October 20, 2014
Sixty-two years ago today, hundreds of Kenyans were arrested by the British because they had demanded independence from colonial rule. Among them, six names stood out. They were Jomo Kenyatta, Paul Ngei, Achieng Oneko, Bildaad Kaggia, Kung’u Karumba and Fred Kubai – all deceased.
The six were tried in Kapenguria and sentenced to serve at Lokitaung in neighbouring Turkana. They had been tried for a common charge of managing a “terrorist” organisation called Mau Mau, and whose intention was to overthrow the “lawfully” established colonial government of Kenya.
The People Daily has glimpsed some of the reports made on the six before and after their imprisonment. While serving their sentence at Lokitaung, the local District Commissioner (DC) had been tasked with spying on them and making reports to then colonial Governor of Kenya, Sir Evelyn Baring.
British Intelligence believed Kenyatta had no direct link with Mau Mau but thought him dangerous because he had become a magnet for African nationalists. During his trial and imprisonment, the colonialists wanted Kenyatta to have minimal contact with the rest of the Kapenguria Six. He was designated the job of a cook for his fellow inmates.
The local DC had also been instructed to “make sure he had enough supply of his favourite liquor.” Three years into prison, the Turkana DC reported to the colonial Governor that Kenyatta “was showing signs of depression, probably the result of isolation and too much indulgence.”
The DC feared that Kenyatta “might sink to irreparable damage” and recommended “partial withdrawal of his isolation.” On instructions from the colonial office in London, isolation orders on Kenyatta were removed.
The British also granted permission for a visit by his daughter, Margaret Wambui, and lawyer, A.R. Kapila. The DC also reckoned that the “younger prisoners, Kaggia and Kubai didn’t like the old man.” He reported: “They don’t like my friendly meetings with their old colleague and perhaps think he is betraying them.”
The DC reported that on two instances, the younger prisoners had shown disrespect for the old man and had “to be restrained by the more mature Ngei from attacking him.” Fred Kubai British intelligence reported that Kubai “had violent instincts” and was a “prime suspect in at least two murders”, those of Alphonse Ofafa and Tom Mbotela, the two men named after Nairobi’s Mbotela and Ofafa Jericho estates.”
On three occasions, the British intelligence reported Kubai had shouted down his chairman (Kenyatta) when the latter attempted to convince KAU delegates at Kaloleni Hall that there was still a chance for KAU to negotiate with the British. After independence, Kubai became a businessman and ran a successive bus company by the name Taifa Bus Services.
Much later in life, he joined politics and was Member of Parliament for then Naivasha constituency. He died in June 1996 aged 79. After Kenyatta, he was the next oldest of the Kapenguria Six. Unlike his colleagues who were fairly educated, Kung’u had never seen the inside of a classroom. However, British Intelligence described him as a “great mobiliser.”
The Turkana DC reported that he was a man of few words “but with a strong heart.” After independence, Karumba went to his old colleague Kenyatta, then the President, and requested that he be given the job of a District Commissioner. Kenyatta told him it was not possible because he couldn’t speak English, to which Karumba replied: “But we chased away the British, why do you want me to speak their language?” For a compromise, Kenyatta assisted his old colleague to set up a business.
Karumba mysteriously disappeared while on a business trip to Uganda in 1974. He is believed to have been murdered by a Ugandan business partner who was a senior military man in the lawless era of dictator Idi Amin. Paul Ngei British Intelligence described him as “robust and a crowd-puller”. The British Intelligence had described him as “short-tempered and violent.”
He was also said to “carefree and a womaniser.” The Turkana DC reported he had a string of affairs with local women while in prison. Ngei developed a personal friendship with Kenyatta and which lasted a lifetime. After independence while serving as cabinet minister, he was implicated in a scandal where government relief food had ended up in private stores.
He was suspended from the cabinet but later reinstated. But life didn’t end up quite well for Ngei as he was declared bankrupt in old age and his property auctioned. Diabetes also took a toll on his health and had his two legs amputated. He died in August 2004, aged 81.
The British particularly saw him as a great danger because he offered the crucial link between central Kenya and Luo Nyanza, the two largest communities at the time. At independence, Oneko teamed up with the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga to constitute the radical wing of independence Kenya politics.
He served as cabinet minister under President Kenyatta until they fell out on formation of the opposition Kenya Peoples Union (KPU). On the ban of KPU, Oneko was detained without trial but set free after he wrote a personal letter to his old colleague Kenyatta.
He died in 2007, aged 87. Kaggia was perhaps the most radical of the Kapenguria Six. A veteran of the second world war, he was among the young Kenyans who had returned from the war with fire under the belly. Before and after their imprisonment, Kaggia had never seen eye to eye with Kenyatta who he openly referred to as a “sell-out”.
At independence, the two proceeded in their parallel lanes, with Kaggia teaming up with the Jaramogi opposition bandwagon. Unlike his colleagues, Kaggia never believed in personal riches.
He died a poor posho mill operator in May, 2005.thinks harambees are good but they should not be compulsory. “Harambees are here to stay, but they shouldn’t be used for selfish ends like fighting rivals or enriching somebody in the name of the public,” he says.
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