Kenya exile ends troubled visit

Ngugi wa Thiong'o had been in exile for 22 years

Celebrated Kenyan writer, Professor Ngugi wa Thiongo, has left the country to return to his United States' home.

The writer's homecoming after a 22-year exile was marred by a brutal attack on himself and the rape of his wife in his Nairobi apartment earlier this month.

As he left, Professor Ngugi said: "We will come back. Kenya is my country and I will come over and over again."

Four men, including Ngugi's nephew, have been charged in connection with the crime.

A handful of friends and relatives came to the airport to see him off - in contrast to the hero's welcome he was given when he returned from the United States last month.

Profile: Ngugi wa Thiong'o

His politically charged writing led to his arrest in 1977 and he spent a year in detention without trial.

In 1982 he went into self-imposed exile in London, and then took up residence in the United States where he taught comparative literature.

After his novel, Petals of Blood, which was written in 1977, he gave up writing in English to write in Kikuyu.

During his return home, Professor Ngugi delivered public lectures across East African universities and schools.

Kenya's longstanding president, Daniel arap Moi, stood down in 2002 ahead of elections which saw the ruling Kanu party swept from power after four decades.