Fifty-three-year-old Mukoma Wa Thiongo an author like his famous dad has bared it all about his father’s physical abuse towards his late mother.
Mukoma Wa Thiongo, a prominent author and Associate Professor of Literature at Cornell University, U.S has brought to light the troubling history of physical abuse inflicted by his notable father, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, upon his late mother, Nyambura.
In a candid disclosure shared on the social media platform X on Tuesday, March 12, Mukoma Wa Thiongo exposed the painful truth about his father’s violence towards his mother. He recounted distressing memories of witnessing his mother seek refuge at his grandmother’s house to escape the abuse inflicted by Ngugi Wa Thio.
Kenyan media outlets say much of Nyambura’s life story was overshadowed by her more famous husband whom she married in 1987.
Mukoma expressed the pain of witnessing his mother being systematically erased from Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s story.
In X’s (Twitter) post, he 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.”
This shocking revelation has shed light on the private life of Thiong’o, a celebrated writer, playwright, and scholar often regarded as East Africa’s leading novelist.
Mukoma revealed that some of his earliest memories involve visiting his mother at his grandmother’s house, where she sought refuge from the alleged abuse.
It isn’t the first time Mukoma has made such a distressing revelation about his father, Mr Thiong’o.
In 2022, he took to Twitter to express his dismay about Nyambura, his late mum, being systematically erased from Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s narrative.
His post from 2022 reads, “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.”
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o
Ngugi Thiong’o, who is not only a renowned writer but also an activist and Nyambura have six children: Thiong’o, Kimunya, Nduchu, Mukoma, Wanjiku and Njoki.
However, his political activism in Kenya led to the collapse of his first marriage, as he was arrested several times.
Nyambura died in 1995, and her husband couldn’t attend her funeral as he was in exile in the United States.
The acclaimed writer and activist later married a new wife, Njeri, with whom he welcomed two children before their separation.
Mrs Njeri is the director of Human Resource Faculty and Staff Conflict Resolution Services at the University of California, Irvine, where Ngugi is a Distinguished Professor.
Thiong’o gained prominence with his debut novel, “Weep Not Child,” released in May 1964.
Despite facing imprisonment and exile due to his criticism of the dictatorial government in Kenya, he has remained an influential figure in African literature.
His work includes novels, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children’s literature.
He is the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri. His short story, The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright has been translated into 100 languages.
Source, a Kenyan online newspaper, says Ngugi, 86, is currently suffering from kidney failure and is living alone and under the care of medical personnel at his house in California, U.S.
He has to undergo kidney dialysis three times a week and he recently had surgery.
