,” she says.
Photos: Courtesy/ Zippy Kimundu, Afrika Film Festival, Steve Ruiyi