How Ngugi's pen landed him in prison and later sent him into exile

Ngugi wa Thiong’o, a man whose pen entertained, annoyed, dazzled, and made English sound as if it was Gikuyu, has departed the earth. He saw the ending of territorial colonialism and was part of the transition excitement that escorted colonialism out and ushered independence in. He wrote 'The Way I see it' column in the newly established Nation newspaper as James Ngugi.

At Alliance High School, Carey Francis drilled pupils and staff on two issues. First, he stressed the goodness of British universities while disparaging American education. Second, he conditioned his students to be suspicious and to despise the Gikuyu as a people, mainly because of the Mau Mau War. If independence came, he warned, the “Kikuyu” would dominate other tribes. Subsequently, Benjamin Kipkorir later wrote that he confronted his classmates to know which one would dominate him.