His family announced the news, with his daughter Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ expressing their grief on Facebook and calling for a celebration of his life and work.
"It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dad, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o this Wednesday morning, 28th May 2025. He lived a full life, fought a good fight. As was his last wish, let's celebrate his life and his work. Rîa ratha na rîa thŭa. Tŭrî aira!" Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ wrote on Facebook, adding that the family spokesperson Nducu Wa Ngugi will announce details of his celebration of life soon.
Born on January 5, 1938, in Kamiriithu near Limuru, Kiambu County, Ngũgĩ became one of Africa's most influential writers.
His extensive literary career spanned novels, plays, essays, and poetry that deeply explored Kenya's colonial and post-colonial realities.
Among his most renowned novels are Weep Not, Child (1964), The River Between (1965), A Grain of Wheat (1967), Petals of Blood (1977), and Wizard of the Crow (2006).
In 1977, his politically charged play Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), co-written with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii, resulted in his detention without trial by the Kenyan government. During his imprisonment, he famously wrote Devil on the Cross, his first novel written in his native Gikuyu language.
After his release, Ngũgĩ went into exile, settling in the United States, where he served as a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine. Throughout his career, he focused on themes of language, identity, and the decolonization of culture.
Ngũgĩ's final published work, Decolonizing Language and Other Revolutionary Ideas (2025), is a collection of essays and poems spanning nearly two decades.
This compilation reflects on the power of mother tongues, education, and the legacies of figures like Nelson Mandela and Chinua Achebe. It underscores Ngũgĩ's lifelong advocacy for linguistic and cultural liberation.
His last major fictional work was Kenda Muiyuru (The Perfect Nine), a Gikuyu epic longlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize, further cementing his commitment to writing in indigenous languages.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o leaves behind a legacy carried on by his children and grandchildren, many of whom have become writers, academics, and activists inspired by his groundbreaking work.
IGIHE
Source : https://en.igihe.com/news/article/renowned-kenyan-author-ngug%C4%A9-wa-thiong-o-dies-at-87
