Munira
Munira is one of the four main characters of the text. He left his wife and wealthy, domineering father to come to Ilmorog for a new beginning teaching school, and did his best to ingratiate himself with the community, although he always remained somewhat of an outsider. He was obsessed with Wanja but she did not love him and this tormented him. He was not very interested in politics or the people's struggle, and he tried to stay out of such conversations. Because he was raised in a Christian home, he retained vestiges of guilt and despair over his own "sinful" behavior, which would, along with his thwarted desire for Wanja, lead him to become a religious fanatic. He desired recognition by his superiors even if they were European puppets; he was characterized by frequent bouts of selfishness, resentment of others, and petulance; with his religious convictions, he tried to "save" all of the wayward people who sinned and got caught up in this life instead of preparing for the afterlife.
Abdulla
Abdulla is another one of the main characters. He is a handicapped shopkeeper who lost his leg in the Mau Mau Rebellion, the revolution that gained Kenya its independence. He became friends with Wanja, Karega, and Munira after they all moved to Ilmorog, and helped each other carve out an existence in the village. He lived a small life with his adopted son Joseph and his donkey, though when the village traveled to Nairobi he became expansive in his storytelling; it was as if he were the heart and soul of the group. Intuitive and prone to cynicism and pessimism, he was uncomfortable with the reactions of the people in power they met in Nairobi as well as with all of the changes that came to Ilmorog in the journey's aftermath. The changes in Ilmorog, Karega's departure, and Wanja's move back into being a whore were deeply impactful for him, and he spent the year or so leading up to the murder living in near-squalor and despair. Only Joseph brought him happiness, at least until he and Wanja made love and created a child.
Wanja
Wanja is the granddaughter of Nyakinyua and is an intelligent, passionate, intuitive, and tenacious woman. As a young woman, she had to leave school because she had a relationship with, and became pregnant by, the wealthy businessman Kimeria. Her father wanted little to do with her, so she struck out on her own and ended up as a barmaid and prostitute. She grieved for the child she had borne and then left to die, always desiring to have a child of her own again. She came to Ilmorog to be near her grandmother, which is where she befriended Munira and Abdulla. She had sex with Munira once, hoping to conceive, but did not want to be in a relationship with him. She did have a relationship with Karega, but he left the village. Finally, she saw Abdulla as a true companion, and it is suggested that he is the father of the child that she is carrying at the end of the novel. It was Wanja who was a core figure in the New Ilmorog, helping Abdulla grow his business and then, after the businessmen shut them down, ran a successful whorehouse. She was tormented with the sense of colluding with evil, but her life philosophy was "eat or be eaten."
Karega
Karega is a serious, motivated, impassioned young man dedicated to the people's struggle. He grew up on Munira's father's land with his mother, but he never knew his older brother Ndinguri, who was executed for being Mau Mau. For a time, he attended the elite school Siriana, but he was expelled for participating in a strike against the strict, oppressive, and neo-colonial school regime. He lost his great love, Mukami, Munira's sister, when she killed herself rather than choose between him and her father. He then came to Munira in Ilmorog hoping to seek advice from the older man. Settling there for a time, he was the one who conceived of the journey to Ilmorog. After the journey he became a teacher at the school but was discontented, thinking the children were not getting a real education in Kenya's past and the current forces at work that colluded to make their lives in Ilmorog difficult. He loved Wanja but left the village and went out into the country to further develop his communist, unionist, and people-centric views. Once he returned to Ilmorog he became a powerful union organizer and was thus targeted by people of power.
Inspector Godfrey
An officer in charge of the murder investigation. Seen through Munira's eyes, he was "elderly, with a face that was expressionless even when he smiled or laughed or joked, as if the face could never register any emotions" (43). He had served both the British and the independent African regime, and he was decidedly neutral and bureaucratic. He had a profound respect for the police and the law, but he also thought regular people needed good economic opportunities.
Mwathi wa Mugo
Ilmorog's local diviner, who told the villagers how to have good harvests and how to order their affairs. He was ultimately powerless against the forces of change in Ilmorog, and he eventually vanished.
Nyakinyua
A respected and wise old woman in Ilmorog and the grandmother of Wanja. She missed her husband dearly and told stories of his time in the European wars. She helped the young people revive the Theng'eta tradition and led them through a night of reflection, storytelling, and community. Her land was sacred to her, and she died a few days after she heard it was to be sold off because she could not pay the money on the loan she was bamboozled into taking out.
Mzigo
In the early part of the novel, he oversaw the local schools as the Education Officer and was Munira's boss. He became a major investor in New Ilmorog and contributed to the failure of Abdulla and Wanja's bar.
Mukami
Munira's beloved, intelligent sister whom he felt was always on his side even though he did not get along with the rest of his family. Munira was devastated by her suicide by jumping off a cliff, and she was even more torn up when he discovered that she and Karega were lovers and she killed herself because her father made her choose between Karega and her family.
