'Threatened by fame of others': Indangasi slammed over Micere Mugo piece
Prof Henry Indangasi during an interview at his offices in Nairobi in 2017. He has come under heavy criticism for an article he wrote on the late Prof Micere Mugo (inset).
Prof Henry Indangasi has come under heavy criticism from his peers and other Kenyans after writing an article critical of renowned writer Prof Micere Githae Mugo, who was buried over the weekend.
Prof Indandasi's piece, No: Micere Mugo was not a deep thinker, was published in the Saturday Nation of 29 July 2023. In it, he argues that much of what has been said and written about Prof Micere Mugo is wrong and untrue.
He goes on to suggest that many of her achievements were the result of her social networks and family connections.
Prof Indangasi also goes on to insinuate that Prof Micere Mugo was not forced into exile by the Kanu regime, but went to Zimbabwe to take up a job offer from then-President Robert Mugabe.
Prof Indangasi and Prof Micere Mugo taught together in the Department of Literature at the University of Nairobi in the late 1970s and early 80s before she fled the country.
However, many readers took him to task for what they felt was a lack of recognition of her achievements and that the article bordered on personal attacks.
Also Read: Prof Micere Mugo pens her last life at 80
"This article is not about Micere Mugo. It is about himself and his self-importance. He is dancing on Micere Mugo's grave. He had a billion opportunities to write this article while Prof Micere Mugo was alive but no, he chose to write about it while Prof Micere Mugo is in her grave where she will never have a chance to respond, tell her side of the story and defend herself - the right of reply - or even sue Prof Indangasi for defamation," wrote Dr John Njenga Karugia, who lives in Germany.
"We are human beings by nature. We don't need to be humiliated to prove our humanity. And the transition to the ancestors has already proven [Prof] Micere Mugo's humanity. She didn't need it. Neither did we," said Dr Wandia Njoya of Daystar University.
Prof Kimani Njogu of UoN was also unimpressed by the article, which was widely read and shared on online platforms.
"What a pathetic article! We know why Prof Micere was never welcome at the University of Nairobi. It was Prof Indangasi who closed doors. The man also prevented Ayi Kwei Armah from meeting literature students when the writer was at UoN," he wrote.
Prof Micere Mugo Githoe receives the Munir Mazrui 2022 Lifetime Award at Kenya National Theatre on January 6, 2023. Micere, a celebrated writer and poet, received the award from Defenders Coalition for her contribution towards the promotion of human rights.
Prof Indangasi seems to have opened up space for others who know his past to also reveal some details about his stay at the UoN.
"And we remember that in the late 90s, a partnership for PhD training between UoN and @aflitatwits did not take place because Indangasi told the Wits official "you were my student. So James Ogude went to Moi [University] and the rest is history," wrote Dr Joyce Nyairo. She went on to reveal more.
"When I was an MA student at UoN in the 1980s, I went to the HoD Prof Indangasi to tell him that [Chinua] Achebe was flying through Nairobi with a long stopover and perhaps UoN could invite him to talk to us for an hour. Indangasi: "Achebe knows where we are. If he wants, he can come. What I'm trying to say with this story is that Prof Indangasi has always been threatened by the achievements and fame of others.
Journalist John Kamau defended Prof Indangasi's article.
"I refuse to join those who are criticising Prof Indangasi. Let the professor speak. The danger of a single narrative when we historialise and memorialise public figures is that we end up with the acceptable narrative. The unacceptable may not be popular, but we should embrace those who point us to the silences in people's histories," he wrote.
"I will never be a great architect or academic by sullying the names of truly great academics. I have read Ngugi [wa Thiong'o] and Micere Mugo. Indangasi, please show us your great works instead of claiming greatness by dancing on the graves of dead intellectuals who cannot defend themselves," wrote Prof Alfred Omenya.
Senior Counsel Ahmednasir Abdullahi also waded into the debate, tweeting:
"Shallow and trivial ... gossipy rant masquerading as a literary piece. Prof Henry Indangasi, this is a cheap shot at Prof Micere Mugo ... very cheap!"
However, Njigu Mwaura disagreed with the criticism levelled at Prof Indangasi.
"I think the only way to counter Prof Indangasi's attack on Prof Micere Mugo is to write your version of what you think of Prof Mugo. By bashing Prof Indangasi, you are falling into the trap that has caught him. An ad hominien or a variant of it," he wrote.
Some readers also said the Nation should not have published Prof Indangasi's article.
"There's literal criticism, fair comment, and then there's unmitigated hatred, deep-seated personal inadequacy disguised as literal criticism. This writer is late to the table of personal vengeance - and he's stabbing himself in the thigh," wrote Saddique Shaban.
"Not harsh. Just a terrible piece. It does not argue what it pretends to argue. It just rambles through innuendo without once stating and supporting a real point. I have nothing against criticism of the dead, but this is not it," wrote Patrick Gathara, a journalist and cartoonist.
