Distinguished playwright & poet, Micere Mugo, dies at 81

The 81-year-old passed away on Friday morning, with several leaders taking to social media to pay their condolences.

Former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga eulogised Mugo as a revolutionary leader in the struggle for the country's independence.

"Our Comrade, Sister, and Revolutionary, Professor Micere Githae Mugo joined our ancestors some four hours ago. May she shine in the light of the ancestral abode as she shone on earth with revolutionary light. Her revolutionary Spirit LIVES," the ex-CJ stated.

Some of her notable books include 'My mother's poem and other songs' and 'songs and poems'.

Born in 1942 in Baricho, Kirinyaga County, Mugo rose to become one of the well-known literal critics and literature professors in the nation.

She taught in Zimbabwe and at the Department of African American Studies at Syracuse University, in the United States.

One of her notable moments was when she was forced into exile in 1982 from Kenya during former President Daniel Arap Moi's era for activism.

 Mugo attended Alliance Girls High School and later Makerere University, where she undertook her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1966.

She would later enrol at the University of New Brunswick in Canada for her Masters's in 1973 before advancing to the University of Toronto for her PhD in 1978.

Mugo embarked on her journey as a lecturer at the University of Nairobi in the 70s and became the first female to be made the Dean of the Faculty of Arts. 

She was the founder and President of the Pan African Community of Central New York where she initiated volunteer programs in two prisons.

Prior to her death, Mugo was a consultant for the "Africa on the Horizon" series by Blackside and also served as the chairperson of the board of directors of the Southern Africa Regional Institute for Policy Studies (SARIPS) in Harare, Zimbabwe.

She obtained several international accolades including the Marcus Garvey Award from the Canadian Branch of UNIA in 1985, the Rockefeller Foundation Award for writing and publication in 1992 and the Human Rights Award, Onondaga County Human Rights Commission in 2004 among others.