Literature & Ideas
Landmark
Micere Githae Mugo
1942 – 2023
Co-wrote The Trial of Dedan Kimathi, and was exiled for her politics
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Kenya Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
With Ngũgĩ she put Dedan Kimathi on stage as a hero rather than a terrorist. Moi's government drove her out of the country in 1982, and she taught in exile for the rest of her life.
Micere Githae Mugo, born Madeleine Mugo in 1942, was a Kenyan playwright, poet, literary critic and activist.
With Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o she wrote The Trial of Dedan Kimathi (1976), centred on the Mau Mau leader's trial and the pressure on him to name his allies; it was first performed in Kenya and then in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. Forced into exile in 1982 under Daniel arap Moi, she taught in Zimbabwe and then in the United States, becoming professor of literature in the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse University. She died in 2023.
With Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o she wrote The Trial of Dedan Kimathi (1976), centred on the Mau Mau leader's trial and the pressure on him to name his allies; it was first performed in Kenya and then in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. Forced into exile in 1982 under Daniel arap Moi, she taught in Zimbabwe and then in the United States, becoming professor of literature in the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse University. She died in 2023.
- Wikipedia — Micere Githae Mugo
- Wikipedia — The Trial of Dedan Kimathi
- The Elephant — Micere Githae Mugo: a tribute
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