Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o was a Kenyan author and a storyteller who was described as East Africa’s leading novelist.

Born in 1938 in Kamiriithu, Limuru, Kiambu county, Thiong’o was a strong advocate for literature written in native African languages.

He attended Alliance High School before joining Makerere University and later the University of Leeds.

Thiong’o began writing in English before later switching to write in Gikuyu. His works include the celebrated novel The River Between, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children’s literature.

He was the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri.

The novelist also held positions at the University of Nairobi, where he led efforts to decolonize the English department.

He also taught at Northwestern University, Yale University, and New York University and was a Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine.

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Thiong’o made a huge change in his career and life in 1977 when he dropped his birth name James, as he wanted a name free of colonial influence.

He also dropped English as the primary language for his literature and vowed to only write in his mother tongue, Kikuyu. He published his last English language novel, Petals of Blood, in 1977.

In the same year, he was detained by the then-President Jomo Kenyatta’s government without charge after the performance of Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), a politically charged play co-written in his native Gikuyu.

While in jail at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Thiong’o released his first Kikuyu novel, Devil on the Cross. It is said he used toilet paper to write the entire book, as he did not have access to a notebook.

He was released after Daniel Arap Moi took power. According to the BBC, four years after his release, Thiong’o went to London for a book launch when he learnt there was a plot to kill him on his return to Kenya.

He began self-imposed exile in the UK and then the US and did not return to Kenya for 22 years. When he finally did return, he received a hero’s welcome before being attacked by goons who also raped his wife.

The author returned to the US, where he had held professorships at universities including Yale, New York and California, Irvine.

He was frequently regarded as a likely candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He won the 2001 International Nonino Prize in Italy and the 2016 Park Kyong-ni Prize.

Thiong’o died on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, aged 87, after a long battle with health complications, including kidney problems.

His daughter Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ wrote on Facebook: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dad, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, this Wednesday morning, 28th May 2025. He lived a full life, fought a good fight. As was his last wish, let’s celebrate his life and his work. Rîa ratha na rîa thŭa. Tŭrî aira!”