Renowned Kenyan author, scholar, and activist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o has passed away, his family confirmed on the evening of Wednesday, May 28, 2025.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dad, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o,” his daughter, Wanjiku wa Ngugi, said in a heartfelt Facebook post. She added that he “lived a full life, fought a good fight.”
Born in 1937 in Kamiriithu, Limuru, Ngũgĩ was one of Africa’s most celebrated literary figures. His groundbreaking work explored themes of colonialism, language, and African identity, making him a towering voice in Kenya’s cultural and political history.
A fierce advocate for writing in African languages, Ngũgĩ abandoned English as his primary medium in the late 1970s, famously penning Caitaani Mutharaba-Ini (Devil on the Cross) on prison toilet paper while detained by the Moi regime.
Ngũgĩ’s activism and critical stance against authoritarianism forced him into exile, where he spent decades teaching at prestigious universities including Yale and the University of California, Irvine. Despite the distance, he remained an influential voice in Kenyan and pan-African discourse.
His legacy lives on through his prolific body of work, which includes Weep Not, Child, The River Between, and Decolonising the Mind, and through the generations of writers, thinkers, and activists he inspired.
