In honour of Ngugi wa Thiong'o: Memorial event to be held at UoN
Celebrated Kenyan author and scholar Prof Ngugi wa Thiong’o.
An event that will be considered the official funeral in Kenya for literary icon Ngugi wa Thiong’o is scheduled to happen at the University of Nairobi (UoN) on Friday.
Prof Ngugi’s family, publisher, and UoN have organised a day-long session dubbed “The Life and Works of Prof Ngugi wa Thiong’o” that will happen at Taifa Hall, the very building where Prof Ngugi addressed electrified students when he was released from prison in late 1978.
Among the events lined up are the reading of excerpts from his books, songs, dance, acting out portions of his plays, tributes from various people, and exhibitions of his works.
One of the scheduled attractions will be an appearance by the actors who were in the first cast of Prof Ngugi’s play Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want), which he co-wrote with Ngugi wa Mirii.
Speaking with the Nation on Tuesday, the Ngugi family spokesman, Dr Nducu wa Ngugi, said Friday’s event will be for “the people of Kenya, the African continent, and admirers from across the globe”.
Dr Nducu, also the executive director of the Ngugi wa Thiong’o Foundation, said in a June 7 event held in Atlanta to celebrate his father that the family is doing everything to fulfill Prof Ngugi’s last
Author Nducu wa Ngugi poses with his book, which was released in August 2014. Nducu wa Ngugi is the son of renowned author Professor Ngugi wa Thiong'o.
“We have been fully committed to fulfilling Fafa’s last wishes, not ours; his wishes. All of them. And what we have done thus far is what he instructed us to do; those of us who have been there with him,” he told the gathering at the Akazi Gallery.
Prof Ngugi died in Buford in the US state of Georgia on May 28 at the age of 87. His family later announced that he had wished not to have a formal burial and that what would be held are events for “remembering and reflecting on his life’s work”. His estranged son, Prof Mukoma wa Ngugi, later said that the author’s body was cremated as per his wishes.
Prof Mukoma wa Ngugi (right) with his father Prof Ngugi wa Thiong'o (left) at a past event.
This may have been the trigger for a remark by Dr Nducu during the June 7 event in Atlanta: “Let me just say that all the information and inquiries that concern the Ngugi family will come from me, through me as a family spokesman and not from any other source.”
At the Atlanta event, there was no coffin or any physical representation of Prof Ngugi, save for his photo that was beamed on a screen on the stage.
In a separate interview on Tuesday, Mr Kiarie Kamau who is the CEO of the East African Educational Publishers (EAEP) that has been publishing Prof Ngugi’s books since 1965 said that Friday’s event, scheduled to run from 9am to 5pm, will be “a culmination of the celebration that we used to do for Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s life”.
“We have lined up quite a number of activities. The programme is packed,” said Mr Kiarie, who is also the chairman of the Kenya Publishers Association. “We will try as much as possible to break monotony. That is why the readings of excerpts from his books will be there. They will not just be read in a boring way.”
Mr Kiarie noted that some members of Prof Ngugi’s family, including his firstborn son Thiong’o (alias Tee) Ngugi, will be physically present while others will attend virtually.
Renowned author Prof Ngugi wa Thiong’o.
Speaking alongside Mr Kiarie at the interview was Prof Miriam Wangu Maranga-Musonye, the chair of UoN’s Department of Literature since 2022. Prof Ngugi was the chair of the same department between 1973 and 1977.
“The department was home to Ngugi wa Thiong’o. I would say maybe to some extent, a troubled home, but it was still his home. And so, we are proud to be associated with him in that sense. And that is why we are doing this, even though probably apart from this, there is much more that over the years really has been happening which may not be in the limelight,” said Prof Musonye.
“I was fortunate enough to connect with Ngugi just three days before he died. It was clear that he still held the Department of Literature very dear to his heart and continued to look at it as his intellectual home,” she added.
Mr Kiarie and Prof Musonye said the choice of Taifa Hall was deliberate.
“As an alumnus of the University of Nairobi, Taifa Hall for many years has been known as the place to be for serious functions,” said Mr Kiarie. “It has a huge capacity. The function is open to everyone. Every Kenyan is free to come and celebrate this giant of African literature who has put Kenya on the world map.”
