NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya’s Parliament will next week set aside time to formally honour the life and legacy of celebrated author and scholar Prof. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, whose death this week marked the end of a towering chapter in African literature.
Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula announced on Thursday that the House will dedicate 30 minutes on Tuesday to eulogise the literary icon, following news of his passing at a hospital in Buford, Georgia, United States.
“This country has lost one of its greatest sons in the literary world,” Wetang’ula said during a solemn session in Parliament, where lawmakers observed a moment of silence in honour of Ngũgĩ. “A prolific writer of global repute, Prof. Ngũgĩ stood in the league of African literary giants such as Chinua Achebe, Elechi Amadi, Flora Nwapa and others who helped illuminate the African narrative.”
Ngũgĩ, who died aged 87, leaves behind a storied career that reshaped Kenya’s literary identity and gave voice to anti-colonial resistance, cultural revival and linguistic justice.
His early works, including Weep Not, Child and A Grain of Wheat, remain essential readings across continents, while his later embrace of the Gikuyu language cemented his legacy as a champion of decolonisation and indigenous expression.
Wetang’ula hailed Ngũgĩ’s foundational role in establishing the Department of Literature at the University of Nairobi and building a generation of writers and thinkers who followed in his path.
“He worked alongside other literary luminaries such as Okot p’Bitek, Micere Githae Mugo, Chris Wanjala, Francis Imbuga, and John Ruganda,” said Wetang’ula. “Together, they laid the foundation of modern Kenyan literature.”
But even as Parliament prepares to honour Ngũgĩ, the Speaker delivered a scathing rebuke of Kenyan media for failing to give the writer’s death the prominence it deserved.
“I must express my disappointment,” Wetang’ula said. “I expected to see Prof. Ngũgĩ’s image on the front pages of every newspaper in this country, just as we do when other global figures such as the Pope or Chinua Achebe pass on. Sadly, that was not the case today.”
“Instead, we continue to see front-page coverage of less deserving matters,” he added. “As your Speaker, I invite this House to join me in recording this collective disappointment and calling for greater recognition of our heroes.”
Ngũgĩ’s political courage and literary genius were often inseparable.
His 1977 play Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), co-written with Ngũgĩ wa Mĩriĩ and staged in Gikuyu, led to his detention by the Moi regime without trial for a year.
Yet even in prison, he continued to write, famously drafting Devil on the Cross on toilet paper.
His other acclaimed works include Petals of Blood, Matigari, and Decolonising the Mind, which remains a touchstone in postcolonial studies and cultural criticism.
Parliament’s planned tribute adds to a growing chorus of mourning from across the world, as scholars, writers, and admirers reflect on a life devoted to literature, language, and liberation.
