{{Short description|Kenyan playwright (1951–2008)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox playwright | image = Ngugi Wa Mirii in the 1990's.jpg | birth_date = {{birth year|1951}} | birth_place = Roromo, Limuru, Kenya | death_date = {{death date|2008|05|03|df=y}} | death_place = Zimbabwe | occupation = Playwright | language = Gĩkũyũ language | nationality = Kenyan | alma_mater = Nairobi University | notable_works = Ngaahika Ndeenda<br/>(English: I Will Marry When I Want) | children = Elizabeth Wanjiku Ngũgĩ, Wangari Ngugi, John Mirii Ngugi, Peter Kiarie Ngugi and Martha Nyambura | relatives = Margaret Katungu, Zion Macharia, Zara Macharia, King Ngugi Mirii (grandchildren) | alt = Black and white photo of Ngũgĩ wa Mirii smiling }}
'''Ngũgĩ wa Mirii''' (1951 – 2/3 May 2008) was a Kenyan-Zimbabwean playwright, social worker and teacher, most known for his play ''Ngaahika Ndeenda'', which he co-authored with fellow Gikuyu writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o.<ref name="modern">''The Times'', June 8, 2008: [https://web.archive.org/web/20081121190252/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article4091190.ece Ngũgĩ wa Mirii: Modern African playwright]</ref> The play depicts the injustices and excesses of post-colonial Kenya, and was staged by non-intellectuals in an open-air theatre at the Kamirithu Educational and Cultural Center in Limuru.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asymptotejournal.com/blog/writer/ngugi-wa-mirii/|title=Ngũgĩ wa Mirii – Writer(s) – Asymptote Blog|language=en|access-date=2018-12-08}}</ref>
==Early life== Born in Roromo, Limuru, Kenya, Ngũgĩ wa Mirii was the second born in a family of six children born to John Mirii and Elizabeth Wanjiku. He was educated at Ngenia Secondary School and from 1972 to 1974 worked with the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation. He obtained a diploma in Adult Education at the Institute of Adult Studies, Nairobi University, and then joined the Institute of Development Studies.<ref name="modern" /> While working there he became involved with peasants and workers in community development at Kamiriithu, Limuru.thumb
== Playwright == In 1977, Ngũgĩ wa Mirii and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o co-authored a play titled ''Ngaahika Ndeenda'' (''I Will Marry When I Want'').<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://owaahh.com/the-lesser-known-ngugi/|title=The Lesser Known Ngugi|date=2015-10-01|website=Owaahh|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-08|archive-date=9 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209125952/https://owaahh.com/the-lesser-known-ngugi/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Both playwrights were arrested six weeks after the play debuted, and detained in prison.
Five years later, their next play ''Mother Cry for Me,'' forced both playwrights into exile, with Ngũgĩ wa Mirii settling in Zimbabwe while Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o fled first to Britain, and then to the United States.
== Exile == In 1982, Ngũgĩ wa Mirii fled to Zimbabwe where he lived in exile. Ngũgĩ wa Mirii was joined a year later by his wife, Wairimu wa Ngũgĩ and one-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Wanjiku Ngũgĩ.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pambazuka.org/resources/ngugi-wa-mirii-africa-has-lost-dreamer|title=Ngugi wa Mirii - Africa has lost a dreamer {{!}} Pambazuka News|website=www.pambazuka.org|date=4 March 2016 |access-date=2018-12-08}}</ref> He then joined Zimbabwean Foundation for Education with Production (ZIMFEP) where he worked for several years.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}
In Zimbabwe, he wrote extensively about the Pan-African cause. In 1985, he was awarded funding to found the Zimbabwean Association of Community Theatre. He was granted Zimbabwean citizenship shortly after.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}
Ngũgĩ wa Mirii was known as a supporter of Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022}}
== Death == On 3 May 2008, Ngũgĩ wa Mirii died in a car accident in Zimbabwe, after he drove into a stationary lorry nearby the suburb of Eastlea.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=37 |title=Ngugi wa Mirii dies in car crash |date=May 3, 2008 |publisher=The Zimbabwe Times |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090729062521/http://www.thezimbabwetimes.com/?p=37 |archive-date=July 29, 2009 }}</ref> He was 57 at the time.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://allafrica.com/stories/200805051092.html|title=Zimbabwe: Kenyan Playwright Ngugi Wa Mirii Dies|date=3 May 2008|work=The Standard|access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref>
== Works ==
* ''Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want),'' co-written with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (1977)<ref>{{Cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713035238/http://www.socialiststories.com/liberate/I%20Will%20Marry%20When%20I%20Want%20-%20Ngugi%20wa%20Thiong%27o.pdf|archive-date=13 July 2017|title=I Will Marry When I Want|url=http://www.socialiststories.com/liberate/I%20Will%20Marry%20When%20I%20Want%20-%20Ngugi%20wa%20Thiong%27o.pdf|website=www.socialiststories.com|access-date=2018-12-08|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mirii, Ngugi Wa}} Category:Kenyan writers Category:1951 births Category:2008 deaths Category:Road incident deaths in Zimbabwe Category:Kikuyu-language writers Category:People from Kiambu County
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