ASA PRESS RELEASE
KENYAN AUTHOR AND HIS WIFE ATTACKED
IN NAIROBI
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, a well-known
African writer, and his wife Njeeri, suffered a vicious attack in Nairobi
last month. Having lived in exile from his native Kenya for the past twenty-two
years, Ngugi returned home to a warm welcome and embarked on a lecture
tour that had been organized by his publishers. An experience that initially
started as an unqualified success was marred by a nightmarish ordeal on
August 11, when an armed gang of four people broke into his apartment and
assaulted Ngugi, his wife, and a visitor. His wife Njeeri was raped.
Ngugi has used his pen to champion
the human rights of African peoples, whether during colonial times or under
post-independent African regimes.His works include familiar titles such
as Weep not Child, The River Between, Petals of Blood, Matigari, and recently
The Wizard of the Crow (in Kikuyu). He stands as a defender of the downtrodden,
a promoter of African cultures and languages, and an advocate for the freedom
of expression
Njeeri is well known for her
involvement in humanitarian activities. She is currently the director of
the Faculty and Staff Counseling Program at the University of California,
Irvine. She has also worked with neglected and abused children in the State
of New Jersey.
The African Studies Association,
2,500 scholars and professionals strong, joins in the public and international
outcry to denounce the breach of human dignity that Ngugi and Njeeri suffered
on August 11.
The courage that Njeeri has
demonstrated in breaking the culture of silence by voicing her experience
becomes an appeal to those in power around the globe to provide the genuine
protection against sexual assault that basic human rights demand. We commend
Ngugi, who, despite the trauma, continued his schedule of public lectures
unabated before returning to the United States.
The African Studies Association
(ASA) would like to express its support to Ngugi and Njeeri during this
difficult time. We salute their courage and their dedication to the causes
that they champion. The ASA appeals to President Kibaki and to the Kenyan
Government to do their utmost to prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest
extent of the law and to increase their efforts to cut down on the growth
of serious criminal activities in Kenya. Meantime, the ASA will closely
follow the resolution of this vicious event.
For further information, contact:
Carol L. Martin, PhD
Executive Director
African Studies Association
Rutgers University, Douglass
Campus
132 George Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1400
Tel: 732-932-8173
Fax: 732-932-3394