Popular Nigerian novelist and writer of short stories, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie mourns her best friend, Kenya writer and gay rights activist, Binyavanga Wainaina.
The world renowned writer and author of books such as Americanah, Half of a Yellow Sun and many more, on Tuesday, took to her Instagram page to mourn her friend Binyavanga Wainaina whose death was announced on the 22nd of May 2019.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in mourning the death of her friend, shared some intimate photos of herself and the late Binyavanga Wainaina, clearly showing that they were truly really close before his unfortunate death.
The Popular Kenyan Gay rights activist and Author, Binyavanga Wainaina died at the age of 48, after a brief illness in Nairobi Kenya.
Binyavanga Wainaina won the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing, was a key figure in the artistic community who promoted local authors. He was best known for his essay on How to Write About Africa.
Binyavanga Wainaina was also named among Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2014 for his gay rights activism. He also helped to create tolerance for the LGBT community by coming out publicly in 2014 as gay in Kenya, a country where laws still criminalize homosexual behaviour. He also revealed he was HIV-positive. He published a painfully honest essay online to mark his 43rd birthday.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie posted these few words to mourn her friend, as she confess that she is struggling for words, as she is trying her best not to use past tense. She said:
Binyavanga Wainaina. (1971 – 2019)
So kind, so generous, so humorous, so brilliant, so brave, so
talented, so knowledgeable, so wonderfully curious, so original.
I am struggling. To use the past tense. To stop crying.
My beloved ‘Canga.’ There is nobody else remotely like you. Nobody.
With you, I felt so known, so understood. And there is no gift, in a
friendship, more precious than this.
I love you. Always. Rest well.
Chimamanda
See some of the photos she posted in honour of her friend:
