Mbugua is Kihika, Kariuki, and Mumbi’s father and Wanjiku’s husband. Mbugua does not play a large role in the story, though he is described as saddened by Kihika’s decision to go and fight despite the fact that Mbugua was a great warrior himself in his youth. After Kihika dies and is publicly hung from a tree, Mbugua urinates on himself when he sees the mangled, tortured body of his son, a tragic depiction of a parent’s pain at the loss of their child to a bloody cause.
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Mbugua Character Timeline in A Grain of Wheat
The timeline below shows where the character Mbugua appears in A Grain of Wheat. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7
Mumbi is raised by her mother Wanjiku and father Mbugua, along with her two brothers Kihika and Kariuki. Young men often come to visit Mumbi...
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Rev. Jackson is Mbugua’s friend, a Gikuyu Christian preacher who likes to visit people in their homes and offer...
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Chapter 9
When Kihika is killed, Mumbi’s family is crushed—even Mbugua, a legendary warrior, “urinated on his legs.” Not long after come the events of the...
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Chapter 13
Mumbi suffers when she returns to her parents—Mbugua is angry at her for abandoning her husband over a mere beating, though Wanjiku is...
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