His family announced his passing Wednesday evening, 28th May 2025, saying he “lived a full life, fought a good fight.”
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dad, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o,” her daughter Wanjiku wa Ngugi said in a Facebook post on Wednesday night.
“As was his last wish, let’s celebrate his life and his work. Rîa ratha na rîa thŭa. Tŭrî aira!”—a Gikuyu phrase loosely translating to “With joy and sorrow. We are proud.”
Plans for memorial services and public tributes are expected to be announced by the family in the coming days.
“The family’s spokesperson, Nducu Wa Ngugi, will announce details of his celebration of life soon,” Wanjiku said.
Ngũgĩ was 87.
A towering figure in African literature, Ngũgĩ’s influence stretched across continents, languages, and generations.
Known for novels such as A Grain of Wheat, Petals of Blood, and Devil on the Cross, Ngũgĩ championed the use of African languages in literature and resisted colonial and neocolonial systems of oppression throughout his life.
Born in 1937 in Kamiriithu, Limuru, Ngũgĩ’s work was deeply intertwined with Kenya’s struggle for independence and postcolonial identity.
In 1977, his radical play Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), performed entirely in Gikuyu, led to his detention without trial by the Moi regime.
It marked a turning point in his career—he later abandoned writing in English altogether, opting instead to write in Gikuyu and translate into other languages.
Ngũgĩ spent decades in exile, lecturing at major universities abroad, including Yale and the University of California, Irvine.
Despite the distance, he remained tethered to Kenya through his language, activism, and unflinching critique of injustice.
Tributes have already begun pouring in from around the world. Writers, scholars, and readers are remembering him not only for his literary genius but for his unwavering commitment to truth and justice.
