Kenyans pay tribute to revered author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

A neighbour and friend of Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o paid tribute to the literary giant on Thursday following his death.

Ngũgĩ, 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 “The Wizard of the Crow” and “Petals of Blood,” memoirs such as “Birth of a Dream Weaver” or the landmark critique “Decolonizing the Mind,” Ngũgĩ embodied the very heights of the artist's calling — as a truth teller and explorer of myth, as a breaker of rules and steward of culture.

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 Ngũgĩ as a "very kind man" who loved Kenya.

"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.

A life and work in exile

Ngũgĩ 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, Ngũgĩ’ 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.

Derek Warker, publicist for Ngũgĩ's US publisher The New Press, confirmed the death to The Associated Press. Further details were not immediately available, though Ngũgĩ had been receiving kidney dialysis treatments.

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.

Kenya President William Ruto on Thursday paid tribute to the man he called “the towering giant of Kenyan letters,” saying Ngũgĩ’s courage shaped thoughts around social justice and abuse of political power.