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The Independence generation: Where are they Now ?

By Charles Hornsby
It seems so many years ago that Kenyans finally achieved their independence. Most Kenyans today were not born in December 1963 when that event happened. But the men who led the country into independence in that first Parliament (there were few women, by the way) - where are they now ? Its nearly forty years later, and most are now dead, and most passed away without leaving any records for the future generations of events. These series of notes look province by province at the people elected to represent the in the 1963 preindependence General election, and asks the question: Where are they now ? Part 1: Nairobi Nairobi Province, always a political hotbed, was represented in 1963 by a wide variety of individuals of different ethnic backgrounds, almost all political giants, who would entirely eclipse later generations of city politicians. Then as now, there were eight members, seven MPs and one Senator, the three boundary reviews since that time having failed to increase the citys representation. The Kenya African National Union (KANU), led by Jomo Kenyatta, Oginga Odinga and Tom Mboya took every seat. Tom Mboya himself, then only 3x was elected MP for Nairobi Central (now Starehe) The brilliant and controversial KANU Secretary-General and Minister for .., had led much of the march to independence. Despite (or perhaps because of) his youth and achievements, he was murdered in 1969, setting off a spiral of violence which was to end in the establishment of the single-party state. Nairobi Doonholm (later Bahati) was represented by Mwai Kibaki, long-time Minister for Finance, VicePresident from 1978 until 1988 and second longest serving member of the house to this day, who was to move to Othaya in Nyeri in 1974. He is the DP Chairman and was their Presidential candidate in 1992 and 1997. Nairobi West (similar to todays Dagoretti) was represented by Kenyattas cousin Dr. Njoroge Mungai, Minister for Defence and then Foreign Affairs until his defeated by Johnstone Muthiora in 1974 irreparably damaged his Presidential ambitions. He was re-elected in 1979-83, was KANU chairman for Nairobi from 1985-92 and also re-emerged as Westlands MP until 1992, when he briefly defected to FORD, losing all his posts. He remains KANU National Vice-Chairman, though he is no longer active in Parliamentary politics. Nairobi North East (later Mathare) was represented by a third Kikuyu MP, Dr Munyua Waiyaki, who was later to become Foreign Minister and held several other ministerial positions until his eventual 1983 defeat by Andrew Ngumba. He reverted to medical practice after this, but returned to the fray with the introduction of multi-partyism. He stood unsuccessfully for FORD-Kenya in Embakasi in 1992, serving as their Secretary-General until 1994, and stood for the Presidency in his own right on the UPPK ticket without success in 1997. From the Kamba community, radical J.D. Kali was elected for Nairobi East. He served as Chief Whip for two years, joined the Kenya Peoples Union (KPU) in 1966 and lost the resulting Little General Elections, forced by Kenyatta and Mboyas constitutional amendment, rushed through the house in one day, forcing all defectors to resign and refight their seat (something they have not even considered when the defectors from KADU were defecting to KANU). He served as Deputy Secretary for the KPU thereafter, as a result of which he was detained for more than a year, before re-emerging briefly as Kilungu MP in Machakos in 1975-79. He died in 1996. Joe Murumbi, the Goan-Masai intellectual and Vice-President for one brief year in 1966-67, was elected for Nairobi South. He retired from politics in 1967, following the defeat of the radicals in KANU, and moved to work for Rothmans in a managerial capacity. He died in 1990, but bequeathed his collection of paper to the nation, which are today stored in the National Archives. Nairobi North-West (covering Parklands and other areas) was represented by an Asian MP born in Bombay, Fitzval de Souza. A lawyer with a doctorate, he served as Deputy-Speaker until 1969, and retired thereafter. He now lives in the UK. The Nairobi Senator was the Luhya trade union leader and later COTU Secretary-General Clement Lubembe, later still an Assistant Minister and parastatal head, who died in 1997.

