Kenyan Literary Giant Grace Ogot Dies

Renowned educator, politician and writer Grace Ogot is dead. She died yesterday at the Nairobi Hospital after a long illness. Ogot, 85, was the wife of former Moi University chancellor Prof Bethuel Ogot.



She was one of Kenya's best-known female authors. Ogot was a teacher, Cabinet minister, nurse, politician, broadcaster and writer.

She was the first Kenyan woman writer to publish short stories in English. Ogot married Bethuel in 1959 and the couple was blessed with four children.

She began to publish short stories both in English and Luo in the early 1960s. Her first novel, The Promised Land, was published in 1966. Land Without Thunder, a collection of short stories about traditional life in rural Western Kenya, was published in 1968.

Ogot wrote two other short story collections, The Other Woman and Other Stories (1976) and The Island of Tears (1980), and a second novel, The Graduate (1980). In 1983, Ogot was elected as the Gem MP and then President Daniel Moi appointed her to the cabinet as Culture and Social Services assistant minister. Opposition leader Raila Odinga yesterday sent condolences to the family.

"She was a leader of remarkable quality who ably combined politics with academic work as a writer," Raila said. Deputy President William Ruto said she was an outstanding politician, a prolific author, journalist and nurse.