Critically acclaimed Kenyan author and LGBT Rights activist, Binyavanga Wainaina is dead. He was 48 years old.
His family confirmed the news to local media in Kenya and reports say he died at the Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi on the night of Tuesday, May 22.
He had suffered a stroke before in November 2015.
His brother James told the BBC’s Peter Mwangangi, “He passed on last night at a hospital after a period of really fighting. But it is what it is now, we’re still trying to come to terms with that.”
Wainaina was a critically acclaimed author, winning the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing for Discovering Home and was the founder of the literary magazine Kwani.
In 2014, he came out in an essay that he called “the lost chapter” of his memoir, following the signing of Nigeria’s anti-gay bill into law and later that year, he was named one of TIME 100 influential people around the world. In 2016, he opened up on being HIV positive on a tweet during the observance of World Aids Day. In May 2018, he announced his plans to marry his long-time partner in South Africa.
Tributes to the African literary icon are currently pouring from around the world.
This one enter. 😣
— Ruona J. Meyer (@RGAMeyer) May 22, 2019
E dey pain me.
Rest in peace, Binyavanga Wainaina.
You were the right kind of crazy and sanity our world needed.
We love you. 💔 pic.twitter.com/yNG316WZ1i
This is devastating. We have lost a great writer and person. He was the most audacious writer I know. Kind, sweet, charismatic, honest, blunt and such a biting sense of humor. He always spoke his mind and I’m glad he did. His voice was so necessary. ❤️💐🌈🇰🇪 https://t.co/MNbSgm0uaT
— Nnedi Okorafor, PhD (@Nnedi) May 22, 2019
The course that Binyavanga Wainaina set for Kenya’s (and yes, African) literary space! My goodness.
— Magunga Williams (@theMagunga) May 22, 2019
Now that is a casket too heavy.
He fought hardest at the end. I hope he rests now. I hope he finally breathes.
Really heartbroken to wake up to the news of the passing of #Binyavangawainaina, once again, #Africa has lost another giant, another mortal has gone to be with the gods. Thank you for your writing and for adding colours to the #LGBT rainbows of the continent
— Ashiwaju Bisi Alimi (@bisialimi) May 22, 2019
So sad to hear that Binyavanga Wainaina has died aged just 48. But in those 48 years what gifts he gave the world. Here is his biting satire “How to Write About Africa”. Rest in power. https://t.co/SvLrMHAyjs
— Ben Phillips (@benphillips76) May 22, 2019
RIP Kenneth Binyavanga Wainaina.
— Joyce Nyairo (@jnyairo) May 22, 2019
What immense talent;
what an enormous personality;
a child of luck who beckoned opportunities like a magnet, Binya leaves an indelible foot-print in the sands of that surge of creativity and production that defined Kenya in the new millennium.🙏🏿 https://t.co/aDoOeXhueg
How to write about Binyavanga Wainaina
— Eric Kathenya (@ekathenya) May 22, 2019
One day, I will write about Binyavanga
We have indeed lost a literary giant. Binya, we promise to continue cherishing your words; from the short story that made you the pioneer of Kenyan Caine Prize winners to the wit you showed in countless interviews.
— Paukwa 🇰🇪 (@paukwa) May 22, 2019
Rest in Peace Binyavanga Wainaina https://t.co/gcnP30m2Oc
For us at The Rustin Times, we celebrate the legacy of Binyavanga Wainaina and the work that he has done for LGBT visibility across the continent. Our deepest condolences to his family and may his soul rest in peace.