Part 2: Central Province It was in Central Province, and particularly in Kiambu district, that the powerhouse of the new independent state emerged. Political colossuses which dominated the country for decades were elected in that first new dawn. The first five Kiambu Independent MPs were all KANU party nominees. In Gatundu, the voters elected the First President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, who ruled the country until his death in 1978. His close confidant and long-time Minister of State Mbiyu Koinange was elected in Kiambaa. He died in 1981, having been reshuffled sideways after Mois accession and having been defeated in 1979 by Njenga Karume. For Limuru, they elected James Gichuru, twenty years Minister for Finance, Defence and finally a Minister of State, who died in 1982. Waira Kamau, freedom fighter and radical, and after his 1969 defeat later national chairman of the AIPCA, who died in 1999, represented Githunguri. Finally, Kikuyu elected Indian-educated lawyer Joseph Gatuguta, who remained in the house until 1974, retired from politics in the 1980s, and still runs a law firm under his own name, and a bar and restaurant in Kikuyu to this day. The Kiambu senator (there was one per district, who covered the whole district in the then upper House) was 54-year old ex-detainee John Koinange (Mbiyu Koinanges brother), who died some time after his defeat in Lari in 1969. Muranga then had only four members (all KANU). The most senior was Bildad Kaggia, trades unionist, exdetainee and Mau Mau leader, in Kandara, who was sacked as Parliamentary Secretary in 1964 for his radicalism, led the KPU with Odinga, and was rigged out of his seat in 1966. He was jailed for a year on illegal meeting charges in 1968 and though he attempted to return to active politics thereafter, had little success. He has lived for many years as a small maize farmer and posho miller in Muranga. Long-time Minister and enduring politician Julius Kiano was his sworn opponent in Kangema, who last contested a seat in and is now in . Kariuki Njiiri, whose sole claim to fame is that he resigned his Legco seat in 1961 so that Kenyatta could be elected to Parliament after his release from prison, was elected in Kigumo. He died in 1975 in a car crash after losing his seat in 1969. The last MP was Jesse Gachago, MP for Kiharu, a trades unionist who served as an Assistant Minister for six years until his 1969 election was nullified. He reemerged in 1974 as Makuyu MP, but was then jailed for coffee theft in a case with political connotations. The Muranga (then Fort Hall) Senator was Taddeo Mwaura, a Kiano supporter and also an ex-detainee, who lost his seat in 1969 and died in 1993. At that time, there was also a Thika District, resurrected in 1994 after 30 years. The MP for Thika was The Senator was John Njonjo, no relation to the influential Attorney-General, who lost the Juja seat in 1969 and vanished from view thereafter. [WHO WERE THE OTHER THIKA MPs ?] Nyeri had only three MPs, again all KANU. Henry Wariithi was elected in Othaya-South Tetu (later to become Mwai Kibakis home seat). He served for ten years as an Assistant Minister under Kenyatta and Moi and died in 1996. The other two MPs were little known figures Joseph Theuri (Nyeri) about whom nothing is known after 1974 and Anderson Wamuthenya (Mathira), who abandoned politics in the 1970s and retired to run his small 8-acre farm in Mathira. The Nyeri Senator was Joseph Mathenge, also from Othaya, an uncle of Kibakis who was defeated in 1969 and retired from politics, and who died in 1979. Kirinyaga had two members, both KANU, but neither of whom were to distinguish themselves greatly in the future. In Gichugu was Kimamu Gichoya, who joined the KPU in 1966 and was defeated in the elections, was re-elected in 1969-74, but whose star then gradually waned and who worked for many years as a farm manager for the ADC. Ndia elected teacher James Kibuga, who was also defeated in 1969 and vanished from sight after 1980. The Kirinyaga senator was Romano Gikunju, a 43-year old ex-detainee, who vanished from sight after losing election in 1969 and who has presumably since died. Nyandaruas sole MP was the well-known and wealthy 34-year old radical J.M. Kariuki, a detained for five years during Mau Mau. He later became an Assistant Minister from 1968-74, and led opposition to the Kenyatta government from within the Kikuyu community in the late 60s and early 70s, and as a consequence was murdered almost certainly by state security forces in March 1975. The Nyandarua Senator was Gideon Kago, who has little political success after losing the seat in 1969, but who received several parastatal position, and in the early 1990s was last recorded running a soap factor in Nairobi. Part 3: Nyanza Province Central Nyanza (as it was then, later to become Siaya and Kisumu, and recently Bondo as well) had eight members, all elected under the KANU umbrella. The most senior was Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, first Vice President, radical leader and KPU leader, later a key campaigner for multi-party democracy and leader of

