Commemorating Leeds alumnus Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
The University of Leeds mourns the passing of an illustrious alumnus, the pioneering African writer, dramatist, theorist and activist Ngugi wa Thiong'o, who died on Wednesday 28th May 2025
The University of Leeds mourns the passing of an illustrious alumnus, the pioneering African writer, dramatist, theorist and activist Ngugi wa Thiong'o. He died on Wednesday 28th May 2025, at the age of 87, in Atlanta, USA.
Born in Kenya in 1938, Ngũgĩ studied an MA in the School of English at Leeds, 1964-1965. During that time, he wrote his third novel, A Grain of Wheat, which weaves together a small community's experience of the Mau Mau war.
Ngugi wa Thiong'o (right) receives his Honorary doctorate of Letters from the University of Leeds in 2004 with Wole Soyinka (left).
Highly versatile, Ngugi wrote eight novels; three short story collections; four children's books; five memoirs; eleven non-fiction books about language, culture and global power; and five plays. In addition to his many literary achievements, Ngũgĩ championed writing in African languages and he was a pioneering advocate of multi-centred translation. He aimed to decentre the primacy of the English language and extractive economic patterns in the storehouse of global knowledge. In his later writing, he increasingly foregrounded Gikuyu oral literature, story, proverbs and song. In this way, Ngũgĩ contributed key innovations in African literary form.
Ngugi's co-creation of a Gikuyu-language play with the Kamiriithu community in 1976 led to his detention without trial in Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, Kenya, from 1977-1978.
Ngugi subsequently spent many years in exile in the United States of America, working as Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Writing at the University of California, Irvine. In 2004, the University of Leeds awarded Ngugi an Honorary Doctorate in Letters (LittD), its highest honour.
An internationally acknowledged literary giant, beloved of readers globally, and a role model for many Global South students, writers and intellectuals, Ngugi is held in warm affection and he will be missed. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family.
(Written by Brendon Nicholls)
