{"id":142959,"date":"2025-05-29T19:49:30","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T19:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo"},"modified":"2025-05-29T20:24:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T20:24:01","slug":"kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo","title":{"rendered":"Kenyans pay tribute to revered author Ng\u0169g\u0129 wa Thiong’o"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. <\/strong><\/span>A neighbour and friend of Kenyan author Ngu\u0303gi\u0303 wa Thiong’o paid tribute to the literary giant on Thursday following his death.<\/p>\n

Ngu\u0303gi\u0303, the revered Kenyan man of letters and voice of dissent who in dozens of fiction and nonfiction books traced his country’s history from British imperialism to home-ruled tyranny, died on Wednesday aged 87 in Bedford, Georgia. Whether through novels such as \u201cThe Wizard of the Crow\u201d and \u201cPetals of Blood,\u201d memoirs such as \u201cBirth of a Dream Weaver\u201d or the landmark critique \u201cDecolonizing the Mind,\u201d Ngu\u0303gi\u0303 embodied the very heights of the artist’s calling \u2014 as a truth teller and explorer of myth, as a breaker of rules and steward of culture.<\/p>\n

He was a perennial candidate for the Nobel literature prize and a long-term artist in exile, imprisoned for a year in the 1970s and harassed for decades after. Simon Kihura, who was one of his neighbours, eulogised Ngu\u0303gi\u0303 as a “very kind man” who loved Kenya.<\/p>\n

“We are very saddened… He was a man who loved his fellow Kenyans and loved this country. May God rest his soul in eternal peace,” said Kihura.<\/p>\n

A life and work in exile<\/b><\/p>\n

Ngu\u0303gi\u0303 lived in exile for decades and escaped attempted assassination twice following his criticism of President Daniel Moi’s administration in the 1970s and 1980s. Since the 1970s, Ngu\u0303gi\u0303\u2019 mostly lived in exile overseas, emigrating to England and eventually settling in California, where he was a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine.<\/p>\n

Derek Warker, publicist for Ngu\u0303gi\u0303’s US publisher The New Press, confirmed the death to The Associated Press. Further details were not immediately available, though Ngu\u0303gi\u0303 had been receiving kidney dialysis treatments.<\/p>\n

At his home in Kenya’s central town of Limuru, workers were seen trimming fences and clearing bushes in preparation of imminent mourners and visitors alike.<\/p>\n

Kenya President William Ruto on Thursday paid tribute to the man he called \u201cthe towering giant of Kenyan letters,\u201d saying Ngu\u0303gi\u0303\u2019s courage shaped thoughts around social justice and abuse of political power.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Kenya<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Kenya. A neighbour and friend of Kenyan author Ngu\u0303gi\u0303 wa Thiong’o paid tribute to the literary giant on Thursday following his death. Ngu\u0303gi\u0303, the revered Kenyan man of letters and voice of dissent who in dozens of fiction and nonfiction books traced his country’s history from British imperialism to home-ruled tyranny, died on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":142958,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[8383,1150,14619,544,11220,624,8783],"class_list":["post-142959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-author","tag-death","tag-exiles","tag-kenya","tag-literature","tag-tribute","tag-writer"],"yoast_head":"\nKenyans pay tribute to revered author Ng\u0169g\u0129 wa Thiong'o - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A neighbour and friend of Kenyan author Ngu\u0303gi\u0303 wa Thiong'o paid tribute to the literary giant on Thursday following his ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kenyans pay tribute to revered author Ng\u0169g\u0129 wa Thiong'o\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A neighbour and friend of Kenyan author Ngu\u0303gi\u0303 wa Thiong'o paid tribute to the literary giant on Thursday following his ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-29T19:49:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-29T20:24:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2025\/05\/sm_1748533870.122562.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"538\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Kenyans pay tribute to revered author Ng\u0169g\u0129 wa Thiong’o\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-29T19:49:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-29T20:24:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo\"},\"wordCount\":376,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2025\/05\/sm_1748533870.122562.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"author\",\"Death\",\"Exiles\",\"Kenya\",\"literature\",\"Tribute\",\"Writer\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/kenyans-pay-tribute-to-revered-author-ngugi-wa-thiongo\",\"name\":\"Kenyans pay tribute to revered author Ng\u0169g\u0129 wa Thiong'o - 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