Mĩcere Gĩthae Mũgo (born Madeleine Mĩcere Gĩthae; 12 December 1942 – 30 June 2023) was a Kenyan professor, playwright, author, activist and poet.
She was a literary critic and professor of Literature,
Creative Writing
Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...
and Research Methods in the
Department of African American Studies at
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
.
She was forced into exile in 1982 from Kenya during the
Daniel Arap Moi
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He is the country's longest-serving president to date. Moi previously served as the thi ...
dictatorship for activism and moved to teach in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and later
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
.
She taught
Orature
Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used va ...
, Literature, and Creative Writing.
Mũgo's publications include six books, a play co-authored with
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (; born James Ngugi; 5January 193828May 2025) was a Kenyan author and academic, who has been described as East Africa's leading novelist and an important figure in modern African literature.
Ngũgĩ wrote primarily in Eng ...
and three
monographs
A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...
. She also edited journals and the Zimbabwean school curriculum. The ''
East African Standard
''The Standard'' is one of the largest newspapers in Kenya with a 48% market share. It is the oldest newspaper in the country and is owned by The Standard Group, which also runs the Kenya Television Network (KTN), Radio Maisha, ''The Nairobian' ...
'' listed her among the 100 most influential people in Kenya in 2002.
Early life
Mũgo was born on 12 December 1942, in Baricho,
Kirinyaga District
Kirinyaga District was an administrative district in the Central Province of Kenya. Its administrative centre is Kerugoya. As of 1999, the district had a population of 457,105 and an area of 1,478 km².
Kirinyaga District was historically part ...
, Kenya.
[ nterview with Desta Haile, December 2021./ref> The daughter of two progressive (liberal) teachers – Senior Chief Richard Karuga Gĩthae and Mwalimu Grace Njeri Gĩthae – who were politically active in Kenya's fight for independence.
Mũgo attended Alliance Girls' High School from 1957 to 1960.]
Mũgo went on to attend Makerere University
Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...
(where she gained her B.A. in 1966). She enrolled at the University of Nairobi
The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...
in September 1966, later leaving for Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
to attend in 1969 the University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...
, where she earned her M.A. and PhD in 1973. She returned to Kenya to take up a teaching position at the University of Nairobi in 1973, and in 1978 became Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, making her the first female faculty dean in Kenya. She taught at the University of Nairobi until 1982, St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college in the village of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York. It has roughly 2,100 undergraduate and 100 graduate students.
Though St. Lawrence today is nonsectarian, it was founded in 1 ...
(1982–1984) the University of Zimbabwe
The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It was opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the Univers ...
(1984–1991) and was a visiting professor at Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
(1992).
Exile
Mũgo was a political activist who fought against human rights abuses in Kenya. Her political activism led to her being harassed by the police and arrested.[ Mũgo and her family (including two young daughters) were forced to depart Kenya in 1982 after the attempted coup of the ]Daniel Arap Moi
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He is the country's longest-serving president to date. Moi previously served as the thi ...
government, following which she became a target of official government harassment. She was stripped of her Kenyan citizenship, but after one year, the Zimbabwean government invited her to apply for Zimbabwean citizenship, which she held until the mid-1990s, when she regained her Kenyan citizenship.[
After leaving Kenya, she worked, wrote, and taught from abroad,] and later said:
The poem "Speaking of Hurricanes" by Ama Ata Aidoo
Ama Ata Aidoo (23 March 1942 — 31 May 2023) was a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, politician, and academic. She was a Secretary for Education in Ghana from 1982 to 1983 under Jerry Rawlings's PNDC administration. Her first play, '' The Dil ...
, included in Aidoo's 1992 collection ''An Angry Letter in January'', was written "for Micere Mugo and all other African exiles".
Late career
In 1993, Mũgo joined Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
, where she taught Orature
Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used va ...
, Creative Writing, Caribbean Women Writers and Research Methods in the Department of African American Studies (AAS). In 2007, she was awarded the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence. In 2013, while at Syracuse University, she participated in the Commission on the Status of Women
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, principal organs of the United Nations. CSW has bee ...
