JOHANNESBURG - With more than 200 million speakers, Kiswahili has grown far beyond East Africa. For centuries, it has served as a vital official language and cultural bridge in various African countries. Fay Shao, Swahili Africa director, said the Miriam Makeba Foundation and Swahili Africa have partnered to celebrate that legacy, particularly at a time when migration and identity have become increasingly contested. “KiSwahili is the one true heritage of the continent because when it started, it started as the language for trade when people were trading among themselves, people from the central part of the continent to the eastern part of the continent. Someone somewhere - there's someone from the Zulu tribe or Hausa tribe contributed to the building up of Kiswahili.