Kenyan Literary Icon Ngugi wa Thiong’o Dies at 87

Celebrated Kenyan author and academic Ngugi wa Thiong’o has died at the age of 87. His daughter, Wanjiku wa Ngugi, confirmed his death on Wednesday via Facebook, describing him as having “lived a full life” and “fought a good fight”.

Widely regarded as one of Africa’s foremost literary figures, Ngugi was a fierce advocate for writing in indigenous languages. His 1986 book ‘Decolonising the Mind’ became a landmark work on the role of language in cultural identity. In the 1970s, he abandoned English entirely in favour of Kikuyu and Swahili, a move that initially drew criticism but later defined his legacy.

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Ngugi was jailed without charge in 1977 for staging a politically critical play. Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience and he was released a year later following international pressure. In 1982, he went into self-imposed exile, first in the UK and later in the United States.

Tributes have poured in from across the world. Opposition leader Martha Karua called him a “renowned literary giant and patriot”. Amnesty International Kenya wrote, “Thank you, Mwalimu, for your freedom writing. He transitions from mortality to immortality.”