Simbarashe Kundizeza wrote the story himself, and the people behind one of African literature's most watched awards are standing firmly behind him.
An investigation into allegations that Kundizeza's winning entry was generated by artificial intelligence has found no evidence to support the claim. The accusation originally appeared in a US magazine, and the Zimbabwean writer has denied it completely.
That is where the confirmed details end, but the story raises questions that the African literary world will be sitting with for a while. As AI tools become easier to access, award bodies everywhere are being pushed to think harder about how they verify originality, and this case has put that pressure in sharp focus.
Watch this space.
Originally published by BBC Africa.