One of Africa’s most revered literary figures, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, has died at the age of 87. His daughter, Wanjiku wa Ngugi, confirmed the news in a brief message released on Wednesday, 28 May 2025.
The celebrated Kenyan writer and academic passed away peacefully in the morning, according to the family. “He lived a full life, fought a good fight. As was his last wish, let’s celebrate his life and his work,” Wanjiku wrote. His parting words in Gikuyu — Rîa ratha na rîa thŭa. Tŭrî aira! — roughly translate to “The path of love and struggle. We are children of the soil.”
Ngũgĩ, born on 5 January 1938, was widely recognised as a giant in African literature. His works, including Weep Not, Child, Petals of Blood, and Decolonising the Mind, shaped generations of readers and writers across the continent and beyond. He began writing in English before choosing to write in his native Gikuyu as part of a long-standing commitment to linguistic and cultural liberation.
At the time of his death, he was a Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine.
The family’s spokesperson, Nducu wa Ngugi, said details of the writer’s celebration of life would be announced soon.
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