Following the popular success of “Matigari ma Njiruungi” the Kikuyu version of Ngugi wa Thiongo’s 6th novel in 1986, word got to then-President Daniel Arap Moi that a revolutionary called Matigari was going around the country asking awkward questions about truth and justice in postcolonial Kenya. Moi promptly demanded this person be arrested. After the infamous Security Branch reported that Matigari was a character in a novel, Moi demanded they arrest the book! At the time Ngugi was in exile in the UK where “Matigari” the English version of the novel was circulating semi-freely – and so the character, Matigari, joined his maker in the exile of Englishness.
Mzee, rest easy, you told us everything.
We play a recording of Ngugi’s lecture “The writer in Postcolonial Africa” given in Durban in 1991 – on the invitation of the Congress of South African Writers (COSAW). It was Ngugi’s first visit to SA. Ari Sitas, who was one of the organisers of this historic gathering, will also share recollections.
Tuesday, 10 June 2025 from 6:30pm
Live on panafricanspacestation.org.za
