Africans, and indeed, blacks all over the world, especially those who grew up to know of his literary exploits, are mourning the demise of one of their most illustrious sons, the celebrated literary giant, Kenya-born Ngugi wa Thiongo.
The writer of such classics as Weep Not Child, The River Between, A Grain of Wheat, Petals of Blood, Devil on the Cross, The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, Decolonising the Mind, Homecoming and Petals of Blood, wa Thiong’o, who started off as James Ngugi, according to family sources, passed away in the morning of yesterday, Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at the age of 87.
The icon, who can be listed alongside other African literary greats as Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ayi Kwei Armah, Camara Laye, Sembene Ousmane, Okot p’Bitek and Dennis Brutus, first wrote in English language, and later switched to writing in his native Gikuyu language.
He was educated at, among others, at Makerere University in Kenya and University of Leeds in England.
There have been an avalanche of tributes all over the social media, and on other platforms, from all over the world, by those who have read any of Ngugi wa Thiong’s books, or who ever came in contact with him one way or the other.
The common refrain is that this departed titan deserves elaborate celebration by all.
