Tributes have been streaming in since news of Ngugi wa Thiong’o'demise went viral. He deserves all the praises. He showed us the way. He led the way. 

Through his writings, Ngugi was a true literary architect. He laid the foundation of our Afrocentric literature. He gave us the floor plans. He put up the beams and the bars, the brick and mortar. He erected the walls. He put up the roof. He built a house to nurture and nourish our literary gems, giants, and geniuses. We are forever grateful for his works and legacy.

In 1964, Ngugi’s Weep Not, Child was first published under the auspices of African Writers Series of the Heinemann publishing company. That was sixty-one years ago. Today, African children continue to 

weep under the corrupt and oppressive socioeconomic and political system operated not by white imperialists but by African Corrupt Ruling Elites (CRE).

Today, African children still weep under the Boab or Iroko tree that serves as make shift classrooms. Our children weep as they trudge miles to school. They groan under the crushing weight of poverty, malnutrition, diseases, and hunger. 

We have turned them to babies having babies and caring for babies. They cry about how to pay their school fees. They cry for a roof over their heads. They weep to be with parents who have been disconnected or disappeared due to economic hardship. They cry to have access to basic needs of life. Mańy of them live their entire lives in orphanages. Many of them pine away in cells and prisons for crimes they didn’t commit. Of course, many have been killed and sacrificed in the altar of ritual for money. 

Many have been consumed or consigned to life of hopelessness, helplessness, and sicknesses. For 61 years, there’s no end to the travails and sufferings of African children. Thanks to the Corrupt Ruling Elites!

In 2025, African children like Njoroge and Kamau in Weep Not, Child cling to hope that life will improve if only they continue to work hard, follow our long-handed down moral and ethical values, get a good education, and envision a better future. Sadly, they live in senseless violence, they swim in the CRE man-made ocean of poverty. The insecurity and instability faced on daily basis completely erased their hopes, dreams, and aspirations. Our children like Njoroge and Kamau have become “wasted generation.” 

Sixty-one years after Weep Not, Child was published, African children are drowning in tears. The future looks bleaker and bleaker. 

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