Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said that
Professor Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s death has left the African continent orphaned.
In a message of condolence, Gachagua described Ngugi as a
mentor, an honest man and a great political animal.
“The passing on of Prof Ngugi Wa Thiong’o has orphaned
Africa; we, the students of literature, have borne it all. Prof Ngugi was one
in many; a mentor, a teacher, a prolific writer, a poet, an honest man, and a
great political animal,” he said.
The former DP said Ngugi was a literary genius who inspired his
world of literary language and communication.
He added that the late Professor’s great works of literature
among them; The River Between, Weep Not Child, A Grain of Wheat, I Will Marry
When I Want, Devil on the Cross, Decolonising the Mind, Wizard of the Crow,
Matigari, Dreams in the Time of War, among others created an original African
desire, identity and the African literary philosophy.
“If a literary genius ever lived who has inspired my world
of literary language and communication, may it be the use of symbolism,
figurative language, metaphors, metonymy, poetry, that genius is Prof. Ngùgì Wa
Thiong’o.
“The African literary champion never shied from writing in
his native language and his quest to tell the African story through the African
lens. This inspiration lives on through works like Matigari, Ngahìka Ndeenda,
Caitaani Mutharaba-Inì, among others, true to African heroism,” Gachagua added.
The former DP prayed for God’s comfort to the family.
Prof. Ngùgì Wa Thiong’o’s family announced his passing
Wednesday evening, May 28, 2025, saying he “lived a full life, fought a good
fight.”
Ngugi is widely regarded as Kenya’s most influential writer
and one of Africa’s leading literary voices.
He is best known for his bold critique of colonial and
postcolonial systems, and for his decision to write in his native Gikuyu
language as a political and cultural statement.