Ngugi wa Thiong’o, a well-known writer from Kenya, passed away at the age of 87, his family has been informed.
Wanjiku Wa Ngugi, his daughter Wanjiku Wa Ngugi wrote on Facebook on Wednesday, “We are sad to announce the passing of our dad, Ngugi wa Thiong’o.
She said, “He fought a good fight and lived a full life.”
Ngugi’s death was reportedly the result of his kidney dialysis, but it is not yet known what caused his death.
Ngugi, who was born in Kenya in 1938, will be remembered as one of postcolonial writers from Africa. The brutal Mau Mau war, which swept British-ruled Kenya in the 1950s, was one of Ngugi’s most notable events in his early life.
Ngugi’s writings also criticised Kenya’s postcolonial society and the British colonial era. His other research included the intersection of language, culture, history, and identity.
In the 1970s, Ngugi made a controversial choice to switch from writing in English to Swahili and Kikuyu, which he did at the time.
We all believed that he was both a braver and a madman at the same time, according to Kenyan journalist David Maillu.
“We enlisted the help of third parties to purchase the books.”
While residing abroad, he published one of his most well-known works, “Decolonising the Mind.” According to the author, it is “impossible to liberate oneself while speaking the language of oppressors,” according to AFP.
Ngugi was a prisoner of conscience in addition to holding the title of well-known author. He was imprisoned in Kenya in 1977 for staging a play that he thought was offensive to contemporary society.
He once described the new elite class in the country as “the death of dreams, the death of beauty,” or “the death of hopes.”
Following a ban on theatre productions and performances in his home country, Ngugi fled to self-imposed exile in the UK in 1982. He later relocated to the US, where he became an adjunct professor of comparative literature at the University of California, Irvine. Additionally, he continued to write a wide range of essays, memoirs, and books about Kenya.
Ngugi’s life and work quickly gained popularity online after learning of his passing.
On X, Kenya’s opposition leader Martha Karua wrote, “My condolences to the family and friends of Professor Ngugi wa Thiong’o, a renowned literary giant and scholar, a son of the soil and great patriot whose footprints are indelible.”
“Thank you Mwalimu [teacher] for your freedom writing,” read the letter from Amnesty International’s Kenya branch on X. He transitions from being mortal to being immortal, having already established his place in Kenyan history.
The author was hailed as a national icon by former student and author Margaretta wa Gacheru, a sociologe.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply