“FLUENT IN EVERYTHING BUT OURSELVES” – THE SILENT EXTINCTION OF AFRICAN LANGUAGES
Every year, hundreds of African languages move closer to extinction, not because they are forgotten, but because they are systematically erased. Across our continent, languages that once carried our wisdom, history, humour, and heritages are disappearing. They are being replaced — not by natural evolution, but by a system that rewards foreign tongues and punishes […]
A TRIBUTE TO PROF NGUGI WA THIONG’O
“Keepers of African memory must do for their languages what all others in history have done for theirs“, Prof Ngugi wa Thiong’o, at the 2003 Steve Biko Annual Memorial Lecture in Cape Town, South Africa. Of the many encounters I’ve had with Prof Ngugi wa Thiong’o, personally and through reading his transformative books, his Steve […]
IN MEMORY OF THE LATE WORDSMITH NGUGI WA THIONG’O, AFRICA’S LITERARY GIANT
Ngugi wa Thiong’o, who passed away on 28 May 2025, leaves behind one of the most enduring and transformative legacies in the world of letters. Ngugi, a towering intellectual figure, a fierce advocate for linguistic decolonization, and a political dissident of global resonance, has produced an oeuvre that extends far beyond his fiction. A many-sided […]
AFRICAN LITERARY ICON NGUGI WA THIONG’O DIES
Africa’s literary giant Professor Ngugi wa Thiong’o is no more. His daughter, who is also a writer, Wanjiku Wa Ngugi, announced in a Facebook post that he passed on early Wednesday 28th May. He was 87 years old. The Kenyan scholar, author, trailblazing academic and simply one of the continent’s most influential shapeshifters will be […]
FAREWELL TO A VERY SPECIAL TOWER, DR GOMOLEMO MOKAE, A CUT ABOVE THE REST
How does one pay tribute to a colossal giant – literally and figuratively – who has met his tragic demise in one of the most horrific ways? Let me try: The slain Dr Gomolemo Mokae was a larger-than-life figure. I know this is a cliché. But if truth be told, the firebrand Black Consciousness political […]
MYSTERY SURROUNDS THE GRUESOME FIND OF THE “PEOPLE’S DOCTOR” AND “STRUGGLE HERO” DR GOMOLEMO MOKAE’S BULLET-RIDDLED BODY IN HIS HOME
Anti-apartheid Struggle hero and a stalwart of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), Dr Gomolemo Mokae, has been murdered at his home Ga-Rankuwa Zone 1 home north of Pretoria. Dr Mokae’s lifeless body was found with evidence of a violent death. According to reports, a postmortem has revealed that the “People’s Doctor” was “shot on both […]