In the annals of African literature and global thought, few names resonate with the clarity, courage, and consistency of Professor Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. Born in 1938 in Kamĩrĩthũ, Kenya, Prof. Ngũgĩ emerged from a land scarred by colonialism and struggle — and from those scars, he forged stories that would challenge empires, liberate minds, and reimagine the African soul.
Through seminal works like Weep Not, Child, The River Between, A Grain of Wheat, and Petals of Blood, Ngũgĩ captured the pain and promise of postcolonial Africa. But his evolution from English to Gĩkũyũ, his mother tongue, marked a radical reclamation — not just of language, but of identity, memory, and power. In choosing to write in African languages, he defied the imposed hierarchy of tongues and asserted that African stories deserve to be told in African voices.
Prof. Ngũgĩ was not only a literary giant but a tireless advocate for cultural freedom, human rights, and decolonization of the mind. His imprisonment in 1977 for his play Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want) only strengthened his resolve. It was in prison that he wrote Devil on the Cross, famously composed on toilet paper — a symbol of resistance, creativity, and indomitable spirit.
As a scholar and teacher, from Makerere to Yale, and from the University of Nairobi to the University of California, Irvine, Prof. Ngũgĩ inspired generations to think critically, write bravely, and never surrender the right to self-expression.
Today, we honor him not just as a Kenyan icon or African intellectual, but as a global beacon of dignity, justice, and the enduring power of the written word. His legacy is not confined to the bookshelves; it lives in classrooms, in movements, in languages once silenced, now singing.
May his words continue to educate, agitate, and illuminate.
May his courage remind us that to decolonize is to humanize.
May his spirit live on — in every story told without fear.
Rest in honor, Prof. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o.
You taught us that language is memory, and memory is freedom.