FORD-Kenya, who died in 1994. Most of his colleagues from those days followed him into the KPU in 1966, and their political careers were never to recover. Radical Tom Okelo-Odongo (Kisumu Rural) was reelected in 1966, detained in 1969-70, and died in 1991 after a long career in international institutions. John Odero-Sar (Ugenya) was also detained in 1969-70, barred from standing in 1974, retired from politics and died many years ago. Okutu Bala (Nyando) was detained for a year in 1969, barred from standing in 1974, and died in 1997. The Gem MP was Chiedo Argwings-Kodhek, the famed lawyer, politician and later Minister from 1966-69, who died in a car crash in 1969. The others were Otieno Oyoo (of which nothing is known), and often forgotten, the Asian MP Amirally Hasham Jamal (at the time only 31 years of age). The sole survivor from that generation in the district is Luke Obok, now Chairman of Kenya Pipeline Company. The Central Nyanza Senator was Dixon Makasembo, a close friend of Odingas, who was also killed in a car crash in 1965. In South Nyanza, there were 6 MPs, all bar one elected on the KANU ticket. Elijah Agar, the Independent MP for Karachuonyo, Mboya-loyalist and Assistant Minister in 1966-69, died back in 1970 after yet another car-crash. Joseph Odero-Jowi, MP for Lambwe (later Ndhiwa) was to become an Assistant Minister and then Minister, but was defeated after agreeing to replace Mboya in the cabinet in 1969, following Mboyas murder. He recaptured the seat briefly in 1974, but fled abroad to Canada, abandoning his seat, in 1976. He lives today in a modest Nairobi house without car, business or job. John Okwanyo, Minister from 1979 to 1983 and again in 1988-92 until defeated in the multi-party elections died in [FILL IN].. whilst Samuel Ayodo (Kasipul-Kabondo) died last year after a long political career spanning 25 years which included directorships of the ICDC and Uchumi Supermarkets. Clement Ngala-Abok ?? Finally, the sole Kuria representative, Benjamin Maisori-Itumbo, lived humbly in Kuria for many years running a transport business and bakery after losing his parliamentary seat in 1979. he died in 1996. The KANU Senator was 40-year old Shelemiah Mbeo-Onyango, whose son Ochieng Mbeo was to briefly become MP for Mathare in 1994, and who lives to this day in the area. Amongst the Kisii, again, most of the great leaders of that time are long gone. James Nyamweya, Cabinet Minister and died in 1995, as did his old colleague and age-mate Lawrence Sagini (Kitutu West). Sagini was Minister from 1962 to 1969, then parastatal executive, KANU branch head and finally nominated MP from 1993 until his death. Thomas Mongari in North Mugirango died back in 1965 in yet another car crash. Samuel Omweris whereabouts are unknown, as are Ombese Makone (.). The sole active political figure today is Zephaniah Anyiene , who had won election at the time as an independent, unlike all the others, who were elected on the KANU ticket. The Senator for Kisii was John Kebaso, a 52 year-old Lego nominee, who lost his parliamentary seat in 1969 and died in 1974. Part 4: Western Province Western Province at the time was mainly a KADU zone, and in Kakamega, five of the seven new MPs were KADU members. The sole exceptions were Stanley Godia, ex-teacher and KANU MP for Hamisi, who lost the 1969 elections and was never heard from again, and J.D. Otiende, MP for Vihiga until 1969. The veteran politician and Minister for Education and then Health also lost his seat in 1969 and never stood again, tending to his 80 acre farm in Vihiga constituency, but became an active Ford-Kenya supporter in the 1990s and is still occasionally active in politics for the opposition, now aged 83. The KADU Members included the newly elected firebrand Martin Shikuku (Butere) then only 31 years only, who has represented Butere for 26 of the last 37 years, and who continues his political career to this day, most recently standing and being defeated for the Presidency in 1997. He was accompanied by Eric Khasakhala, MP for Emuhaya, who served as a MP and Assistant Minister until his election was nullified in 1970, but who re-emerged in 197988 as a MP and later Assistant Minister. He was last recorded in the national stage after losing the 1990 Emuhaya by-election. Jonathan Masinde was the Lurambi MP who. ??. Less well known were Jonathan Muruli, MP for Ikolomani, who lost his seat in 1969, retired from politics, and died many years ago, and Abraham Mulama, MP for Mumias and nephew of Mumia, who was defeated in 1969 and died in 1996. The Kakamega Senator was Alfred Tsalwa from Butere, then aged 55, who retired from politics after the 1969 elections. Bungoma district in those days had only three MPs. Mt Elgon MP Daniel Moss (Independent) was the representative of the Sabaot community. He had an extremely successful career, remaining in the house continually until he was sacked in June 1979 and lost his Parliamentary seat soon after. He died in 1994. The Bukusu representatives (both from KADU) were relatively obscure figures, namely George Kerre (Elgon Central), who died in 1965 before he could make his mark, and Mark Barasa from Kimilili (Bungoma East), a Muliro-ally who vanished from view in the 1970s. The Bungoma Senator was to endure however.

