Kenyan writer John Rugoiyo Gichuki chose the year 2410 as the setting for his radio play Eternal, Forever and won the BBC’s African Playwriting competition for 2006.

“I thought I would be the first person to write science fiction for the competition,” says Gichuki.

“But it is also the story of a man searching for his family. I wanted to give it that human dimension.”

Eternal, Forever is set in the United States of Africa, 400 years from now, when Gichuki would have the continent at the cutting edge of technological advances.

“There is always cyclical development. The British Empire was big. Now America is there.

“Maybe in the next 50 years it’s going to be the Chinese.

“Maybe in 100 years it’s going to be Africa.”

Catch the entire story at the BBC News.