Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Son Mukoma Opens Up On Family Rift, Strained Relationship With Late Literary Giant
Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s Son Mukoma Opens Up On Family Rift, Strained Relationship With Late Literary Giant
Mukoma said he learned of his father’s passing only after being notified by his brother, according to Kenyans.co.ke. Had it not been for that call, he admitted he would have found out through social media like any other Kenyan.
Mukoma wa Ngugi, one of the children of the late literary icon Ngugi wa Thiong’o, has opened up about the deep rift that had separated him from his father in the final years of his life.
Mukoma said he learned of his father’s passing only after being notified by his brother, according to Kenyans.co.ke. Had it not been for that call, he admitted he would have found out through social media like any other Kenyan.
Reflecting on his father’s death and cremation, Mukoma shared that for him, the real farewell had happened years earlier. Their estrangement worsened in March 2024, when Mukoma alleged on Twitter (now X) that his father physically abused his mother, Nyambura wa Ngugi, who is now deceased. Ngugi did not respond to the accusation, and father and son remained estranged ever since.
In the 2024 post, Mukoma wrote, “My father @NgugiWaThiongo physically abused my late mother – he would beat her up. Some of my earliest memories are of me going to visit her at my grandmother’s where she would seek refuge. But with that said, it is the silencing of who she was that gets me. Ok- I have said it.”
Earlier on November 28, 2022, Mukoma tweeted, “It hurts to see my late mother, Nyambura (my daughter is named after her) being systemically erased from the @NgugiWaThiongo_ story. We literally (of course) and figuratively would not be here if it was not for her keeping us glued together through the political persecutions.”
Following his father’s death on May 28, Mukoma said, “Had it not been for one of my brothers reaching out, I would have discovered his passing through social media.”
He acknowledged that he was unaware of the cremation beforehand and only found out after it had taken place, having missed the ceremony entirely.
“It is, in the end, a family feud. But if there’s one thing I can say, it’s that my conscience is clear,” he added.
Mukoma wa Ngugi described his relationship with his father as strained, far from the closeness often expected between a father and son. He was frank in acknowledging that their final months together were marked not by warmth and laughter, but by tension.
Despite the rift, Mukoma said he still loved and respected Ngugi wa Thiong’o as his father, praising him for instilling in him the importance of telling the truth.
“All I can say is that I love him, and despite all that, he is my father; there are no families without contradictions,” he continued.
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s passing was announced in a Facebook post on May 28 by his daughter, Wanjiku Wa Ngugi, who is also a writer.
She said, “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!
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, one of Africa’s foremost novelists, scholars and writers, was born on January 5, 1938, in a rural village in Kenya during British colonial rule.
He grew up during a period of intense political and social upheaval, which deeply influenced his writing and activism.
Ngũgĩ was widely regarded as one of Africa’s greatest writers. His works span novels, plays, essays, and memoirs, often addressing the legacy of colonialism, the struggle for cultural identity, and the effects of oppression.
His notable works include “Weep Not, Child” (1964), his first novel and one of the first English-language novels published by a Kenyan author.
Others include The River Between (1965), which explores themes of tradition vs. change; A Grain of Wheat (1967), which focuses on the Kenyan struggle for independence; Petals of Blood (1977), a critique of post-colonial corruption and neo-colonialism and Devil on the Cross (1980), which was originally written in Kikuyu, his native language, as a political statement.
His political views and outspoken criticism of the Kenyan government led to his imprisonment without trial in 1977. After his release, he went into self-imposed exile and continued his academic and literary work abroad.
Ngũgĩ taught at various universities worldwide, including Yale University and the University of California, Irvine, where he was a professor of English and Comparative Literature.
