Senators have celebrated the late Prof Ngugi wa Thiong’o for advocating for the promotion of indigenous languages. 

The senators noted that the more than 200 books that the literary icon had written in the past five decades have been translated into several international languages in recognition of his creativity.

Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana, in a motion, noted that Prof Ngugi’s legacy inspires many generations towards cultural sovereignty.

“We are looking at a giant who never stopped thinking and who did and continued to dream, even in his old age. He wanted us to use more of African languages because he believed that our culture as Africans is superior, if not better, than the culture of the Europeans,” said Mungatana.

Mungatana said that although he talked a lot and fought so much for indigenous languages, one of the things they remember most about Prof Ngugi in the Pan-African Parliament is that he talked about the African and the fact that his civilisation is just as good, if not better, than European civilization.

Nominated Senator Veronica Maina said that it was a great pleasure as a nation to have such a man who gave to this country the spirit of fighting on, the spirit against colonization, and the spirit against post-colonial dictators who came after and tried to return Kenya to where the colonial administrators had left.

“Our prayer is that Professor Ngugi wa Thiong’o fought his battle, the Second Liberation fought their battle, for the young people who are in this country now, it is their time to fight their own battle, as we plan our exit, when the sun finally sets like it did for him, we want to see another fire burning outside, coming to take over from where we left it,” said Maina.

Nominated Senator Peris Tobiko remembers Prof Ngugi as a Kenyan author and academician who has been described as an East African leading novelist and an important figure in modern African literature who wrote many books and was able to capture the undiluted African society and set up through his books.

“It is ironical that Professor Ngugi wa Thiong’o who was completely against colonialism and wrote a lot about colonialism, was forced by circumstances, to leave his homeland, to live and stay in the land of the colonizers, it is unfortunate that one time when he was in Kenya his wife was raped, violated and harassed in his own country,” said Tobiko.

Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua said it shall be remembered that at the peak of his career, there was extensive conversation in the literary world about the place of language in communicating literary messages with a group of literary artists, led by Prof Ngugi. 

Wambua said that it shall be remembered by lovers and students of literature that he made a huge contribution to the global conversation around the place of language in communication.

“That is why he wrote quite several works in his mother tongue, including the play titled Ngaahika Ndeenda, translated to ‘I will marry when I want,’ in 1977, which landed him in trouble with the government of the day, he was jailed and finally, the UNICEF and other international bodies identified a prisoner of conscience and pushed for his release,” said Wambua.

Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga said Prof Ngugi was one of the true nationalists the country had during the struggle for independence, with colonisation coming in the form of colonisation of the mind, cultural colonisation, political colonisation, and economic colonisation.

According to Oburu said the country has a rich culture in languages, and when somebody wants to colonise you mentally, they first start demonising your language because cultures are expressed in our mother tongues.

“This great man wrote more than 200 books, and they were works of literature in schools, they were not only in Kenya, but in the whole of Africa and the world as well, because he went to teach in America, he was teaching Americans, he was not teaching Kenyans there in America. This was a great Professor of the world,” said Oburu.