Zimbabwean writer Simbarashe Kundizeza has denied using artificial intelligence (AI) to write his award-winning short story, which is under review following allegations of AI use. He said the story was inspired by his family's experiences and raised concerns that AI-detection tools could be biased.
Kundizeza won this year's $10,000 Caine Prize for African Writing last week for his story The Blue Fighter. However, a report published in The Atlantic magazine said the AI-detection tool Pangram had identified almost the entire story as AI-generated, except for an excerpt from a poem by another author.
Kundizeza rejected the allegation in a post on X late Tuesday. In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, he urged African writers and readers to challenge such accusations.
" There is need to use technology responsibly so that it is not deployed to create a bias against natives who seek to write about their own experiences and cultures," he said.
Although he acknowledged that he was not very familiar with the technology, he said AI systems were known to show bias against Africans and called for the issue to be examined.
He added that such treatment would not stop.
The Caine Prize organisers have not withdrawn the award but confirmed that the case was under review. They said they had a responsibility to examine allegations involving AI while ensuring that writers were treated fairly.
"We aim to do this by taking a human-centered approach, ensuring that writers are supported and cared for during the process. We have initiated that process in this case," the organisers said this week.
In his statement on X, Kundizeza maintained that The Blue Fighter, which explores family relationships and economic hardship, was entirely his own work and had gone through standard editorial processes.
He said the story reflected his family's experiences during Zimbabwe's years of economic turmoil. Some of its characters and settings, he added, were based on events from his own life.
He described it as "a deeply personal story about economic collapse and familial relationships."
Kundizeza also challenged suggestions that differences between the winning story and his earlier writings raised questions about its authorship.
He argued that writers could explore different styles and genres and improve their skills over time, adding that expecting an author to follow a single writing pattern misunderstood the creative process.
The allegations have sparked a wider debate on social media, with some users questioning whether Black writers are being unfairly targeted by AI-related accusations.
Radical Books Collective, an international group that organises online book clubs, literary events and podcasts on political literature and ideas, described the controversy as part of a wider pattern of allegations against Black authors.
"The digital lynchings continue as Black authors are being targeted in AI/plagiarism scandals: Jamir Nazir, Jerry Falade, Thélyson Orélien and now Simbarashe Kundizeza," the group posted.
Nhlandla Duba, a Zimbabwean linguist who researches English literature at the University of Pretoria, also defended the writer, saying the story appeared to be written by a human.
"That story sounds human. Zimbabwean literature is alive!" Duba wrote on X.