Transition: Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong'o - 1938-2025

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Renowned Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o is dead

His family confirms his death saying, he “lived a full life, fought a good fight.”


by Tabnacha Odeny News 28 May 2025 - 22:10
In Summary


“As was his last wish, let's celebrate his life and his work. Rîa ratha na rîa thŭa. Tŭrî aira!”—a Gikuyu phrase loosely translating to “With joy and sorrow. We are proud.”Plans for memorial services and public tributes are expected to be announced by the family in the coming days.


Renowned Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o./COURTERSY


Renowned Kenyan author, scholar, and activist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o has died.


His family announced his passing Wednesday evening, 28th May 2025, saying he “lived a full life, fought a good fight.”


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“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dad, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o,” her daughter Wanjiku wa Ngugi said in a Facebook post on Wednesday night.


“As was his last wish, let's celebrate his life and his work. Rîa ratha na rîa thŭa. Tŭrî aira!”—a Gikuyu phrase loosely translating to “With joy and sorrow. We are proud.”


Plans for memorial services and public tributes are expected to be announced by the family in the coming days.


"The family's spokesperson, Nducu Wa Ngugi, will announce details of his celebration of life soon," Wanjiku said.


Ngũgĩ was 87.


A towering figure in African literature, Ngũgĩ’s influence stretched across continents, languages, and generations.


Known for novels such as A Grain of Wheat, Petals of Blood, and Devil on the Cross, Ngũgĩ championed the use of African languages in literature and resisted colonial and neocolonial systems of oppression throughout his life.


Born in 1937 in Kamiriithu, Limuru, Ngũgĩ’s work was deeply intertwined with Kenya’s struggle for independence and postcolonial identity.

In 1977, his radical play Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), performed entirely in Gikuyu, led to his detention without trial by the Moi regime.


It marked a turning point in his career—he later abandoned writing in English altogether, opting instead to write in Gikuyu and translate into other languages.


Ngũgĩ spent decades in exile, lecturing at major universities abroad, including Yale and the University of California, Irvine.


Despite the distance, he remained tethered to Kenya through his language, activism, and unflinching critique of injustice.


Tributes have already begun pouring in from around the world. Writers, scholars, and readers are remembering him not only for his literary genius but for his unwavering commitment to truth and justice.


Tributes


Homa Bay Governor Glady Wanga: "Sad to learn of the passing on of a literary giant whose words shaped African thought and inspired generations. Prof. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's works challenged oppression and celebrated the power of indigenous voices with courage, globally advocating for African languages. Though he has left us, his legacy lives on in every story, every struggle, and every dream of a just world. Rest in power, Prof. Ngũgĩ. Heartfelt condolences."


Kong'amano la Mapinduzi: "Thiong'o words, he gave voice to the oppressed. Through his courage, he challenged systems. He taught us the power of language, memory and resistance. His stories live on in books, classrooms and in the hearts of generations. Rest in Power comrade!wa NgugiThrough Prof."


Dr Ezekiel Mutua: "Thiong'o became a towering figure and a celebrated thinker. My deepest condolences go out to his family and friends around the world. May his soul rest in eternal peace. Ngugi A literary legend and one of Africa’s greatest voices has passed away. Through masterpieces like Petals of Blood and Ngahika Ndenda, written in both Kikuyu and English."

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is survived by his children and grandchildren, many of whom have followed in his footsteps as writers, academics, and activists.


As the world mourns, it also celebrates. As he wished, his life and legacy will not be marked by silence, but by song, stories, and the enduring power of words.
 
A library burns down when an elder dies. Sleep well, Legend.
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Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: The Old Lion is Gone, But The Roar Remains

Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (January 1938 – 28 May 2025) was one of Africa’s most celebrated literary figures. He never just wrote books. He staged revolts, each title a well-aimed molotov hurled at the colonial cannon, the neocolonial bureaucrat, and the post-independence sell-out.

His books often explore themes of colonialism, post-independence struggles, and the importance of African languages in literature. Over a career spanning six decades, Ngũgĩ went from the polite English-speaking literary salons of the 1960s to the defiant, Gikuyu-voiced resistance trenches of African letters, shaping African literature and post-colonial thought worldwide.

