[Vanguard] Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (1938-2025) was a towering figure in African literature and postcolonial thought, widely regarded as East Africa's leading novelist and one of the continent's most influential intellectuals. Born James Ngugi on January 5, 1938, in Limuru, Kenya, during British colonial rule, Ngũgĩ grew up amid political upheaval that deeply shaped his worldview and writing.