The late Ngugi wa Thiong'o.
Prof Musonye said: “Taifa Hall has the ground floor and the balcony, so that is quite spacious. But apart from that, the positioning of Taifa Hall is very convenient, because it opens out into a lawn, a very beautiful lawn when there is grass and an open space between the Taifa Hall and the next building. So, even just in case people fill the hall, they can overflow outside without feeling very restricted.”
Prof Musonye said some of the speakers lined up by the university include the Vice Chancellor’s office, her department, at least two representatives of his former students, academics, Ngugi scholars, among others.
“Most certainly, we will have a reading from his seminal work, Decolonising the Mind,” she said, noting that the work was Prof Ngugi’s “most defining moment as an intellectual”.
She added that one of the speakers will be Prof Ndirangu Wachanga, a biographer.
“He will say to us something about being Ngugi’s biographer,” said Prof Musonye. “We are also hoping to screen one of his short documentaries on Ngugi wa Thiong’o.”
Renowned author Ngugi wa Thiong'o.
There will also be a performance from the University of Nairobi Travelling Theatre, a project Prof Ngugi was involved in during his time at UoN.
EAEP, which was originally Heinemann, will also exhibit Prof Ngugi’s titles as churned out over time.
“We will have the old versions of his books and how their covers have changed over time,” said Mr Kiarie, adding that the latest versions of the books will also be available for sale.
The publisher has also arranged for the staging of a 10-minute session from the play “The Trial of Dedan Kimathi” that Prof Ngugi co-wrote with the late Micere Mugo.
Mr Kiarie, who had a close relationship with Prof Ngugi, said the author often told him that though he loved all his works equally, his 2019 epic Kenda Muiyuru (The Perfect Nine) was “the apple of his eye”. This was his last book.
Kenyan author Ngugi Wa Thiong'o speaks to Reuters during an interview on his newly launched book "Wizard of the Crow" at a bookshop in downtown Nairobi January 16, 2007.
“He used to joke that when as a parent you have very many children, it is difficult to say that you will love so and so much more than the other one, and he would take his books as his children. But he would say, ‘When I’m asked that question, I say, well, I love all of them, but I feel that Kenda Muiyuru is so dear to my heart,’” said Mr Kiarie.
The EAEP boss noted that the main tribute will be given by Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan.
“In other functions, we call that person the chief guest, but we are not calling him the chief guest. We are calling him the person to give the lead tribute,” he said. “Many people do not know the relationship between Mr Hassan and Ngugi wa Thiong’o. It is very deep. He has so many things to say about the relationship when Ngugi was in the UK and even when he was in the US: very, very touching. So, we were happy to get Yusuf Hassan available to give the lead tribute and shed light on quite a number of things that people don’t know about Ngugi.”
Dr Nducu, the family spokesman, said the family endeavours to continue their patriarch’s advocacy for “linguistic justice”.
“He dedicated his life to championing African languages and all those that have been historically marginalised,” Dr Nducu said.
Renowned literature scholar Ngugi wa Thiong’o when he visited Eastleigh Boys High School on June 10, 2015, to celebrate 50 years of his book ‘Weep Not Child’.
“As the founding father of the Ngugi wa Thiong’o Foundation, he laid a strong base of purpose and vision: ‘promote and empower African languages’. He has entrusted us to continue with that work, and we are on task to take this mantle with the same passion, conviction, and commitment he exemplified throughout his life,” he said.
“We join the world in celebrating Ngugi’s tremendous contribution to literature, the arts, and the pursuit of social justice. May his voice continue to echo across generations, inspire writers and thinkers, and those tasked with reclaiming marginalised languages, to lead Africa and the world to a better, more equitable space, rooted in justice and the enduring power of truth,” stated Dr Nducu.
Besides the UoN event, the family has two more sessions lined up in honour of Prof Ngugi: one at the University of California, Irvine, in November – where the author was a lecturer – and a “private family celebration” to happen at an unannounced date at the Ngugis’ rural home in Gitogothi in Limuru.