Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: Why Giant of African Literature Never Wrote About Sports

Even in silence, his words speak to the heart of every athlete’s fight for identity and self-worth.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, the giant of African literature and fearless champion of African identity, passed away on Wednesday at 87.

The Kenyan writer's legacy spans continents, languages, and ideologies—but one surprising space he never fully stepped into was the world of sports.

PAY ATTENTION: Stay updated with the Latest Sports News in Kenya from Pulse Sports

At first glance, this may seem like a missed opportunity.

Sport, after all, is one of the most powerful cultural forces in Africa. From Kipchoge’s world records to Kenya’s football passion, athletics has long been a stage for pride, resistance, and national unity.

So why did Ngũgĩ, whose life and work were shaped by resistance and revolution, never channel that energy into sports writing?

A Different Kind of Arena

Born in 1938 in colonial Kenya, Ngũgĩ’s early life was shaped by the Mau Mau uprising and British oppression.

These struggles fueled his classic novels like Weep Not, Child and A Grain of Wheat, but also ignited his radical shift in the 1970s: abandoning English and writing in Gĩkũyũ, his native language. It was a political act—he wanted to wrest back control of the African narrative.

“Language is a carrier of culture,” he wrote in Decolonising the Mind (1986), his seminal work. And to him, the cultural fight was urgent.

While sports offered a kind of unity, Ngũgĩ saw language and education as the front lines of Africa’s true liberation.

That focus may explain his silence on sports. For Ngũgĩ, reclaiming language, identity, and power from colonial influence took priority over leisure or entertainment—even if sport was, and still is, much more than that.

The One Quote That Speaks Volumes

Ngũgĩ may not have written about goal scorers or marathon victories, but he did leave behind a message that resonates deeply with athletes across the world:

“Belief in yourself is more important than endless worries of what others think of you. Value yourself and others will value you. Validation is best that comes from within.”

— Dreams in a Time of War (2010)

Those words could hang in any locker room. They speak to every underdog, every athlete training in silence, every sprinter trying to outrun doubt.

In this quote, Ngũgĩ may have captured the inner fire that drives champions—even if he never chronicled it directly.

A Silent Influence

Though he never became a sports writer, Ngũgĩ’s message has subtly shaped a generation of athletes who see identity as power. Olympic champions and street footballers alike are increasingly aware of their cultural roots, their names, their stories—and the importance of telling them on their own terms.

In that sense, Ngũgĩ did more than write literature. He helped Africans—and African athletes—understand that how they speak, who they represent, and why they show up matters just as much as what they do on the pitch.

He may never have written about sport, but Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o left behind a message every athlete can carry into competition: know yourself, believe in yourself, and never let anyone else define your worth.