A Film Based on a Novel by Acclaimed Kenyan Author Ngugi wa Thiong'o Is In the Works

A novel by Kenya's own Ngugi wa Thiong'o is being adapted to a film, Brittle Paperreports.

Nollywood director Kunle Afolayan shared at the Africa Movie Academy Awards that Ngugi's 1987 work, Matigari, is in development with Kenyan and South African filmmakers, who have yet to be revealed.

"Ngugi is like the Wole Soyinka of Nigeria in Kenya and one of his books is going to be adapted into a film," Afolayan said. "It's going to be South Africa-Kenya-Nigeria co-production and I'm representing Nigeria."

Matigari tells the story of a freedom fighter who emerges from the forest after Kenya gains independence.

The summary of the story from Ngugi's website states:

Who is Matigari? Is he young or old; a man or fate; dead or living… or even a resurrection of Jesus Christ? These are the questions asked by the people of this unnamed country, when a man who has survived the war for independence emerges from the mountains and starts making strange claims and demands. Matigari is in search of his family to rebuild his home and start a new and peaceful future. But his search becomes a quest for truth and justice as he finds the people still dispossessed and the land he loves ruled by corruption, fear, and misery. Rumors spring up that a man with superhuman qualities has risen to renew the freedom struggle. The novel races toward its climax as Matigari realizes that words alone cannot defeat the enemy. He vows to use the force of arms to achieve his true liberation. Matigari is a satire on the betrayal of human ideals and on the bitter experience of post-independence African society.

Stay tuned for more news around the development of this film.