The famous Kenyan Writer, Vinyabanga Wainaina, who died on Tuesday in Nairobi after a short illness at the age of 48. advised his family, friends and well-wishers to celebrate his death, not to mourn him after his imminent death.
Shortly after suffering from stroke, as if he knew he was going to die in no distant time, he wrote that he had already reconciled with the fact that he was going to die.
In his Facebook page January last year, Mr Waianaina declared that he did not fear death anymore, saying: “The day I did a ceremony I heard from my sangoma to put me in touch with my ancestors. I had to be near a river. I had this stroke because I did not recognize them.
“They saved my life because they had more work for me in this world. I am very happy and fulfilled now, and nearly healed from the trauma of nearly dying. I do not fear death anymore. I just have one thing to do this year. If I die anytime after that it is okay.
“I have already reconciled myself with that. I would like to live a long life after I do what I need to do this year. If I don’t live for long after this, it is okay. Celebrate my life! Do not mourn me,” Wainaina wrote.
He won the Caine Prize for African writing in 2002 and was best known around the world for his satirical essay How to Write About Africa.
Mr Wainaina was also named among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2014 for his gay rights activism.
He “demystified and humanized homosexuality” author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote at the time.
Mr Wainaina was one of the first high-profile Kenyans to openly declare he was gay and “he felt an obligation to chip away at the shame” that people felt about being gay, Adichie added.
Kenyan writer and commentator Nanjala Nyabola said Mr Wainaina had shown Kenyans that literature was not just a way to express oneself – it could also be a valuable career:
“He reopened the possibilities of Kenyan literature,” she told the BBC’s Newsday programme.
Mr Wainaina challenged Kenyans to rethink their negative stereotypes about homosexuality, Nyabola added.
“Inasmuch as homosexuality is illegal in Kenya, there are people who are very comfortable with their identity… but the public space for acceptance and respect has always been lacking and even characterised by violence,” Mr Nyabola said.
“What he said is ‘look I’m here and I’m still the same person that you know and love and respect ‘… I think it’s incredibly powerful,” she added.
Homosexual relations are currently illegal in Kenya but the Supreme Court is due to rule on Friday whether to overturn the law banning them.
