Reuel John Mugo Gatheru (21 August 1925 – 27 November 2011) was a Kenyan writer known for his 1964 memoir, Child of Two Worlds, which describes his early life in Kenya and his education abroad.

R.J. Mugo Gatheru, a member of the Ethaga clan of the Agĩkũyũ nation, was born on 21 August 1925 in Lumbwa, located in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya Colony.

In accordance with Kikuyu tradition, he was named after his paternal grandfather and referred to as Mugo-wa-Gatheru, meaning 'Mugo, son of Gatheru'.

His contributions included articles on the pass laws, colour bar, low wages, and poor housing conditions.

[9] While working at The African Voice, Mugo corresponded with various people in the United States with the aim of trying to pursue higher education, following the examples of Peter Mbiyu Koinange and others.

However, as his political views were known to the colonial authorities, Mugo was unable to obtain a visa to travel to the United States.

He stayed in India until 1950, when he travelled to England and then onwards to the United States, this time with financial support from an uncle and from church groups in America.

[18] At Lincoln, Mugo felt more settled as he was in the company of two Kikuyu friends, Kariuki Karanja Njiiri and George Mbugua Kimani.

[20] Thurgood Marshall took a particular interest in the case, while the NAACP was concerned that if he was sent back to Kenya, he would be persecuted by the colonial government.

In backing Gatheru, Drake limited his own academic prospects, as he alienated himself from a number of government officials and philanthropic foundations.

[31][32] At the end of 1957, he met Dolores Pienkowski, and they married in October 1958, before Mugo was due to leave for England to study law.

[33] In November 1958, he left for England and enrolled at Gray's Inn, this time with financial assistance from William X. Scheinman, an American businessman.

[35][36] By the late 1950s, Mugo was working on a manuscript called The African Personality, the first six chapters of which he sent to Richard Wright for comment.

He closed with the line: "I shall shortly take my final examinations and I shall be home to help in the building of a new Kenya nation.

[43]At around the same time as Child of Two Worlds was released in the African Writers Series, Gatheru submitted another manuscript to Heinemann, which was reviewed by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o.