Senator Nathan Munoko was to become Assistant Minister, then a Minister from 1975 to 1979 when he replaced Masinde Muliro after his sacking when Muliro voted against the government over the J.M. Kariuki affair. Munoko was made KANU National Organising Secretary in 1966 and remained in the post until 1985, thereafter spending two years as KANU Chief Executive Officer. He was last politically active in the late 1980s. Busia (which voted KANU rather than KADU) turned up some figures who were to endure politically. Elgon South-West (which included ) was represented by Christopher Makokha, an Alliance High School graduate who joined the KPU in 1966 and was detained soon after for 2 years, and who featured little in political affairs thereafter. Ruamba (covering..) was represented by James Osogo, heavyweight Assistant Minister and , who is still politically active to this day, and whose son is an official of the unregistered UDM. Oprong Oduya, KANU MP for Elgon West, represented the Iteso communitys interests on several occasions, last being elected in 1992 elections for KANU. He was shot and seriously injured in 1994, lost the KANU nominations in 1997, and thereafter retired from politics. The Busia Senator, also a KANU candidate, was James Machio, from Samia, who was sacked as an Assistant Minister during the Odinga crisis of 1966 and died in 1967. Part 5: The Coast The Coast, parts of it only recently officially part of Kenya (previously it was a Kenyan protectorate under the Sultan of Zanzibar), was a KADU-dominated zone. Mombasa elected three KADU MPs, none of who was to dominate the city, namely Mwinyi Babu (about whom nothing is known since his second defeat in 1974), Sammy Omari (trades unionist and ally of Ronald Ngala), who was apparently barred by KANU from standing in the 1969 elections, and another Asian, Anantpreasad Pandya (who died in 1977). The Mombasa KADU Senator was a long-term stayer though. Simeon Msechu, out of Parliament despite several attempts since 1965, remains KANU secretary for Mombasa Branch until this day. The real political activists lay in Kilifi district (also a KADU zone). Ronald Ngala (KADU party leader) was elected as MP for Kilifi South. He was later to join KANU, become a minister and died in a car crash in 1972, being succeeded by his son. His colleague in Malindi was Francis Bobi Tuva, who remained in the house for an extraordinary 30 years as an Assistant Minister and back-bencher, finally losing his seat in 1992. He fought the 1997 election for the DP. The 47 year old Julius Mwatsama represented Kilifi North but about him nothing is known after 1974. The Kilifi Senator was KADUs Henry Malingi, who retired from politics after his defeat in 1969. The Kwale MPs were also heavyweights. In Kwale West, Robert Matano was elected on the KADU ticket. He was to become a Minister from 1973 until his sacking in 1985. He was Mboyas replacement as KANU Secretary-General for sixteen years and dominated Kwale politics until the late 1980s. Now 75, he remains alive and active in his Mazeras home. His KADU Kwale East colleague was Kassim Mwamzandi, only 23 when elected at the time, who was re-elected numerous times and served as an Assistant Minister for 12 years, and who was MP for Msambweni until his KANU primaries defeat in 1997. The Kwale Senator was 40-year old Rocky Mchinga, who retired from national politics after his 1969 defeat in Kwale Central. In up-country Taita-Taveta, Wundanyi elected KANU MP Dawson Mwanyumba, who was to become the independence Minister for Works for six years, and who lost his seat in 1969 to Juxon Shako. He was to recover it in 1974, but remained on the back-benches, and died in 1995 after several years running a shop and a coffee farm in the district. His colleague (also KANU) was the little known Alexander Dingiria, last heard of on the national stage in 1974, who died recently. The KANU Senator was Woresha Mengo, a 54-year old political activist and .. Taita Hills Associationwho did not contest the 1969 election or thereafter, and was last heard of in the 1970s, and presumably died many years ago. Lamu was represented as now by two individuals. Their MP was Abu Somo, elected as an Independent, who was later to be jailed during a controversial cloves smuggling scandal and of whom nothing is now known. His KADU colleague the Lamu Senator was Ali Msallam, who was defeated in the 1966 little general election after joining the KPU and vanished thereafter. Tana River was represented by two KADU legislators both from the Pokomo riverine community. Japhet Kase was the MP and Assistant Minister until 1974. He has unsuccessfully contested several time since, the latest being for the NDP in Galole in 1997. He worked for several years as a booking clerk and inspector for a Mombasa bus line. He now lives on a 4 acre farm in Hola. The Senator was Martin Jilo, defeated in 1966 in the little general election after he backed Odinga, but who recaptured his seat until 1974 and who died in September 1991.

