Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o says it shows that President William Ruto is “wrong in the mind”
A clip showing renowned Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o looking tearful while criticising a government plan to send police to Haiti is being shared online.
Kenya looks set to deploy about 1,000 officers to lead a multinational peacekeeping mission to quell gang violence in Haiti.
But in the video clip, Prof Thiong’o is dismayed that the Kenyan government could come to such a decision – “this current government in Kenya is really incredible”.
“They have agreed to take 1,000 policemen to Haiti. Do you know the history of Haiti? If you know any history of Haiti, any black person would not do that,” he says.
“I feel teary… I just couldn’t believe Kenya is doing this. There is something wrong in the mind of such a leader… in the current government,” he said.
It’s not clear where or in what context Prof Thiong’o was speaking, in the video which was first shared on Monday then re-shared since on various social media platforms.
“[President William Ruto] is acting like a flower girl, who’s he trying to please? For heaven’s sake the countrymen have more severe issues to deal with & Haiti is not one of them,” one user on X (formerly Twitter) said in response.
“[Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s] wisdom should be honoured. The British colonials created the Kenya police. Kenya and other African countries have severe police brutality,” another commented.