Ngũgĩ: I was star struck, says Chika Unigwe

ByOii0 Chika Unigwe oj

I remember the first time I met him—back in 2007 at the Time of the Writer Festival in Durban. What struck me immediately was his affability and warm tone, which helped ease my 

arstruck nerves. I thought, “See me, see me, just casually chatting with THE Ngũgĩ!”—and even disagreeing with him about his stance on African writers using indigenous languages. We had a real conversation, and at one point, he even promised me goat meat if I ever visited him in Kenya.

Over the years, I’d see him at various events, and we’d always laugh and talk about that goat meat. (By the way, I eventually had the best goat meat in Kenya—not at Ngũgĩ’s place, sadly, but in a restaurant. But that’s a story for another day.)

When I heard he had moved to Atlanta, where his daughter Wanjiku lives, I told myself I must go and see him. I never did.

The opportunity to have known him—and to have been able to call him Mzee—is one of the many blessings that writing has brought into my life. And I am exceedingly thankful to God for the gift of writing. May Mze Ngugi's soul rest in peace