(CSW) conference at the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, the theme of which was "The Elimination and Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls", and in her address she said:
After 22 years of service, Mũgo retired in 2015 and was awarded Emeritus
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
In some c ...
status. Marking her retirement from the AAS faculty at Syracuse, a symposium was held in her honour.
That same year, she delivered the keynote International African Writers Lecture, entitled "African Orature Artists and Writers birthing humanizing Sankofa-visions of Utu, Ubuntu and Justice for All", at the University of South Africa (UNISA) as part of the 4th Africa Century International African Writers Conference.
In 2021, the Royal African Society
The Royal African Society (RAS) of the United Kingdom was founded as the African Society in 1901 to promote relations between the United Kingdom and countries in Africa. It received a royal charter in 1935, when it acquired its present name. The RA ...
in London presented Mũgo with the "Africa Writes" Lifetime Achievement award in African Literature, the first recipient having been Margaret Busby
Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's then youngest publisher as well as the first black female book p ...
in 2019.
Mũgo was the founder of the United Women of Africa Organization (UWAO) and a co-founder and President (at the time of her death) of the Pan African Community of Central New York (PACCNY). She was an official speaker for Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
, a consultant for the "Africa on the Horizon" series by Blackside, a council member at Riara University
Riara University is a Private University located along Mbagathi Way in Nairobi, Kenya.
Location
The university's main campus is just next to Nyayo Highrise Estate in Kibera, Nairobi County, a fifteen minutes drive from Nairobi Central Busines ...
, a past chairperson of the board of directors at the Southern Africa Regional Institute for Policy Studies (SARIPS) in Harare
Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
and had also served as a consultant for many foundations, and on the board of many journals and organizations.
Death
Mũgo, who had been outspoken about having had multiple myeloma cancer for sixteen years, died on 30 June 2023, at the age of 80, in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
, where she was buried on 31 July in Oakwood Cemetery.
Works
Mũgo was a distinguished poet, and the author or editor of 15 books.[ Her work is generally from a traditional African, ]Pan-African
Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...
and feminist perspective, and draws heavily upon indigenous African cultural traditions.
Mũgo and fellow Kenyan activist writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o Ngugi or Ngũgĩ is a name of Kikuyu origin that may refer to:
* Ngugi wa Mirii (1951–2008), Kenyan playwright
*Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (; born James Ngugi; 5January 193828May 2025) was a Kenyan author and academic, who has ...
co-wrote the play ''The Trial of Dedan Kimathi'', published in 1977 and performed at FESTAC 77
Festac '77, also known as the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (the first festival took place in Dakar, 1966, the second in Algiers in July 1969)
was a major international festival held in Lagos, Nigeria, from 15 Januar ...
in Lagos
Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
, Nigeria. ''Trial'' had its U.S. premiere in 2014 at the experimental theatre space in UC Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts, directed by Dr. Jaye Austin Williams and choreographed by Dr. S. Ama Wray.
Mũgo also collaborated with the Zimbabwean writer Shimmer Chinodya
Shimmer Chinodya (born 1957 Gwelo, then Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland) is a Zimbabwean novelist.
Chinodya studied at Mambo Primary School. He was expelled from Goromonzi after demonstrating against Ian Smith's government. He graduated fro ...
in editing plays and stories for adolescents in Shona
Shona often refers to:
* Shona people, a Southern African people
** Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today
** Shona languages, a wider group of languages defined in the early 20th century
** Kingdom of Zimbabwe, a Shona stat ...
.
In a 2021 interview, Mũgo spoke of working on a second volume of her essays and speeches, following 2012's ''Writing and Speaking from the Heart of My Mind'', as well as a third collection of poetry.
Mũgo's 2021 book, ''The Imperative of Utu / Ubuntu in Africana Scholarship'', was written in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University. She described herself as "an adamant and passionate advocate of utu and ubuntu
Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed primarily of free and open-source software. Developed by the British company Canonical (company), Canonical and a community of contributors under a Meritocracy, meritocratic gover ...
