Hassan Mhelela

Listen to the interview here:

Dr. Ndirangu Wachanga BBC interview audio

 

Interview by Ali Mutesa

Between July 19th and August 2nd, I filmed in five cities in England: London, Oxford, Manchester, Huddersfield, and Leeds. I have been recording the important events in the lives of Prof. Ali A. Mazrui and Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong'o. This is part of my research agenda to preserve African memory for posterity through documentary conversations with African elders.

I have been following the works and writings, debates and dialogues, conversations and controversies of these two Kenyan legends. The value of their contribution to scholarship and to our understanding of humanity, the volume of their writings, the eloquence of their arguments make them a precious and irreplaceable gift to the world. 

If Ngugi wa Thiong'o be Kenya's gift to world literature, can Ali Mazrui be Kenya's offer to global scholarship? If Ali Mazrui be the Oracle of the Triple Heritage, can Ngugi wa Thiong'o be the Prophet of the Dual?

In my interview with Ngugi wa Thiong'o at his residence in Irvine, CA (July 16, 2010), he described himself as " a literary scholar with a political bent. Ali Mazrui is a political scientist with a literary bent." Mwalimu Ngugi describes Mwalimu Mazrui's mind as encyclopedic. Prof. Mazrui describes his mind as versatile.  For Mazrui, Ngugi is one of the chief defenders of smaller languages against expansionist ones.

The BBC Swahili service invited me to their studio for an interview about these projects, July 30, 2010. The interview was aired August 8, 2010 in East and Central Africa.

Dr. Ndirangu Wachanga BBC Interview Audio