Attack Won't Deter Kenyan Writer
The African writer Ngugi wa Thiong'o left his native Kenya in 1982 after spending a year imprisoned without a trial for writing a political play, I Will Marry You When I Want. He then lived London and moved to the U.S. where he became a literature professor at Yale and New York University. He returned to Kenya with his wife this month to take part in literary festival and on August 11, armed thugs broke into his home, raped his wife, stole his belongings, and beat and tortured him. In the wake of the attack his fellow Kenyans have showered him and his wife with support and apologies. He refuses to leave, saying that his attackers do not represent the new Kenya. He believes the assault was politically motivated but will not elaborate. wa Thiong'o best known works include Petals of Blood and Devil on the Cross