Part 6: Eastern Province Eastern Province, covering then as now much the same land and communities, was a key battleground for the independence parties. Amongst the Kamba, the predominant leader of the time was the detainee and Mau Mau activist Paul Ngei, grandson of Paramount Chief Masaku, who soon after became a government Minster, and is the only politician ever to have a Constitutional Amendment passed specifically for his benefit (the 1975 presidential pardon for election offences). He was elected for his African Peoples Party (APP) in Kangundo in Machakos. Always controversial and fighting bankruptcy for many years, he remained a Minister from 1964 until 1990 (bar that one brief period) when he was finally made bankrupt and lost his seat and his Ministerial position. In 1992 he was a senior DP leader, though he later rejoined KANU. His colleagues (all APP members as well), included Gideon Mutiso, MP for Yatta, who was implicated in the 1971 coup plot and spent 9 years in jail, before returning to become MP for Yatta again from 1983 to 1997. He defected to the SDP in December 1997 after losing the KANU nomination but did not receive their endorsement. Mathew Mutiso-Muyu, then a senior figure, was to .. and died in 1975. Simeon Kioko was elected for Machakos East (now ..), lost the seat in 19.. but remained politically active, finally dying of in 1999. Less well know were Ngei-ally Julius Ndile (Machakos South) who was defeated in 1969 and 1974 and David Kiamba (Machakos Central) whom also lost his seat in 1969 and was never politically active again). The 48-year old Machakos Senator Joseph Nthula was another KPU sympathiser who actually won re-election on the KPU ticket in 1966, and was detained in 1969-70, after which he was barred from standing in 1974 and retired from politics, presumably dying some years ago. In neighbouring semi-arid Kitui, the electorate picked some heavyweight figures. In Kitui Central, son of Senior Chief Mwendwa Eliud Mwendwa was elected for KANU, who then went on to become the Labour minister for ten years until his defeat in 1974. He retired from parliamentary politics in the late 1970s, but was appointed to the Nairobi City Commission in 1986. His KANU colleague for Kitui South was Philip Mbai, who had a long political career, serving as an Assistant Minister until 1974, becoming High Commissioner to Zimbabwe in 1981-86 and then Chairman of the Kenya Bureau of Standards, until recapturing his Mutomo seat once more in 1988-92. Kitui North chose the well-educated pre-independence Minister Fred Mati for the APP, who after the retirement of the European Speaker Humphrey Slade in 1970, became the first African Speaker of Parliament until 1988. He was accompanied in the APP for Kitui East by ex-teacher Thomas Mwalwa, who went into private business after his 1969 defeat, and became Vice Chairman of the Maize and Produce Board in 1978. The APP Kitui Senator was Permenas Munyasia, who moved to win the Kitui West seat after the dissolution of the Senate, and held it until 1974. He was re-elected in 1979 and 1983, and served as Chief Whip briefly until nullified and barred for five years for election offences in 1984. He became a relatively large-scale local farmer, with a large citrus tree farm. In the multiparty era, he was a candidate for Ford-Kenya in 1992. Amongst the Meru community, several individuals were elected who were to dominate politics for a generation. KANU took every one of the six seats. Preeminent was the King of the Meru Jackson Angaine, even then aged 58, who was to become Minister for Lands and Settlement in the independence government and who died aged 92 in 1997. In Tharaka, the voters elected James Njeru, opponent of Angaine, who remained a MP and Assistant Minister right through until his defeat in 1979. He left Kenya in 1984. Less well known were Simon Kamunde (Meru Central) who was killed in a car crash in 1964, and Philip Nyagah (Meru South) who died soon after in 1966. Samuel Ithiria was elected for Nyambene North, but vanished from sight after his defeat in 1969 and died thereafter. Nyambene South was represented by Abraham Gaciatta, who lost his seat when jailed for false mileage claims in December 1965, but continued to stand occasionally, and who most recently was interested in the KANU nomination for Tigania East in 1997. The Meru Senator was Julius Muthamia, still politically active to this day. An ally of Minister Angaine, he retained his Meru South-West seat until 1974, and was re-elected in 1983, having served in the interim as Chairman of the Horticultural Crops Development Authority in 1975-81 and the Kenya Tourist Development Corporation in 1981-83. He was national KANU Assistant Secretary-General in 1985-88. He joined the DP in 1992 and briefly became their Meru Branch chairman. He is now Chairman of Uchumi Supermarkets. Embu (including Mbeere) voted KANU. Embu South elected the long-time Minister and KANU Chairman Jeremiah Nyagah, still politically active though retired from Parliament, whose sons now represent Gachoka and Kamukunji for KANU and the DP respectively. He remained a MP and Minister until he retired from active politics in 1992. Embu North returned Gerishon Mbogoh, who was to last only one term and then

