Most importantly, with his words, Mc’Onyango endorsed Ngugi as the merchant of truth. In his arguments on language, it has never been his intention to decimate other languages as he elevates mother tongues. His interest, instead, he reminded his audience, lay in the relationship between mother tongues and other languages. He wondered aloud, for example, why an African teacher should vilify and torment an African learner for speaking mother tongue. Pained by the fact that his writings were inaccessible to his mother, he bade farewell to English decades ago.

Source: Standard Digital February 14, 2019 08:58 UTC