Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Kenyan author and dissident who became a giant of modern literature, dies at 87
May 28, 2025
One of the world’s most acclaimed writers, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, has died at 87. A publicist for his U.S. publisher confirmed the death Wednesday. The Kenyan man of letters wrote dozens of fiction and nonfiction books that traced his country’s history from British imperialism to home-ruled tyranny and challenged not only the stories told but the language used to tell them. Whether through novels such as “The Wizard of the Crow” or “Petals of Blood,” or his landmark critique “Decolonizing the Mind,” Ngũgĩ embodied the very heights of the artist’s calling. He was a truth teller, rule breaker and explorer of myth.