followed a business career until he died in March 1999. The Embu Senator was Shadrack Nyagah, who lost his seat in 1965 (in those days half the Senators rotated every 2 years as with the US) and vanished thereafter. In the North, Marsabit district (including Moyale) elected members from the Northern Provinces United Associated (NPUA), a small northern party which was quickly reincorporated into KANU after the elections. Elishah Godana (then only 26) was elected to represent Rendille, joined the KPU and was defeated in the little general election. He was re-elected in 1974 and served as an Assistant Minister in 1974-79. Galgala Godana, five years an Assistant Minister, represented Marsabit-Moyale, but also lost in 1969, and did not succeed in recapturing his seat, though he remained KANU chairman for Marsabit Branch until 1985. The Marsabit Senator was Independent candidate and ex-policeman Sora Galgalo, who apparently became a D.O. after his 1969 defeat in Moyale. Isiolo elected (as now) two individuals. Their MP (again from the NPUA) was the 23-year-old Adam Bonaya, who joined the KPU in 1966, lost his seat in the little general election, but was later to serve two more terms as an MP. His 1974 term ended in a jail term during a clamp-down on dissident politicians. He joined the DP in 1992 and unsuccessfully contested Isiolo South in 1992 and 1997.Their KANU Senator was NNkubitu Lawi, a 26 year old Kimeru, who was defeated in 1969 and 1974 in Isiolo North and henceforth retired from politics. Part 7: North-Eastern Province North-Eastern Province did not vote along with the other parts of Kenya in the 1963 elections, due to the prevailing security problems due to the Shifta war. The Somali community was effectively disenfranchised as a result and was not represented in the inepdndent House. Instead in 1964, with the worst of the rising over, the government and the local elders nominated young educated individuals, in the main with no political experience, to represent them in Nairobi. By modern standards, the MPs were extraordinarily young, averaging no more than 25 years of age. In Mandera, February 1964 saw the nomination of a 23-year old Garre bank clerk, Sayid Amin as MP for Mandera. He was later to become an Assistant Minister, MP for Mandera East, and despite many years in the political cold, is in the house to this day. The Mandera Senator was Mohammed Hussein, about which little is known. In Garissa, the elders selected 25 year-old Osman Abdirahman for Garissa North. He lost the 1969 elections but managed a second term before vanishing from view. For Garissa South, they chose 25 year-old Mohammed Jubat, the assistant cashier in the DCs office, who lost the 1969 elections and the next two, but managed to return to the house briefly in the 1980s. They also chose Abdi Ahmed as their Garissa Senator, who was re-elected in 1969, defeated in 1974, and never heard from since. All three were Ogaden Somalis. In Wajir the elders selected two individuals as MPs who were to become very well know. For Wajir South, they chose 25 year-old Ahmed Abdi Ogle, another Ogaden Somali, who managed to win election three times, ending as an Assistant Minister, before losing his seat in the mlolongo elections to his brother and defecting to the DP when multi-partyism arrived. He recently served as the DPs National Organising Secretary. Also well known in the 1970s was Abdi Sirat Khalif, a Degodia, only 24 at the time of his choice as MP for Wajir North, who joined the KPU in 1966, lost his seat and was forced to flee to Somalia. He was elected again in 1969, become an Assistant Minister, and then ended up in jail for a year, finally being barred from standing in 1979 on security grounds. As Senator they chose 27-year old Noor Hassan, of whom little was heard after 1969. Part 8: The Rift Valley Even in 1963, the Rift Valley province was the largest in terms of number of people, MPs and geographical area of all the provinces of Kenya. Although KADU dominated the region, as KANU under Moi has done in the 1990s, the then KANU was successful in the Kikuyu diaspora and in northern Turkana. Beginning amongst the Maasai, Kajiado was represented by two people, both elected on the KADU ticket. In Parliament, we saw the advent of the giant figure (in every sense) of Stanley ole Oloitipitip, Moi loyalist and Minister for numerous departments between 1974 and 1983, who was dropped from the government during the Njonjo affair of 1983 and was expelled from KANU in 1984. He died in 1985, leaving behind him 12 wives and more than 60 children. The Senator was Godfrey ole Kipury from Purko location in Narok, about which little is known after 1969, save that he became a farmer and businessman.

