Why was Ngugi wa Thiong'o's I Will Marry When I Want banned in Kenya?

The play I Will Marry When I Want (Ngaahika Ndeenda), written by Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Ngugi wa Mirii, was banned by Kenyan authorities due to its immense popular success and its critical message.1

Developed with Kikuyu performers at the Kamiriithu Arts Centre, the play utilized indigenous song and dance to give voice to the perceived betrayal of agricultural workers by local landowners and politicians. Because the work effectively articulated a protest against what was viewed as a neocolonial government, the authorities responded with censorship, banning the play and detaining Ngugi. This action reflected the government's broader pattern of suppressing artistic expression that it perceived as an attack on its own authority.1