His death was confirmed by his daughter Wanjiku wa Ngugi, through a post on her Facebook page. In the brief message, Wanjiku expressed grief 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 would announce details of his celebration of life soon.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o was one of the most influential literary figures in Africa, widely known for his sharp critiques of colonialism, passionate advocacy for African languages, and commitment to portraying the continent’s complex history through literature.
Born on January 5, 1938, in Kamiriithu, Kiambu County, Kenya, Ngũgĩ came of age during British colonial rule, an experience that significantly shaped his worldview and writing.
He studied at Makerere University in Uganda and later pursued further education at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.
Ngũgĩ’s first novel, Weep Not, Child (1964), was the first novel published in English by an East African writer, marking the beginning of a powerful literary career. He followed it with other acclaimed works including The River Between (1965), A Grain of Wheat (1967), and Petals of Blood (1977), which cemented his reputation as one of Africa’s foremost voices for social justice and literary innovation.
In 1977, he co-wrote the play Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want) with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii. The politically charged piece, which criticized social injustice and inequality, led to his arrest and detention without trial for a year. It was during this imprisonment that he famously wrote Devil on the Cross on toilet paper.
That period also marked a turning point in his career: Ngũgĩ abandoned writing in English and adopted his mother tongue, Kikuyu, as a political and cultural statement in defense of African identity and linguistic heritage.
He later went into exile, living and teaching in the UK and the US. In America, he taught at institutions including Yale University and the University of California, Irvine, where he led initiatives on African languages and literature.
Ngũgĩ was also known for his critical essays, most notably Decolonising the Mind (1986), in which he laid out his philosophy of linguistic liberation for African nations, arguing that true decolonization could not happen without reclaiming indigenous languages.
Though he never won the Nobel Prize in Literature, Ngũgĩ was often cited as a leading contender and received numerous international awards and honors for his contributions to literature and intellectual thought.
Until his death, Ngũgĩ remained active in writing and public speaking, viewed by many as a moral compass and a relentless advocate for a self-affirming, decolonized Africa, one that speaks its own languages, tells its own stories, and honors its own history.
