Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, a prominent African writer, is celebrated for his significant contributions to literature and political thought during the post-colonial era.

He, along with contemporaries like Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka, represents the first generation of African writers who began publishing in the 1950s and 1960s, addressing themes of pro-independence and pan-Africanism.

Ngũgĩ's early novels, including Weep Not Child and The River Between, were initially written in English before he adopted his Gikuyu name and shifted to writing in his mother tongue.

This transition to Gikuyu writing symbolizes his commitment to decolonizing the mind, despite the prevailing global literary trends.

A pivotal moment in his life occurred in 1955 when British colonial soldiers destroyed his family home in Limuru during the Mau Mau uprising, which profoundly influenced his literary themes.

As a faculty member at Nairobi University in the 1960s and 70s, Ngũgĩ advocated for a curriculum that emphasized African literatures alongside English literature.

He viewed the role of the writer as a teacher and community organizer, using his plays to engage with the public, which often led to political unrest and resulted in his arrest under the Moi regime.

Ngũgĩ's exile expanded his audience and led to critical works like Decolonising The Mind, which holds significant importance in postcolonial literary theory.

Today, Ngũgĩ and his contemporaries are regarded as prophets of their time, and their passing marks the end of an influential era in African literature.

His experiences growing up in post-independence Nigeria in the 1970s, where foundational texts included works by Achebe, Soyinka, and Ngũgĩ himself, shaped his literary journey.