Elemotho, a singer from the Kalahari Desert was chosen as the 2012 winner for the RFI-France 24 Discoveries Award.
According to the jury’s president, international star and Benin-native Angelique Kidjo, Elemotho was unanimously selected as the competition’s first-place winner out of the 10 finalists.
His win comes with an impressive package sponsored by the Institut Français and includes €10,000, a promotional package, a tour in Africa in 2013, as well as a concert in Paris during the spring of 2013.
Out of 500 entries to the music discovery contest, which is open to Africans and residents of islands in the Indian Ocean, three Namibians were selected, including Elemotho.
According to AllAfrica.com, Elemotho considers himself to be a “musical activist,” in addition to singer-songwriter, author and composer. His music is sung in English, Setswana and other languages from Elemotho’s native Namibia.