Former University of Nairobi (UoN) professor Henry Indangasi has received criticism after publishing an article about the late Professor Micere Mugo.
Mugo was an author and scholar who was lauded for her political activism and resolve for social justice in the 1980s. She was forced out of the country in 1982 after the attempted coup on former President Daniel Moi's regime an account that Indangasi has refuted.
Mugo reportedly sought refuge in Zimbabwe where she continued to write against social injustices in Kenya. The playwright's work is still cited globally and she was heading the Pan African Community of Central New York, US before her demise on June 30, 2023.
In his critical piece titled: No, Micere Mugo was not a deep thinker, Indangasi, a professor emeritus at the Department of Literature at the University of Nairobi, said that Mugo came from a privileged background and had the kind of connections that not many could encounter in their lifetime.
From her brother-in-law Jeremiah Kireini who served as the public service boss and secretary to former president Daniel Moi's cabinet to her sister, Kireini who was the country's chief nurse at the time.
He delved deeper and dispelled facts that Moi exiled her and renounced her Kenyan citizenship, but claimed that her close ties with former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe earned her a top job position in the Ministry of Education in Zimbabwe.
"The next thing we heard was that the president had offered her a top job in the Ministry of Education as the one in charge of curriculum development. But this offer was conditional; she had to renounce her Kenyan citizenship and become a Zimbabwean," read part of his article.
"You see where I am going with this. Those who claimed that the Moi administration robbed Micere of her citizenship clearly do not know what they are talking about and are too lazy to research."
The article has drawn much criticism from Kenyans including scholars, former students and the UoN staff who called out the writer over his critical piece.
The majority have questioned the timing of Professor Indangasi's article and his demeanor. They argued that the former professor should have criticised her in public while she was still alive.
"Shallow and trifling gossipy tirade passing off as a literary piece. Prof Henry Indangasi, this is a cheap shot at Prof Micere Mugo very cheap!" Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi stated.
"So why did Prof. Idangasi wait forty years, until Prof. Mĩcere Mũgo had succumbed, to launch such a vicious attack on her as in today’s Nation? Scurrilous innuendo about her intellect, the state of her mental health and hints of an inappropriate relationship with Robert Mugabe?" Wallace Kantai wondered.
"I was around when Prof Micere Githae Mugo was forced to go to exile. The 1982 attempted Coup turned Moi to a paranoid ruthless dictator. It is sad to minimise Prof Micere's intellect, sacrifices and Contribution to the struggle for a better Kenya for all of us," Senior counsel Paul Muite stated.
Others, on the other hand, called out Indangasi for his biased opinion that he knew would rouse emotions from the public.
"He doesn’t question the late Professor’s professorship credentials despite him saying she was not a deep thinker. He doesn’t even seem to know how she earned the professorship. Or doesn’t want to acknowledge that she merited her professorship and excelled perhaps better than him which points to jealousy on his part," Anna Konuche noted.
"His account is limited to pre-1980 events, when she got divorced, suffered depression and met the late Mugabe. He knows nothing much else about her so his piece displays a lot of ignorance on his part. A man worth his salt should not wait until someone is deceased to speak unpalatable things about them. Speak to their face with your chest. On this account, he is a big coward," she added.
"Imagine getting a full page of the nation for an article, not to engage in an intellectual critique of Prof. Micere's work rather dwells mostly on her person, health, and life misplaced view that political economy space is for the older suited fellows," Peter Magati also wondered.
The majority of the critics concluded that Indangasi's article was trivial and did not give a right of reply to the late professor to establish the validity of the claims.
"Henry Indangasi should have kept this to his grave... Does a woman have to be seen as evil/failed because she is single or divorced?" John Muthoni stated.
"There's literally criticism , fair comment and then there's unmitigated hatred, deep-rooted personal insufficiency, disguised as literally review. This writer has arrived late at the table of personal vengeance - and he's stabbing himself on the thighs," journalist Saddique Shaban weighed in.
