NAIROBI, Kenya- Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has led a moving tribute to the late Prof. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, hailing him as a literary colossus whose death has left Africa “orphaned.”
In a statement, Gachagua — now the DCP Party Leader — described the passing of Prof. Ngũgĩ as a devastating blow not only to the world of literature but also to Africa’s soul and identity.
“The passing on of Prof. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o has orphaned Africa; we, the students of literature, have borne it all,” he wrote.
To Gachagua, Prof. Ngũgĩ was more than a writer.
He was a mentor, a teacher, a revolutionary thinker — and “an honest man, a great political animal.” His pen captured the anguish and resilience of the African spirit, carving a path for post-colonial thought through literature and native language.
“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. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o,” the former Deputy President said.
Gachagua reflected on how Prof. Ngũgĩ’s vast body of work, including The River Between, Weep Not, Child, A Grain of Wheat, Devil on the Cross, Matigari, and Wizard of the Crow, shaped the philosophical foundation of African literature.
Through these writings, Ngũgĩ birthed a unique literary identity grounded in the African experience, one that refused to be muted by colonial ideologies.
“His great works… have created an original African desire, identity and the African literary philosophy,” he said.
Gachagua’s tribute also underscored his personal connection to the scholar’s works.
After leaving public office, the former Deputy President found himself re-reading A Grain of Wheat, drawing political and existential meaning from Ngũgĩ’s words: “Then nobody noticed it; but looking back, we can see that Waiyaki’s blood contained within it a seed, a grain, which gave birth to a movement…”
Ngũgĩ’s decision to write in Gikuyu — as seen in works such as Ngahika Ndeenda, Maitu Njugira, Mũrogi wa Kagogo, and Caitaani Mũtharaba-Inĩ — deeply resonated with Gachagua, who praised the late icon’s fearless quest to tell Africa’s story in its authentic voice.
“The African literary champion never shied from writing in his native language… true to African heroism,” he said.
Martha Karua described Ngugi as a literary giant and scholar.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said, “through his highly innovative approach to literature, he inspired countless authors and leaders across generations, for which we are eternally grateful.”
“His legacy also endures in the books many generations of Kenyans studied or read for enjoyment.”
