Renowned Kenyan Author Ngugi wa Thiong’o is dead
Renowned Kenyan Author Ngugi wa Thiong'o is dead
Renowned Kenyan author and academic Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o has died aged 87.
The news of his passing was confirmed by his daughter, Wanjiku wa Ngugi, in a brief statement on Wednesday, May 28.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dad, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o this Wednesday morning, 28th May 2025. He lived a full life, fought a good fight. As was his last wish, let’s celebrate his life and his work,” the statement read in part.
Wanjiku noted that more details regarding his sendoff will be communicated in due course by the family’s spokesperson, Nducu wa Ngugi.
Ngũgĩ was born on January 5, 1938, in Kamiriithu, near Limuru, and was originally named James Ngugi, a name he would later reject in favor of his traditional Kikuyu name.
He began his formal education at Alliance High School and later earned a place at Makerere University in Uganda, graduating in 1963 with a degree in English.
While at Makerere, Ngũgĩ wrote and staged his first play, The Black Hermit, during the first Ugandan National Drama Festival.
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Come 1964, he pursued further studies at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, where he was introduced to a broader spectrum of African, Caribbean, and postcolonial literature.
Ngũgĩ’s literary career began in earnest with the publication of his novel Weep Not, Child in 1964, which was the first novel in English published by an East African.
This was followed by The River Between in 1965 and A Grain of Wheat in 1967.
In 1977, he renounced English and committed to writing in Gikuyu, his mother tongue; that same year, he co-authored and staged the play Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), which led to his imprisonment without trial.
After his release, Ngũgĩ went into exile, spending years in Britain and later in the United States, where he continued his work as a writer, academic, and human rights advocate.
He held various university positions, including professorships at Yale University, New York University, and the University of California, Irvine.
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