COLLINS OPURUOZOR
Now, Ngũgĩ is dead. But Ngũgĩ cannot die. Like the spirit of the struggle, he cannot be buried. He cannot be silenced. His words walk among us. His thoughts still stir the conscience. His dreams, unfulfilled as they may seem, remain the dreams of Africa.
Ngũgĩ was more than a writer. He was a force. He gave voice to the voiceless. He stood where it was dangerous to stand. When others trembled, he wrote. When others compromised, he resisted. For Ngũgĩ, writing was war. Words were weapons. The page was a battlefield. And every story was a stand against injustice.
He believed deeply in the power of language. That is why he turned his back on English and embraced Gikuyu. He said no to the language of the empire. He insisted on the language of the people. To him, reclaiming language was reclaiming freedom. That single act shook the foundations of postcolonial literature in Africa.
Ngũgĩ spent years in exile. He was harassed, detained, and threatened. But he was never broken. From “Detained” to “Decolonising the Mind”, he gave the world a blueprint of defiance. His life became a text. His pain became a voice. His exile became a home for all who had been displaced by tyranny.
In “The Trial of Dedan Kimathi”, he reminded us that those who fight for justice are never alone. That even when imprisoned, they remain free. Even when killed, they rise. That play, co-written with Micere Mugo, remains one of the most powerful tributes to African resistance. It is Ngũgĩ’s own spirit speaking through the leader of the Mau Mau Rebellion, Kimathi. “We are not beaten. We shall never be beaten.” That is his legacy.
Ngũgĩ never sought comfort. He never wrote for awards. He never bowed to the West. He challenged its hypocrisy. He exposed its violence. He asked hard questions of Africa too. Why do we still wear the chains of colonialism? Why have we betrayed the struggle? Why do our leaders loot while our people suffer?
He was a prophet. A teacher. A mirror. He saw what many could not see. He feared what many ignored. And he loved Africa so fiercely that he gave it all he had. His life. His talent. His truth. That kind of love is rare. That kind of courage even rarer.
Ngũgĩ is gone, but his struggle remains. And so we must write. We must read. We must remember. We must rebel. The pen he carried is now in our hands. We are not beaten. We shall never be beaten.
— Collins Opurozor, a political scientist and novelist, is the Author of “When Death Is Not Enough”, and a Runner-Up in the 2013 Pan-African Etisalat Prize for Literature (Flash Fiction Category).