Mukoma Wa Ngũgĩ launches fight against Donald Trump’s ‘campaign against free speech’

Kenyan-born US scholar, novelist and poet Mukoma Wa Ngũgĩ has moved to court to challenge President Donald Trump’s “unconstitutional campaign against free speech—particularly as it targets international students and scholars who protest or express support for Palestinian rights.”

Prof Wa Ngũgĩ , a professor in the Department of Literatures in English at Cornell University, is taking on Trump alongside Momodou Taal, 31, a British-Gambian national and PhD student at Cornell’s Africana Studies and Research and Sriram Parasurama, 24, a U.S. citizen, PhD student in the School of Integrative Plant Science.

They are seeking a nationwide injunction of Trump’s Executive Orders to target and deport international students advocating for Palestinian freedom, rights, and liberation under the guise of protecting national security.

The plaintiffs argue the orders also violate the First and Fifth Amendment rights of American citizens, adding that the recent executive orders—aimed at those who speak out against Israel’s war on Gaza—have unlawfully subjected individuals to surveillance, arrest, and deportation based solely on constitutionally protected political expression.

They are seeking a nationwide injunction of the enforcement of Trump’s Executive Orders to the extent they authorise deportation or prosecution based on protected speech.

Prof Wa Ngũgĩ, whose father is renowned US-based Kenyan novelist and scholar Prof Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’o said: “I was born in the U.S. but grew up under the Moi dictatorship in Kenya in the 1980s. Students and people of conscience in Kenya were being detained, tortured, exiled or killed.  My own family experienced the full brunt of this oppressive society. When I moved back to the U.S. in the early 1990s I could not foresee this attempt to chill free speech and directly attack our universities.”

Momodou Taal, who risks possible deportation, has canceled speaking engagements and drastically scaled back his social media presence out of fear said, “The U.S.  government claims to be zealous about free speech — except when it comes to Palestine. We’ve been here before: McCarthyism to Civil Rights to Vietnam, times when this country has deviated from its stated commitments to free speech. This is another generational moment, another hour of reckoning. Why is there a Palestine exception?”

“Americans, I echo Martin Luther King’s words when I call on you to be true to what you say on paper. Join me in defending all of our speech.” Taal added: “Only in a dictatorship can the leader jail and banish political opponents for criticizing his administration. A nationwide injunction is therefore necessary while the Court considers the merits.”

The plaintiffs argue these orders also violate the First and Fifth Amendment rights of American citizens.

Sriram Parasurama said: “These draconian executive orders aim to crack down on those willing to protest against our country’s active role in the genocide of the Palestinian people. They are part of a broader moral crisis our nation is grappling with. This lawsuit allows us to recover our basic rights and protect international students like Momodou Taal.”

Maria Kari, from Project Taha and Co-Counselon the case said: “President Trump’s actions targeting pro-Palestinian voices set a dangerous precedent where the government can suppress opinions through abuse of power. This case is not just about protecting our clients – it’s fighting for the soul of our country. We are headed into dangerous territory, where speech is rebranded as a threat, and the government decides who belongs in the public square. We either push back now or look back at this moment and wonder how we let it all unravel. We stand firm in our commitment to challenge this administration’s unconstitutional measures and to protect the rights of all individuals to express their views without fear of detention or deportation.”

Abed Ayoub, ADC’s National Executive Director, underscored the critical nature of this case: “This lawsuit is a necessary step to preserve our most fundamental constitutional protections. The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of speech and expression to all persons within the United States, without exception. By targeting and punishing students who have spoken up in support of Palestine—or otherwise engaged in lawful protest—the Administration’s extreme Orders threaten to silence entire communities and unlawfully single out international students who contribute significantly to our academic, social, and economic institutions.

Chris Godshall-Bennett, ADC’s Legal Director and Co-Counsel, added: “This is one of those times people will look back on and ask what we did. We will not stand idly by while the government disappears its political opponents. My family fled European antisemitism and came to the United States where our Constitution protects us from tyranny. My Jewish identity won’t be used as an excuse to persecute the Palestinian people and its allies without a fight. Through this litigation, we seek both immediate and long-term relief to protect non-citizens from deportation and citizens from prosecution based on their constitutionally protected speech.”

Eric Lee, Lead Counsel, said: “This lawsuit aims to vindicate the rights of all non-citizens and citizens in the U.S., but the courthouse is only one arena in this fight. We appeal to the population: stand up and exercise your First Amendment rights by actively and vigorously opposing the danger of dictatorship. As we prepare to mark the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution next year, recall the words from the Declaration of Independence: “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.”

Meanwhile, ADC said federal authorities continue to arrest non-citizens under the guise of “national security.” Last Saturday, Palestinian green card holder Mahmoud Khalil was taken from New York to a detention facility in Louisiana without charges.

“By filing this lawsuit and demanding a nationwide injunction, ADC stands at the helm in defending the constitutional freedoms of all within U.S. borders. The First Amendment, as the complaint makes clear, protects “people” not just citizens—a principle that must remain inviolable to uphold the nation’s core values,” it said in a statement.