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Ngũgĩ would be remembered as a “passionate believer of the central phrase of African languages in literature,” Soyinka told The Associated Press. “He believed that the literature needs to be as much African as possible,” he added.He also lamented the political imprisonment Ngũgĩ endured as a result of his writing. “He was one of the African writers who paid the most unnecessary price for the pursuit of the natural occupation (as a writer),” Soyinka said.

Kenya’s President William Ruto on Thursday paid tribute to the man he called “the towering giant of Kenyan letters,” saying Ngũgĩ’s courage shaped thoughts around social justice and abuse of political power.“His patriotism is undeniable, and even those who disagree with him will admit that Prof. Thiong’o’s discourse always sprang forth from a deep and earnest quest for truth and understanding, devoid of malice, hatred or contempt,” Ruto wrote on X.Macharia Munene, a professor of history and international relations at the United States International University-Africa, in Nairobi, said Ngũgĩ’s work was “hard hitting” but also a “true reflection of society.” Munene said he regrets Ngũgĩ didn’t receive the Nobel Prize for Literature despite several nominations.

Munene described the author as one of the few African writers whose writing was different. “He wrote English like an African, another gift that very few people have,” Munene told The Associated Press, noting that Ngũgĩ later transitioned to only writing in his native Gikuyu language.Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga sent condolences to the author’s family, saying “a giant African has fallen.”

The author’s son and fellow writer, Mukoma Wa Ngũgĩ, posted a tribute on X: “I am me because of him in so many ways, as his child, scholar and writer.”

At Ngũgĩ's Kenyan home in Kamirithu, in Kiambu county, on the outskirts of Nairobi, workers were seen trimming fences and clearing bushes in preparation for mourners and visitors alike.“I was trying to make him healthier and make him live longer,” Journell said.

Instead, Alexander died on Thanksgiving Day. Tuxsie followed two days later.Big Boy was hospitalized and treated with antiviral medications, Journell said. The veterinary team collected urine samples from the cat, which were confirmed positive for H5N1 at labs run by the U.S. Agriculture Department and Cornell University, records show.

Big Boy returned home blind and without the use of his back legs, though he is recovering, Journell said. A fourth cat, Cleo, didn’t drink the milk and remained healthy.Journell has demanded that Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee compensate him for the more than $12,000 he spent treating the cats, according Seattle food safety lawyer Ilana Korchia, who is representing him.