Caine Literary prize winner and LGBT activist Binyavanga Wainaina is dead. Reports indicate that the 48-year-old writer died at 10 pm at his Langata home near Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi, after battling stroke for some time.

The "How to Write About Africa" satirical essay writer won the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing. The winning was the essay titled Discovering Home.

Wainaina also founded the Kwani? literary journal in which many Kenyan writers cut their teeth, among them Standard writer Tony Mochama better known as Smitta.

While being interviewed by The Nairobian in 2014, Binyavanga declared his sexual orientation saying: “I feel no shame about being gay at all. I am not the first black man, not by any means the first African; I am not the first person in the world who has done that. Sio kitu kubwa (it’s not a big deal.)”

“It is completely alright and I will stand and defend your right from the highest pulpit,” he said, and added, “But leave my bedroom alone, leave people’s bedroom alone.”

He went on to fight allegations of being sponsored by some organizations to front the legalisation of same-sex marriages.

 “As a public gay citizen, I am not interested in fighting for donor money. I have my own ways of being resourceful.”

The writer then conceded that fronting LGBT rights is something that has a lot of monetary returns. “Oh! there is a lot of money in gay business, he exclaimed, smiling. “But if I wanted real money I would start a church,” he said.

In April 2014, Time magazine included Wainaina in its annual TIME 100 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World."

Born on January 18, 1971, in Nakuru, Wainaina schooled at Mang’u High School and Lenana School before proceeding to University of Transkei.

In 2018 Wainaina proposed to his long-term Nigerian partner after dating for six years.

He broke the news via social media where he added that they would be living in South Africa where his partner was studying.

The author praised on his lover saying he was a “gentle” person with the “most gorgeous heart” and promised a grand reception in Nairobi.

“I asked my love for his hand in marriage two weeks ago. He said yes, nearly immediately. He is Nigerian. We will be living in South Africa, where he will be studying next year [2019]. We will get married there, early next year.

On December 1 2016 (World Aids Day) Wainaina announced on his Twitter page that he was HIV positive.

Wainaina was the director of the Chinua Achebe Centre for African Writers and Artists at Bard College in Hamlet, New York, United States.