Join our “Ngugi, Meja, Mangua: A Literary Pilgrimage” Tour

Our August literary tour traces Kenya’s Story Through Street, Stage, and Soil through two towns with the writers Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Meja Mwangi, and Charles Mangua on August 30, 2025.

In June, we hosted Nairobi: A City in Words, around Nairobi bookstores and some of the spaces that its writers thrived in the 1970s. In August, we focus on Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, Meja Mwangi, and Charles Mangua, three writers who defined the writing in the rural and urban spaces in Kenya to this day. The tour will visit Nairobi’s legendary River Road and its tributaries, which influenced Meja Mwangi and Charles Mangua, and then go to Kiambu to visit the areas that influenced Ngugi Wa Thiong’o and featured in his earlier texts.

The one-day literary tour through Nairobi and Kiambu explores the urban grit of River Road (the playground of Meja Mwangi and Charles Mangua), before journeying into the verdant landscapes of Limuru to trace the roots of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. Participants will walk in the footsteps of Kenya’s most iconic writers, experience key sites in their works, and engage with living histories of literary resistance, storytelling, and social change.

Here are the highlights;

River Road Literary Walk – Nairobi’s Gritty Muse

Stops include:

• Tom Mboya Street (formerly Victoria Street): Contextual history of Nairobi’s development in the 60s/70s.
• River Road bookstalls: The birthplace of Kenya’s street literature movement.
• Locations featured in Meja Mwangi’s Going Down River Road and Charles Mangua’s Son of Woman.

Transit to Limuru – Scenic Literary Ride

• Commentary en route on Ngũgĩ’s transformation from English to Gĩkũyũ writing.
• Discuss Weep Not, Child and The River Between, which reference Limuru and the surrounding areas.

Visit to Kamĩrĩĩthũ Community Theatre Grounds

• Explore the remains and site history of the Kamĩrĩĩthũ Theatre.
• Discuss the staging of Ngaahika Ndeenda (I Will Marry When I Want) and its legacy.
• Engage with local cultural custodians.

Tea Farms and Ngũgĩ’s Landscape

Sites:

• Ngũgĩ’s childhood landscapes: A drive through tea estates around Limuru and Kamandura.
• Discussion stops at viewpoint: On colonial land alienation and A Grain of Wheat.

Prices

Individuals: Kshs15,000
Groups exceeding 3: Kshs12,000

What do you get for this?

• Transport throughout the tour – within the city, to Kiambu county, and back.
• Payment to any venues on the tour
• Lunch in Limuru
• Curated guide for the whole experience.

If you want to take part in this tour, please email kibara@gmail.com with the subject “Ngugi, Meja, Mangua: A Literary Pilgrimage.”