", and explained: "Utu, is a Kiswahili term that loosely translates into 'the essence of being human,' or 'the state of being a human being.' You cannot claim to possess 'the essence of being human' unless you share it with and affirm it in other/all people."
Plays
*''The Long Illness of Ex-Chief Kiti'', East African Literature Bureau
The Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB) is a publishing house and state corporation in Kenya founded in 1947. It is located in South-C off Popo Road in Nairobi.
History
The Kenya Literature Bureau was initially established by the "East Africa governme ...
, 1976
*''The Trial of Dedan Kimathi'' (co-authored with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (; born James Ngugi; 5January 193828May 2025) was a Kenyan author and academic, who has been described as East Africa's leading novelist and an important figure in modern African literature.
Ngũgĩ wrote primarily in Eng ...
), Heinemann, 1977
Poetry
*''Daughter of My People, Sing!'', East African Literature Bureau, 1976,
*''My Mother's Song and Other Poems'', East African Educational Publishers, 1994,
Literary criticism
*''Visions of Africa: The Fiction of Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe (; born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as a central figure of modern African literature. His first novel ''Things Fall Apart'' ( ...
, Margaret Laurence
Jean Margaret Laurence (née Wemyss; July 18, 1926 – January 5, 1987) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, and is one of the major figures in Canadian literature. She was also a founder of the Writers' Trust of Canada, a non-pr ...
, Elspeth Huxley
Elspeth Joscelin Huxley CBE (née Grant; 23 July 1907 – 10 January 1997) was an English writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government adviser. She wrote over 40 books, including her best-known lyri ...
, and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o'', Kenya Literature Bureau, 1978
*''African Orature and Human Rights'', Institute of Southern African Studies, National University of Lesotho
The National University of Lesotho, the main and oldest university in Lesotho, is located in Roma, Lesotho, Roma, southeast of Maseru, the capital of Lesotho. The Roma valley is broad and is surrounded by a barrier of rugged mountains which pro ...
, 1991,
*''The Imperative of Utu / Ubuntu in Africana scholarship'', Daraja Press, 2021,
Autobiography
*''Writing and Speaking from the Heart of My Mind'', Africa World Press
Africa World Press (AWP) is a publishing company founded in 1983 by Kassahun Checole in Trenton, New Jersey, United States, with a mission to publish books on the history, culture and politics of Africa and the African diaspora. Two years later, T ...
, 2012,
Selected awards and honours
* 1985: Marcus Garvey Award from the Canadian Branch of UNIA
''Unia'' (), released on 25 May 2007, is the fifth full-length studio album by the power metal band Sonata Arctica, following the album '' Reckoning Night''. The first single from the album was " Paid in Full", released on 27 April 2007. This is ...
.
* 1987–90: Award for research on African orature and human rights, Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...
.
* 1992: Award for writing and publication, Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...
.
* 1994: The Syracuse University African American Student Association, Malcolm X Memorial Award For Excellence in Academic and Community Service.
* 2002: "The Top 100: They Influenced Kenya Most during the 20th Century", ''East African Standard
''The Standard'' is one of the largest newspapers in Kenya with a 48% market share. It is the oldest newspaper in the country and is owned by The Standard Group, which also runs the Kenya Television Network (KTN), Radio Maisha, ''The Nairobian' ...
''.
* 2002: Sojourner Truth Award for Black Woman Professor of the Year, National Association of Negro Business & Professional Women's Clubs.
* 2003: Founder, United Women of Africa Organization.
* 2004: Human Rights Award, Onondaga County Human Rights Commission.
* 2004: Beyond Community Recognition Awards, Inc.
* Lifetime Community Service Award (CNY Women Syracuse Chapter).
* 2007: Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence, Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
.
* 2007: Distinguished Africanist Scholar Award, New York African Studies Association (NYASA).
* 2008: Girl Scouts Women of Distinction Award, Lafayette Country Club.
* 2008: Central New York (CNY) Women of Distinction Award, for contributions to the Syracuse community.
* 2009: United Women of Africa Organization (UWAO) Award for Visionary Leadership Award.
