Ngugi wa Thiong’o: A dive into the childhood of a committed writer
In his first volume of memoirs entitled “Dreaming in Wartime”, Kenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiong’o transports us to his childhood marked by British colonization in Kenya. Through poignant and committed writing, he paints a realistic picture of life under the colonial yoke and his own awareness of the injustices that reigned around him.
Born in 1938 in a rural village in central Kenya, Ngugi experienced a difficult childhood, where exploitation, dispossession and repression of indigenous people by the colonial authorities were commonplace. In this oppressive context, he reveals how his illiterate mother played a crucial role in offering him the opportunity to go to school, despite the family’s financial difficulties. It is thanks to her, and to the determination of Kenyan women in general, that Kenyan society was able to resist and maintain itself in the face of colonization.
Ngugi also immerses us in his first awareness of the injustices and brutalities of colonization. Through poignant memories, such as that of his participation in picking pyrethrum from the age of 8, he becomes aware of the poverty of his family and the colonial influence on their daily lives. It is through education, which he considers his only way out, that he finds salvation in the face of this oppressive reality.
Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s commitment is not limited to writing, however. Throughout his career as a writer, playwright and activist, he has been imprisoned, assaulted and exiled for his radical political stances. His powerful and protean literary work earned him worldwide recognition and allowed him to become one of the founding and essential fathers of English-speaking African literature, alongside Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka.
Beyond his personal history, Ngugi wa Thiong’o offers us a profound reflection on the colonial heritage which continues to mark the African continent. Her testimony reminds us of the importance of education, resistance and the voice of women in the fight for freedom and emancipation. In short, “Dreaming in Wartime” takes us to the heart of the struggle for human dignity and reminds us that literature can be a powerful vector of social change.