Micere Githae Mugo

 About Micere

Her life provides a window into the major historical, academic, cultural and political developments in East Africa as well as in the study of humanities particularly in Kenya. Her creative work has created a space to imagine Africa’s history and herstory, which she believes was repressed by colonialism, and continues to be suppressed by neo-colonialism, imperialism and patriarchy. Micere has played a foundational role in the development of orature, reminding us that those who do not read and write also create knowledge. Micere’s biography, thoughts, and works, coupled with the views of experts and students of her works, will, therefore, lead us to a deeper understanding of colonialism, decolonization and disillusionment, exigencies of postcoloniality, East Africa’s intellectual history, pain and melancholic anxieties of exile, and diasporic privileges and displacements.

Micere was used by the colonial government as a guinea pig to “find out if black people had similar cognitive competencies as white people in Kenya before independence. She was forced into an all-white high school for two years during this experiment. She emerged the best student, marking her beginning as a first for many other achievements including being the first woman dean in any African university.

“The Micere I Knew” by Professor Ndirangu Wachanga