Julie Hearn offers a heartfelt tribute to the legendary Gĩkũyũ storyteller and revolutionary Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, who passed away on Wednesday, 28 May 2025, at the age of 87.
By Julie Hearn
I first came across Ngũgĩ in 1985 when I was fifteen in a provincial Kenyan school library with hardly any books, under lock and key. Somehow, I found myself with a well-worn copy of his ‘Petals of Blood’ (1977) and was transported to the village of Ilmorog, understanding little. The following year, I got to study ‘A Grain of Wheat’ (1967) in-depth for my Kenya Advanced Certificate of Education (KACE) in Literature and have been reading and sharing Ngũgĩ ever since, most recently his trilogy of memoirs; ‘Dreaming in A Time of War: A Childhood Memoir’ (2010), ‘In the House of the Interpreter: A Memoir’ (2012), and ‘Birth of A Dream Weaver: A Writer’s Awakening’ (2016).
It is here that Ngũgĩ narrates his deeply personal story of ‘decolonising the mind’ from an all-encompassing, invasive colonial education system so that in the words of his contemporary, Wangari Maathai (1940-2011), ‘You cannot enslave a mind that knows itself.’ Once his formal education was complete, Ngũgĩ relates, in his internationally renowned collection of essays, ‘Decolonising the Mind’ (1986), how he and other young colleagues at the University of Nairobi in the late 1960s in the then ‘English Department’ revolutionised the curriculum by centring African writers and introducing Oral Literature. Through more hard work and commitment of Kenyan educators, this decolonised Literature curriculum was transplanted to schools, and many of us subsequently benefitted.
However, Ngũgĩ did not stay in the ‘ivory’ tower nor in the formal setting of schools. In 1976, he helped to establish the Kamiriithu Community Education and Cultural Centre, Limuru, where his play, ‘Ngaahika Ndeenda’ (‘I Will Marry When I Want’), written with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii, was performed in the words of the Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’o Foundation:
‘ … in an open air theatre, with actors from the workers and peasants of the village. Sharply critical of the inequalities and injustices of Kenyan society, publicly identified with unequivocally championing the cause of ordinary Kenyans, and committed to communicating with them in the languages of their daily lives…’
As a result, Ngũgĩ was arrested and imprisoned without charge at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison and released a year later. His account is to be found in his memoir, ‘Detained: A Writer’s Prison Diary’ (1982). In 2018, to mark his eightieth birthday, a collection of essays was put together, ‘Ngũgĩ: Reflections on his Life of Writing’ with a chapter, ‘Note from a Literary Son’ by Peter Kimani, professor at the Aga Khan University, Nairobi. Kimani, whose PhD was supervised by Ngũgĩ, has also published in the Nation today.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Gĩkũyũ Story-teller and Revolutionary, reached the minds and hearts of many, near and far. The purpose of this tribute is to fling wide open the doors to this rich chronicler of Kenyan life and pass on, like a baton, every one of his books to the next generation. This is what I have been doing for forty years and this is one story of that sharing by former student, Wacera Thande, who inspired this tribute and whose concluding words I share below:
As his work lives on, and his legacy, so does his impact and his hand in bringing people and ideas together.
As my literary development journey continues, as I continue to decolonise my mind and my work, I will stumble upon his works, especially those I am yet to discover. Because he lives on.
To his family and close friends I pass my sincere condolences. What a man. What a legacy.
To the literary and academic world we have lost a giant, but it is on his shoulders we now stand. We must continue our work in honour of this man.
Kĩoni na Mũrathi
Awa wa maandĩki ma Gĩkũyũ in modern history.
Awa wa meeciria ma Litereture gũkũ Kenya na bũrũri ciothe cia Afrika
Ũromaama kwega Kuuraga Mũũrũ wa Thiong’o
Featured Photograph: Featured Photograph: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o during an interview on African literature and linguistic imperialism with Tania Adam in September 2019(CCCBLAB)
Dr Julie Hearn is senior lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Lancaster University, UK and a member of the ROAPE editorial working group.
