In 2005, Wainana published an essay in Granta entitled “How to Write about Africa.” It was a stingingly ironic take on the tropes of much western writing about Africa. In January 2014, after anti-gay laws were passed in Nigeria and Uganda, he made his sexual orientation public in an article entitled “I am a Homosexual, Mum.” Wainaina declared that he would continue to visit Nigeria, despite homosexuality carrying a 14-year prison sentence there.
Further reading:
African jewels Review of an anthology of Africa short stories, including Wainaina's "Ships in High Transit."
Binyavanga Wainaina interview: coming out in Africa When the writer published a lost chapter from his memoir titled "I am a homosexual, Mum," it caused a sensation—and has placed him at the heart of the African debate on gay rights, writes Tim Adams.