He authored more than 30 works—novels, plays, memoirs, and essays. Here is a distilled list of Ngũgĩ's major works in English, written or translated by him:

  1. Weep Not, Child (1964)
    His debut novel, and the first in English by an East African. A poignant tale of young Njoroge whose dreams crumble amid the flames of the Mau Mau Uprising.
  2. The River Between (1965)
    A lyrical examination of cultural fracture. Missionary Christianity battles traditional Gikuyu beliefs as two villages stand divided by both a literal and metaphorical valley.
  3. A Grain of Wheat (1967)
    Ngũgĩ’s first masterpiece. A morally tangled story of betrayal and sacrifice on the eve of Kenyan independence, told through multiple voices.
  4. This Time Tomorrow (1970)
    A play originally written while Ngũgĩ was at Makerere. It explores generational tensions and the conflicting aspirations of postcolonial youth.
  5. The Black Hermit (1963)
    Ngũgĩ’s first play, performed in 1962 during Kenya’s independence celebrations. A young man returns home to find tradition and modernity in open war.
  6. Petals of Blood (1977)
    A furious indictment of betrayal by the post-independence elite. Four villagers find themselves entangled in a murder mystery that exposes capitalist greed and broken promises.
  7. Devil on the Cross (1980)
    Written on prison toilet paper in Kamiti Maximum Security Prison. A satire of neocolonial exploitation told through a woman’s surreal journey to a “Devil’s Feast.”
  8. Detained: A Writer’s Prison Diary (1981)
    The harrowing memoir of his 1977 detention without trial. A personal and political record of a regime’s paranoia.
  9. Barrel of a Pen (1983)
    A collection of essays laying out his belief in the revolutionary potential of literature—and why language choice is a political act.
  10. I Will Marry When I Want (1982, co-authored with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii)
    A Gikuyu play banned by the Moi regime. Its staging led directly to Ngũgĩ’s arrest. A searing critique of land grabbing, capitalism, and hypocritical religiosity.
  11. Matigari (1986)
    A Gikuyu fable turned political nightmare. A freedom fighter returns to a corrupt, capitalist Kenya and finds the struggle has only changed clothes.
  12. Decolonising the Mind (1986)
    Possibly his most influential non-fiction work. A series of essays that explain his radical shift to African languages—and why writers must reclaim linguistic sovereignty.
  13. Moving the Centre (1993)
    Essays advocating the broadening of spaces for marginalised voices—geographically, culturally, and linguistically.
  14. Penpoints, Gunpoints and Dreams (1998)
    A collection of lectures analysing the intersection of culture, politics, and resistance in African societies.
  15. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Speaks (2006)
    Interviews that chart his intellectual evolution and his reflections on the function of the writer in society.
  16. Wizard of the Crow (2006)
    A 768-page epic written in Gikuyu and translated by the author. A magical-realist tour de force lampooning dictatorship, greed, and the grotesqueries of global aid.
  17. Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance (2009)
    Non-fiction essays examining the future of African culture in a globalised, often unthinking world.
  18. Dreams in a Time of War (2010)
    Memoir of his boyhood under colonial rule—a story of survival, hope, and the roots of his ideological awakening.
  19. In the House of the Interpreter (2012)
    Covers his time at Alliance High School, where the colonial contradictions sharpened, and his political consciousness deepened.
  20. Birth of a Dream Weaver (2016)
    Chronicles his university years at Makerere, where he metamorphosed from student to writer—and discovered his continent’s wounded soul.
  21. Wrestling with the Devil (2018)
    A hybrid memoir tracing his prison ordeal, the power of storytelling, and the rise of authoritarian rule in independent Africa.
  22. The Perfect Nine (2020)
    A verse novel retelling the Gikuyu creation myth with a feminist twist. A rare fusion of oral storytelling, poetry, and African myth.
  23. Minutes of Glory and Other Stories (2019)
    A collection of short stories written over five decades. The everyday and the extraordinary clash and dance in postcolonial Kenya.
  24. Secret Lives and Other Stories (1975)
    Early fiction that showcases Ngũgĩ’s developing voice—personal stories with deep political undercurrents.

Ngũgĩ’s literary rebellion was never just about fiction. It was about freeing the tongue. While many African intellectuals juggled identity with discomfort, Ngũgĩ dropped the colonial mask and picked up the ancestral drum. His life’s work was not simply to write, but to re-write—the rules, the stories, the language, and the imagination of Africa.

The old lion is gone. But the roar echoes.
 
upepo said:
Hapo umetunyoa lakini sawa.
Click to expand...
Are you corksure and certain on your insinuation?
A teeny-weeny google would have put you on the straight.

Over the weekend I will dust my copy and post you the page hopefully.
 

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Tiiga Waana said:
Are you corksure and certain on your insinuation?
A teeny-weeny google would have put you on the straight.

Over the weekend I will dust my copy and post you the page hopefully.
Click to expand...
Archimedes, made his famous statement, “Give me a place on which to stand, and I will move the earth.”He was challenged to put his words into action, and according to the historians, he arranged a series of pulleys and cogs that allowed him to pull a ship out of the Syracusan Fleet from the water ...
 
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