Ngugi wa Thiong'o was already one of Africa's most celebrated writers when he made the decision that would land him in prison. His play Ngaahika Ndeenda, written in Kikuyu and performed by peasants and workers at a community centre in Limuru, was politically charged in a way that Moi's government could not tolerate. In December 1977, Ngugi was detained without trial under the Public Security Act. He spent a year in Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, writing a novel on toilet paper. When he was released, he eventually went into exile and has never returned to live permanently in Kenya.