In Narok, John Konchellah was elected for Narok North (now Trans-Mara) on an independent ticket. He managed two terms in parliament and died in 1993 after three unsuccessful attempts to recapture his seat, but his nephew stood for Parliament in the same area in 1997. Justus ole Tipis was elected for Narok East on a KADU ticket. He was later to become Minister for State in the Office of the President for six years under President Moi. He was defeated and retired from politics after William ole Ntimama seized control of Narok politics in 1988. He died in [circa] 1996. The Narok senator was the little-known Peter ole Lemein, briefly KADU National Treasurer, who vanished from view in the 1970s. Amongst the Kikuyu-dominated districts of the Rift, namely Laikipia and Nakuru, KANU dominated the independence elections. Laikipia chose as their MP the currently still active politically and sometime powerbroker G.G. Kariuki, confidant of Moi and Njonjo, who was a Minister of State for four years, but was rigged out of Parliament in 1983 and expelled from KANU in 1984. He survived to re-emerge in the multi-party era as a KANU stalwart, rewarded by a nominated seat in the House in 1993-97. The Laikipia KANU Senator was Tom Gichohi, who had the distinction of being jailed in 1965 and losing his senatorial seat, but who came back briefly to parliament in 1974-79, and who died some years ago. Nakuru, always a political hotbed, was presented by individuals most of who, extraordinary in todays terms, were neither Kikuyu or Kalenjin, though all were in KANU. Nakuru Town was represented by Ramogi Achieng-Oneko, long-time Odinga ally and Minister who resigned with Odinga from KANU, lost the little general election, and was detained for six years and then barred from standing for elections. He contested Langata and Rarieda seats in 1983 and 1988, was elected for FORD-Kenya in Rarieda in 1992-97, but did not defect to the NDP and therefore lost his seat in 1997. Nakuru West was represented by Luhya MP James Onamu, who later moved to Hamisi, where he was re-elected in 1969, lost in 1974 and recaptured his seat in 1979. He continues to be politically active, standing unsuccessfully for the DP in 1992 in Hamisi. Nakuru East (Naivasha) was represented by the Mau Mau-leader Fred Kubai, who was to remain as Assistant Minister until 1974, lose his seat, but re-emerge during the mid 1980s as a Nakuru KANU leader and MP once more. A fish farmer near Naivasha thereafter, he died in 1996. The Nakuru Senator was Wasonga Sijeyo, another Luo ally of Odinga, detained for nine years by Kenyatta, who died in 1988. The Kalenjin community was strongly pro-KADU, led by their incumbent Legco representative and KADU National Treasurer Daniel arap Moi. In Baringo, Moi was elected as MP for Baringo North (covering most of todays Central and North). He defected to KADU in 1964, and shortly after entered the cabinet as Minister for Home Affairs. He became Vice-President in 1967 after Murumbis retirement, held the post for 11 difficult years, and succeeded to the Presidency in 1978. Baringo South was represented by Job Tanui, a teacher from Eldama Ravine, about whom nothing is know after he moved to Nakuru, having defected to the KPU in 1966, lost his seat and been seriously injured in a car-crash. Baringo East was represented William Kamuren Rotich, long-time Moi ally and Assistant Minister for ..The Senator for Baringo was local Chief William Kiptui Rotich, who also joined the KPU in 1966, lost the little general election, and then was also defeated in 1969 and 1974, departing from view in the late 1970s. It is a little known fact that two of the four Baringo representatives defected to the KPU in 1966. Elgeyo-Marakwet (then one district) was represented in Elgeyo (now Keiyo District) by the 44-year old exChief William Murgor, a KADU Majimbo hard-liner, who defected to KANU soon after the elections, and lost his seat and Assistant Ministership in 1969. He picked up both again in 1974, but lost momentum as Nicholas Biwotts influence grew over the Keiyo, and was last heard of after defecting to the DP in 1992. The Marakwet were represented by Vincent arap Too, who lost his Marakwet seat in 1969, but was reelected in 1974, and remained in office as MP and Assistant Minister until 1983. He was Chairman of the Kenya Tourist Development Corporation until its abolition in 1991, but remained KANU Branch Secretary for Marakwet as late as 1996. The Senator was little-known Joseph Chemjor, a Keiyo who remained a longtime member of the Pyrethrum Board after his departure from the House. All were KADU. The Nandi, meanwhile, selected two KADU