Kenya's veteran and scholarly, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o has died at the age of 87.
His daughter, Wanjiku Wa Nugi, confirmed his death on Wednesday morning.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the death of Our Father, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o on the morning of Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
“He lived a full life and fought a good fight. According to his last desire, let's celebrate his life and his work,” he said.
The cause of death was not revealed.
However, the family pointed out that funeral arrangements would be shared soon.
“The family spokesman, Nducu Wa Nugi, will announce details of his life celebration soon,” Wanjiku said.
At the time of his death, Ngugi lived in California, United States.
It had spent much of his life in exile or semi-exile since the 1980s, due to the political tensions surrounding his work.
His controversial work Ngaahika Ndeenda (I will marry when I want) was prohibited in the 1970s, and then he was imprisoned.
The work marked the beginning of NGGI's deep commitment to nationalism, social justice and resistance through literature.
He published acclaimed novels such as the river between, do not cry, child, a grain of wheat and blood petals.
These works earned him global recognition and positioned East Africa's literature on the world stage.
Nugi also made a bold decision to stop writing in English, choosing in his place writing Natal Kikuyu.
He believed that “writing in indigenous languages ​​would validate them and raise, it would connect people with literature again and serve as a form of resistance.”
This position increased the political pressure on him, which led to his exile in 1982.
Ngugi first settled in Britain and then moved to the United States.
He returned to Kenya briefly in 2004, but he and his wife were attacked in his hotel room, an incident widely seen as politically motivated.
In addition to writing, Ngugi was a respected academic.
He served as a professor of comparative and English literature at the University of California, Irvine (ICU).
Throughout his life, he received numerous praise, including the Nonino International Literature Award (2001), the Park Kyong-Ni Award (2016) and the PEN Award for Freedom of Expression.
Nugi wa thiong'o leaves a powerful legacy, one rooted in African identity, resistance and the relentless search for justice through the written word.
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