Simon Gikandi
James Ogude
Ndirangu Wachanga
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
Wanjiku wa Ngũgĩ
Mumbi wa Ngũgĩ
Ndũcũ wa Ngũgĩ
Nyambura Sallinen
Wangũi wa Goro
Karen Lawrence
Colette LaBouff
Angela Davis
Adriana Johnson
Mukul Kumar
Carla Wilson
Paa Kwesi-Heto
Akosua Adomako Ampofo
Chimee Adịọha
Baba Badji
Jaye Austin Williams
Cilas Kemedjio
Anindo Marshall
Kwame Rĩgĩĩ
Nii Armah Sowah
Sela Adjei
Victor Nani Agbeli
Mumbi Ngũgĩ
Fred Moten
Jimmy Centeno
Idza Luhumyo
Bwesigye Bwa-Mwesigire
Rah Hite
Tyrus Miller
Jane O. Newman
Jerry Lee
Ketu Katrak
Gabriele Schwab
David Theo Goldberg
Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan
Cecelia Lynch
S. Ama Wray
Munyao Kilolo
Glaydah Namukasa
Joel Veenstra










Ndũcũ wa Ngũgĩ





Dr. Ndũcũ wa Ngũgĩ,  the Ngũgĩ Family Spokesperson, is a prize-winning author and scholar. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Black Studies from Oberlin College in Ohio, a Master of Education (M.Ed.), and an Education Specialist (Ed.S.) in Teacher Leadership from Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. He holds a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree from Molloy University. His interests are focused on food insecurity and families’ coping mechanisms, exploring how families navigate food scarcity and what educators can learn from their resilience. He is the recipient of the Sandra Day Morris Award.

Dr. Ndũcũ is the author of City Murders, The Dead Came Calling, Benji’s Big Win, and Benji’s Mountain Adventure.  Benji’s Big Win won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature in 2022. His forthcoming titles, Benji Goes to Town and The Enemy Lay Within, are forthcoming (EAEP, 2026).

He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Foundation. He is also a founding member of the Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Cultural and Arts Center.

Dr. Ndũcũ lives on Long Island, New York, with his wife, Dr. Grace Nyambura, and daughter, Nyambura wa Ndũcũ.





The Celebration of the Life and Work of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is made possible through the support of the:

UCI Office of the Chancellor
Dean of the School of the Arts
Dean of the School of Humanities
Dean of the School of Social Sciences
Humanities Center
International Center for Writing and Translation
UCI Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality
Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies
Office of Inclusive Excellence
UCI Illuminations: The Chancellor's Arts & Culture Initiative
Alex Glasser The Center for the Power of Music and Social Change
Department of Anthropology
Department of Comparative Literature
Department of Drama
Department of English
Department of Dance

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Organized by:

Adriana Johnson
Jane O. Newman
Gabriele Schwab
Ketu Katrak
Jerry Lee
Cecelia Lynch
S. Ama Wray