MPs both of whom were to make their mark over the long term. Nandi North (now..) selected M.J. Seroney, radical and Nandi nationalist, who was detained in 1975, was rigged out of his seat in 1979 and who died in 1982. Nandi South elected Simon Kiptum arap Choge, then only 30, who today represents the same seat, though he spent most of the intervening years in the wilderness, including a stint in prison in 1984. Nandis Senator was Gerald Kalya, who served three terms in all and five years as an Assistant Minister until he did not contest the Tinderet seat in 1979, and vanished from sight thereafter. Kericho (then one district) was led into the polls by a familiar figure, Dr. Taita arap Toweett, who was elected as KADU MP for Buret. He was the sole KADU member to resign his seat voluntarily to seek a new

mandate after defecting to KANU, and was defeated in 1964. He was however re-elected as MP and appointed as a Minister from 1969 through to 1979, until he fell out of favour in the Moi era and did not actively contest elections for some years. As a reward for his support, he was nominated as an MP from 1993-97, but was defeated for the KANU nomination in Sotik in 1997, defected to Pick and lost. Christopher arap Murei, the Nandi KANU MP for Kericho East (elected mainly by immigrants), moved to live in Nairobi in the 1980s after losing in Kericho, Nakuru and his home Aldai. Alfred Arap Soi, 29-year old KADU MP for Bomet, remained politically active to this day. He managed three terms in all as Chepalungu MP, last contesting and losing the Sotik seat for the SDP in 1997. Alfred Kerich, KADU MP for Belgut, lost in 1969, was re-instated in 1974, but thereafter was unsuccessful, and vanished from sight after 1985. The Senator for Kericho was James arap Soi, from Buret, who vanished from sight after his defeat in 1969 and died recently. West Pokot (excluding [FILL IN] which was at that time still administered from Uganda), was represented by a single KADU MP, Jacob Lorema, who defected to the KPU and lost his seat in 1966. He never rejoined politics, but became a teacher and then an assistant education officer in Pokot and Turkana in the early 1980s. Like many of his generation, he made little tangible profit from his political career. The Senator (an Independent) was Ezekiel Kassa-Choon, who remained in the house until 1974, but lost four elections in a row thereafter, and was last recorded leaving the KANU Chairmanship for West Pokot in 1985. In the Trans-Nzoia, a district which was the subject of great dispute at the time as to whether it should remain in the Rift Valley or become part of Western Province, since most of its inhabitants hailed from that area, the sole elected MP was the dominant figure of Masinde Muliro, MP, Minster and finally FORD leader until his death in 1992. It is not well known that the person he beat in that election was John Keen, way away (as so many were at that time) from his ethnic constituency. The Senator for Trans-Nzoia was also a Bukusu, William Wamalwa, who was defeated in 1969 and died in 1976. His son, Kijana Wamalwa, inherited his mantle, and served as an ally of Muliro until he emerged into his own right after Muliros death. He unsuccessfully contested the 1997 elections as President and remains Ford-Kenya leader to this day. The Uasin Gishu, then represented also by one MP only, elected KADU MP Justin arap Tuwei, a little know teacher and farmer who was defeated by Charles Murgor (brother of William) in 1969. The Senator was equally anonymous for an area which was to prove increasingly controversial in the 1970s, Mark Daliti from Kakamega, who joined the KPU and was defeated, and was last heard of after losing the 1974 Eldoret North seat. In Turkana district, the Turkana people chose as their MPs Legco Member Peter Areman (KANU, Turkana North) and the little-known George Ekitella (also KANU, Turkana South). Areman briefly returned to the spotlight in 1973-74, when he won a by-election, but vanished from view after 1976, when he lost the Turkana KANU Branch Chairmanship. The Turkana Senator was James Robaro, who like so many others joined the KPU, lost his seat and vanished from view. The sole Samburu MP was Paul Rurumban, KADU ex-headmaster, who lost his seat in 1969, won it back in 1974, then was left in the cold with the 1979 elections, and last emerged as a losing candidate in the Mlolongo elections in 1988, when he was working as a farmer. The Samburu Senator was John Lenyiarra, a 30-year old teacher at the time, who remained in the house until 1974, after which he achieved little success.

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