[Memoirs 04] • Wrestling with the Devil

In 1977, Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s new play, I Will Marry When I Want , opened in his home village of Kamiriithu, Kenya. It caused a political furore. Six weeks later, it was shut down by the Kenyan regime and he was detained without trial.

Wrestling with the Devil is Ngugi’s searing memoir of one year in prison. He describes the degradation and humiliation of political prisoners, the neglect and casual cruelty that undermined their health, and the debilitating blend of tension and tedium that marked each day. As he reflects on this difficult period, his mind turns to his endeavours as a writer and to the way forward for the people of his country.