Kenyan Literary Legend Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’o Dies At 87

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, a towering figure in modern African literature, has died at the age of 87. Over a six-decade career, he chronicled Kenya’s evolution from colonial rule to independence and democracy, emerging as one of the continent’s most influential writers.

A perennial favorite for the Nobel Prize in Literature, Ngũgĩ never received the award, to the dismay of many readers and critics. Yet his legacy goes far beyond accolades. He will be remembered not only for his powerful storytelling, but for championing African languages in literature — often writing in Gikuyu as a political and cultural act of resistance.

Born James Thiong’o Ngũgĩ in 1938 during British colonial rule, he was raised in Limuru in a poor farming family. His parents made great sacrifices to send him to Alliance High School, a missionary-run boarding school. In a later interview, Ngũgĩ recalled coming home from school to discover his entire village had been destroyed by colonial forces.

During the brutal Mau Mau uprising between 1952 and 1960, his family was deeply affected. Many were forced into detention camps, and his deaf brother Gitogo was shot in the back by a British soldier after failing to respond to a command he could not hear.

Ngũgĩ left Kenya in 1959 to study at Uganda’s Makerere University. There, at a writers’ conference, he met Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, who helped publish Ngũgĩ’s debut novel Weep Not, Child — the first major English-language novel by an East African — in 1964. It received critical acclaim and was followed by The River Between and A Grain of Wheat, cementing his status as a leading voice in African literature.

By 1972, The Times of London declared Ngũgĩ one of Africa’s outstanding contemporary writers. But his decision to abandon English and embrace Gikuyu in both fiction and political theatre drew the ire of Kenya’s government. After staging a politically charged play in his native language, he was arrested and imprisoned without trial for a year.

He was released after President Daniel arap Moi took office, but in 1982, while in London for a book launch, Ngũgĩ learned of an alleged plot to assassinate him if he returned to Kenya. He entered self-imposed exile, first in the UK and later the United States, where he continued writing and teaching. He remained in exile for 22 years.

When Ngũgĩ finally returned to Kenya, he was greeted by thousands of cheering supporters. But joy quickly turned to horror when intruders broke into his apartment, assaulted him, and raped his wife — a crime widely condemned and believed by some to be politically motivated.

Despite everything — colonial violence, censorship, imprisonment, exile, and personal trauma — Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o never stopped writing, speaking, and fighting for African voices. His life was a testament to the power of language, resistance, and unyielding courage.