Learn Hardcore Swahili: Kwa upande wangu, ni muhimu kila mtu awe na haki ya kusema maoni yake bila kuogopa. - For my part, it is important that everyone has the right to express their opinions without fear.

Kwangu literally means “to/at/for me” and in context can mean “for me / in my case.”
Kwa upande wangu is more explicitly “from my side / from my point of view,” and sounds a bit fuller and more natural when giving an opinion.

You can say:

Kwangu, ni muhimu kila mtu awe na haki…

This is understandable and used in speech, but kwa upande wangu is a very common, slightly more formal way to introduce an opinion.

Why is there no word for “it” before ni muhimu, like “it is important”?

Swahili normally doesn’t use a dummy subject like English “it” in “it is important.”

ni muhimu literally is just “(it) is important” or “is important.”
The ni works as a copula (“is/are”) linking the subject (which is understood from context or follows) to the adjective.

So:

Ni muhimu kila mtu awe na haki…
≈ “It is important that everyone have the right…”

You don’t need a separate word meaning “it.” The sentence is still complete and natural.

Why do we use awe and not ana in kila mtu awe na haki?

awe is the subjunctive form of kuwa (to be).
ana is the present indicative of kuwa na (to have): he/she has.

After expressions of necessity, importance, desire, etc., Swahili commonly uses the subjunctive in the following clause.

Pattern:

Ni muhimu / Ni lazima / Ni bora … + [subjunctive]

So:

Ni muhimu kila mtu awe na haki…
= It is important that each person *(should) have the right…*

If you said:

Ni muhimu kila mtu ana haki…

it would sound ungrammatical, because ni muhimu is setting up a clause that wants the subjunctive.

What exactly does awe na haki mean? Is awe na a special phrase?

It’s not a special idiom; it’s just:

awe – subjunctive of kuwa (to be) for he/she/it
kuwa na – to be with → to have

So awe na haki literally is:

“(that) he/she be with a right” → “(that) he/she have a right.”

Here kuwa na is used as “to have,” and the subjunctive awe is triggered by ni muhimu.

What is the role of ya in haki ya kusema?

ya is a linking/possessive word (a kind of “of”) that agrees with the noun haki in its noun class.

haki (right, justice) is in a noun class that takes ya for “of”.
So haki ya kusema literally is “the right of speaking” → “the right to speak.”

You’ll see ya used similarly with many nouns:

nafasi ya kufanya kazi – a chance/opportunity to work
uwezo wa kuelewa – the ability to understand (here class changes the linker to wa)

In this sentence:

haki ya kusema maoni yake
= the right to say his/her opinion.

Why is it maoni yake and not maoni yao, when in English we say “everyone has the right to say their opinion”?

Two key points:

kila mtu (“each person / everyone”) is grammatically singular in Swahili.
- Verbs and pronouns that refer back to kila mtu use 3rd person singular.
Swahili does not have a singular, gender‑neutral pronoun like English “they.”
It just uses “his/her” (3rd singular).

So:

maoni yake = his/her opinion
(possessor = kila mtu = “each person,” grammatically singular)

If you said maoni yao, it would mean “their opinion(s)” referring to a plural group, which would not match kila mtu.

Why does maoni use yake and not something like lake or wake?

The form yake comes from:

ya- (agreement with the noun class of maoni)
-ake (meaning his/her).

maoni belongs to a noun class that takes ya- for possessives (class 6 in noun‑class terms), so:

maoni yangu – my opinion(s)
maoni yako – your opinion(s)
maoni yake – his/her opinion(s)

You’re not choosing between different words for “his/her”; rather, the prefix on -ake changes to agree with the noun’s class. For maoni, that prefix is ya- → yake.

Why is it kusema maoni yake and not something like kwa kusema maoni yake (“by saying”)?

Here kusema is the infinitive / verbal noun of “to say.”

After haki ya, you can put:

a noun: haki ya maoni – right to (have) an opinion
or a verb in ku‑ form: haki ya kusema – right to speak / to say.

So:

haki ya kusema maoni yake
= the right to say/express his/her opinion.

If you used kwa kusema, that would mean something like “by saying / through saying”, which is a different structure and meaning.

What does bila kuogopa literally mean, and how does bila work with verbs?

bila means “without.”
kuogopa is the infinitive “to fear / to be afraid.”

So bila kuogopa literally is “without to-fear”, which we translate naturally as “without being afraid” / “without fear.”

Pattern:

bila + ku-verb = “without (doing) X”

Examples:

bila kula – without eating
bila kusema chochote – without saying anything
bila kuogopa – without being afraid

Could I say bila hofu instead of bila kuogopa? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say bila hofu, and it’s natural.

bila hofu – without fear (using the noun hofu, “fear”)
bila kuogopa – without being afraid (using the verb kuogopa, “to fear / to be afraid”)

They’re very close in meaning.

bila hofu can sound a bit more formal or abstract: free from fear.
bila kuogopa emphasizes the feeling/act of being afraid.

In your sentence, either is acceptable; bila kuogopa is very common in spoken and written Swahili.

Do we need ambaye after kila mtu, like kila mtu ambaye awe na haki?

No, and in fact kila mtu ambaye awe na haki is not natural.

Here, kila mtu is directly the subject of the verb in the subjunctive:

kila mtu awe na haki – that each person have the right.

You would use ambaye when you want a relative clause:

kila mtu ambaye ana haki ya kusema…
= every person who has the right to speak…

In your original sentence, we don’t need a relative clause; we simply say what is important about each person using the subjunctive awe na haki.

Why doesn’t the part awe na haki ya kusema maoni yake show any tense, like “will have” or “should have”?

The subjunctive form in Swahili (like awe) does not carry a tense marker (no na-, li-, ta-, me-, etc.).

It usually expresses:

desire
necessity
possibility
a general, non‑time‑specific idea

So:

Ni muhimu kila mtu awe na haki…
→ It is important that everyone (should) have the right…

The idea is general and timeless: as a principle, everyone should have this right. If you wanted a specific time, you’d reshape the sentence rather than put a tense on awe.

Could I say Ni muhimu kwamba kila mtu ana haki ya kusema maoni yake instead?

You can say:

Ni muhimu kwamba kila mtu ana haki ya kusema maoni yake.

This is grammatically possible and means something like:

It is important that everyone has the right to say their opinion
(stating it more as a fact that already exists).

However, Swahili style strongly prefers:

Ni muhimu kila mtu awe na haki…

with the subjunctive to express what should be the case, not just describe reality.

So your original sentence with awe is the most natural way to express this idea of principle or necessity.