* 2010: Lifetime Achievement Award, Pan African Studies Program, Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
.
* 2012: Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Distinguished Lecturer Award, University of Dar es Salaam
The University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) (Swahili: ''Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam'') is a public university located in Ubungo District, Dar es Salaam Region, Tanzania. It was established in 1961 as an affiliate college of the University of London. ...
.
* 2013: Flora Nwapa Award for excellence in Africana literature, African Literature Association
African or Africans may refer to:
* Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa:
** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa
*** List ...
.
* 2013: Elder of the Burning Spear, Government of Kenya.
* 2020: Doctor of Letters Honorary Degree, University of Nairobi
The University of Nairobi (uonbi or UoN; ) is a college, collegiate research university based in Nairobi and is the largest List of universities and colleges in Kenya, university in Kenya. Although its history as an educational institution dat ...
.
* 2021: Lifetime Achievement Award in African Literature, Royal African Society
The Royal African Society (RAS) of the United Kingdom was founded as the African Society in 1901 to promote relations between the United Kingdom and countries in Africa. It received a royal charter in 1935, when it acquired its present name. The RA ...
.
* 2022: Lifetime Achievement Award, the Defenders Coalition and the Embassy of Sweden in Kenya.
* 2023: Proclamation from the Mayor's Office, City of Syracuse
Syracuse most commonly refers to:
* Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse
* Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area
Syracuse may also refer to:
Places
* Syracuse railway station (disambiguation)
Italy
* Provi ...
.
* 2024: Fonlon-Nichols Award from the African Literature Association.
Legacy
She is the subject of a collection of essays in her honour, ''Making Life Sing in Pursuit of Utu: The Micere Githae Mugo Story'' (Bookcraft, 2022), edited by D. Ndirangu Wachanga, her biographer and a professor of media studies and information science at the University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
, who also made a documentary film of the same title.
References
External links
* Nehru Odeh
"Africa's literary giant Prof. Micere Githae Mugo dies at 81"
''PM News
''P.M. News'' is a daily newspaper published in Lagos, Nigeria, by the Independent Communications Network Limited (ICNL). The company also publishes the weekly ''TheNEWS'' magazine and ''Tempo'', a tabloid.
''The News'' was founded in 1993 by B ...
'', 1 July 2023.
* Prof. Wandia Njoya
"Celebrating Prof. Micere Githae Mugo"
Department of Language and Performing Arts, Daystar University
Daystar University is a private Christian liberal arts university in Nairobi.
Daystar's original campus is close to Nairobi city centre, but there was no room to expand at that location. Therefore, in 1992 a new campus was built at Athi River, ...
, 4 July 2023.
"Tribute To A Mother Of Feminist Masculinity – Micere Mugo"
"In the Spotlight", Issue 90, ''The Platform'', 6 July 2023.
* Mulang'o Baraza
"We have let down our renowned writers and trivialised local art"
''The Standard'', 10 July 2023.
"Ama Ata Aidoo tribute to Micere Githae Mugo"
(Wachanga Productions)
"Panel 1: Pan Africanism and Feminism at The Life and Work of Micere Mugo Symposium"
an
"Panel 2: Pan Africanism, Literature and Orature at The Life and Work of Micere Mugo Symposium"
MSU African Studies Center, Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
, 24 April 2024.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mugo, Micere Githae
1942 births
2023 deaths
20th-century Kenyan women writers
20th-century Kenyan writers
21st-century Kenyan women writers
21st-century Kenyan writers
Alumni of Alliance Girls High School
Kenyan activists
Kenyan dramatists and playwrights
Kenyan essayists
Kenyan exiles
Kenyan expatriates in the United States
Kenyan feminists
Kenyan novelists
20th-century Kenyan philosophers
Kenyan poets
Kenyan prisoners and detainees
Kenyan women activists
Kenyan women dramatists and playwrights
Kenyan women essayists
Kenyan women novelists
Kenyan women poets
Makerere University alumni
People from Kirinyaga County
Syracuse University faculty
University of New Brunswick alumni
University of Nairobi alumni