Ezekieli
Munira's father, "tall, severe in his austere aloofness...tall and mean in his austere holiness" (13). He was a wealthy landowner and an elder in the Presbyterian Church. His birth name was Waweru, but he added Ezekiel/Ezekieli when he converted to Christianity. His father was opposed to foreigners and their foreign faith, but Waweru was impressed by their power and became a convert. Wealth and influence resulted; he refused to take the Mau Mau oath and lost an ear for it. Munira was cowed by his father and eventually left his lands, but he came to appreciate him more, though he was confused by the link between the Church and the KCO. Overall, Ezekieli is depicted as somewhat of a traitor to his people, preferring to throw his lot in with the outsiders because it benefits him personally rather than embrace nationalism and African brotherhood.
Mariamu
An older woman on Munira's father's land with whom Munira liked to spend time. Rumors circulated about her son Ndinguri, who was caught carrying weapons for the Mau Mau. She was also Karega's mother.
Joseph
A young boy who accompanied Abdulla to Ilmorog. Wanja helped convince Abdulla to send him to school, where the boy flourished. He was a source of pride and joy to Abdulla and Wanja, and he represented the hope of a new generation. As a young man, Joseph told Abdulla he wanted to be just like him.
Nderi wa Riera-aa
The new Member of Parliament (MP) that oversaw Ilmorog. He was once known as a man of the people but of late was spending more time in elite social clubs and circles. He had lucrative business connections and hoped to see Kenya flourish with the help of the wealthy Kenyan landowners and foreign investment. Paranoid, he believed the delegation from Ilmorog was sent by his enemies, and thus decided to spur on investment in the region as to defeat those enemies. He loved crowds and attention, and he contented himself that he was a good leader even though he was ultimately more concerned with his own prosperity and power.
Chui
A young man Munira knew from Siriana, famed among his classmates for his neatness and style and admired for his aptitude at everything he put his mind to. Chui was expelled for instigating a strike against the new headmaster, Fraudsham, and little but rumors were heard of him for a time. He was invited back as Siriana's headmaster, but he was not what the students expected: he was a "black replica of Fraudsham" (171), committed to the hierarchy and rules of the school. He eschewed the study of African writers and historians, and he called in the riot squad to disperse a student protest. He became a prominent investor in New Ilmorog.
Cambridge Fraudsham
A strict, Christian headmaster of Siriana during Munira's time; he wanted the African pupils to live simply and innocently like their ancestors, and he implemented constant prayer and praise for the British empire. He was also headmaster when Karega was there, but he left after a strike that began after his beloved pet died and he believed the students were not showing proper respect.
Ndinguri
Mariamu's oldest son and brother to Karega, though Karega did not know he had a brother until Ndinguri was executed for being Mau Mau (Kimeria betrayed him). Ndinguri was also a close friend of Abdulla. He was passionately devoted to the people's struggle.
Njogu, Muturi, Ruoro, Njuguna
Elders and farmers of Ilmorog.
Julia
Munira's wife.
Old Masai
A revered Mau Mau leader about whom Abdulla told stories on the road to Nairobi. He had left behind his family and promises of wealth to fight for the people, and Abdulla remembered him as a "remarkable man" (137).
Dedan Kimathi
A high-ranking leader of the Mau Mau (a real person, not just a character of Ngugi's) and an inspiration to all the freedom fighters; Abdulla called him a "voice, a black power...whose military genius was recognized even by our enemy" (141). His capture and death forever changed the fighters.
Rev. Jerrod Brown
A black Christian, one of the "most respected men in the Anglican hierarchy" (147). The villagers sought help from him on their way into Nairobi, but all he offered them was chastisement and prayers—no food and no medicine for the ailing Joseph. He was only prompted to help the village after the newspaper made a to-do about the villagers' plight and he felt it would look good for his reputation.
The Lawyer
A genial, energetic, and intelligent man in his forties, he was passionate about protecting and expanding the power of the people, though he often despaired that he was just another tool for the wealthy landowning Kenyans and their foreigner allies. He was kind to the villagers, truly listening to them and promising to aid them in their quest for help. It was he who made heroes out of Abdulla, Munira, and Karega when they were put on trial for disturbing the peace; through that courtroom performance, he helped get Ilmorog attention and succor. He was considered a threat by the neo-colonial apparatus and was murdered.
Hawkins Kimeria
A wealthy industrialist who was friends with Wanja's father when she was a young woman. She became his secret lover and became pregnant by him, but he had little interest in her other than as a kept woman. The villagers encountered him in Nairobi, and he made Wanja sleep with him in order to let them go. It was also revealed that many years before he betrayed Abdulla and Ndinguri, leading to the former's detention and the latter's death. He was characterized by his business acumen, greed, pride, and sense of entitlement.
Ndemi
An important Ilmorog ancestor.
Lillian
A woman with whom Munira became involved in order to try to push Wanja out of his mind. She eventually became a powerful figure in the charismatic religious movement that swept through Ilmorog; her impassioned sermon led Munira to dedicate his life to Christ.
