Death Of Nathaniel Waliaula Munoko Is Time To Reflect About Shrewdness Of Tom Mboya, Neurotic Ethnicity Of Jomo Kenyatta And Why The House Of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Will Never Rule Kenya
Around 20th December 2024, Nathaniel Waliaula Munoko died at the age of 102 years. It was time of sorrow to the family, and also time of learning to the social scholars and keepers of political history of Kenya. First, to be alive for over a century in Kenya is an overt testimony that you must have had wide and wild spatial and temporal experiences, bestriding across geographies as well as dark times like colonialism, post-colonialism, pandemics and all that comes with being a powerless citizen in an African country like Kenya. Above all, one has to thank God for such ample gift of life. It does not occur easily to each and every one.
Munoko, a product of Christian education at Maseno Missionary school, a veterinary officer and a politician, was also an eloquent Kiswahili speaker who liked putting on a well pressed white shirt in a suspender. During his political peak times in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, he always appeared in his physical hall-mark of an Afro-hairstyle. He was a contemporary of Elijah Mwangale, Masinde Muliro, Justus Peter Kisuya, Martin Shikuku, Tom Mboya, and Many other political leaders that served Kenya during the days of Jomo Kenya and Daniel Moi.
Nathaniel Munoko was very loyal to Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Moi, he never uttered nor made any action that went against the ruling party KANU. Others came out to fault Jomo Kenyatta, but Munoko could not, he was rewarded by Jomo Kenyatta to work as a senator and also a minister in the government of Jomo Kenyatta. Munoko was mainly used as a government apparatus to undermine liberal politicians like Masinde Muliro, Martin Shikuku and Jaaramogi Oginga Odinga. He was so a shameless obedientiary to Jomo Kenyatta even though Kenyatta’s government was a spell of neurotic ethnicity to an extent that Kenyatta appointed his own daughter to be the mayor of Nairobi, his own nephew to be the central bank governor, his kinsman to be the attorney general, his tribesman to be minster of finance and all parastatals and ministries to be headed by his tribesmen, almost all public institutions and infrastructures like roads were named after Kenyatta or named after different wives of Jomo Kenyatta . During Kenyatta’s time, one was supposed to be a Kikuyu to qualify for appointment to fill top government job positions, education and technical competence was not the main criteria in building the civil service. Some open-minded politicians came out to say no to the style of Kenyatta’s leadership, but Munoko and his ilk could not, instead he was among those KANU loyalist that kept on warming the drum for the president even though corruption, ethnicity, mediocrity and abuse of human rights were rife to the brim.
Tom Mboya was among the top persons in Kenyatta’s government, because Jomo Kenyatta wanted to use Mboya to undermine Jaramogi Oginga Odinga in regional politics of Luo Nyanza.However, Mboya was also a man that had natural taste for betraying colleagues, he was ever betraying Masinde Muliro and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. Mboya thought that he could use shrewdness and dishonesty to the top in politics. Time and chances never allowed him. Both Mboya and Munoko were obedient to Jomo Kenyatta. Mboya, also a photo-taker for Jomo Kenyatta, was obedient but very calculating, but Munoko was plain and genuinely obedient.
One time in the late sixties, Mboya toured Kimilili town in Bungoma district to attend a political rally organized by Nathaniel Munoko. The rally attracted huge crowds that came to listen to Tom Mboya, a gifted speaker of simple and fluent English, illustrious, stylish and very powerful in Jomo Kenyatta’s government. Mboya spoke with influence, the crowds were sent on fire, not because Mboya was speaking points, but because he was speaking eloquently like a text book and accurately like a (Mzungu) white man. During those days, psychology of fresh post-coloniality had made it so glorious for all black persons to speak fluent English. Munoko was also send on fire of uncontrollable obeisance to Mboya’s speech magic, Munoko put Mboya on his shoulders and began running around the streets with Mboya on his shoulders , amid the cheering crowds. Among the crowds was the maverick Elijah Masinde, the leader of Dini ya Musambwa (Religion of Black Consciousness), Elijah Masinde did not like the idea of Munoko carrying Mboya on shoulders. ‘’Put him down, you are a leader you don’t have to carry other leaders on your shoulders’’. Elijah Masinde shouted at Munoko, after he had already flogged Munoko two ruthless strokes at the buttocks. ‘’You have killed your leadership star, you will never rule again, how can you allow Tom Mboya, a person that is not circumcised, to sit on your shoulders?’’ Elijah Masinde again shouted at Munoko. This time Munoko had offloaded Mboya, the pain from caned buttocks could not allow Munoko to carry Mboya on the shoulders anymore. The spectacle died off, crowds returned home thinking about Mboya, Munoko and Elijah Masinde. This spectacular incident took place in 1967, sometimes later, in fact, after two years, Mboya was assassinated in Nairobi. Munoko lost elections, and kept on losing any other elections he participated in until he pulled out of politics.
Elijah Masinde once described by Ali A. Mazrui as the Aime Ceasaire of Western Kenya, was a born rebel, a freedom fighter, a revolutionary, a disciplinarian and a fearless elder who hated European colonialism with his blood and soul. His Dini ya Musmbwa was a religious movement that employed spiritual resistance to European imperialism, especially cultural imperialism. Elijah Masinde believed in African culture and African value systems, especially the culture of his tribe, Bukusu culture. Elijah Masinde did not like Munoko because Munoko allowed other people to toss him around like a child, Elijah Masinde did not like the idea of Jomo Kenyatta and Tom Mboya manipulating Munoko, he wanted Munoko to be firm and say no to selfish behaviour of Tom Mboya and Jomo Kenyatta. But above all Elijah Masinde did not like Munoko because Munoko did not have clear family identity, Munoko was a child of esimba (born before the mother is married and hence not able to identify his true father and hence Munoko was identified by his mother and tribe of his mother). As man, taking tribal identity of your mother is something abnormal and uncouth among the Bukusu people of Elijah Masinde. According to Elijah Masinde, a man must take tribal identity of his father. Thus, Elijah Masinde was fond of Pascal Nabwana and Masinde Muliro because they had clear paternal identity, clear circumcision age grade, and they were also brave, they kept culture and also, they said no to the colonialists without fear.
Elijah Masinde was so patriotic to his people and very defensive. When the administrative provinces were created by basing on the major tribes in Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta assigned Jaramogi Oginga Odinga the work of being supervisor to the entire process. Nathaniel Munoko was Minster and a friend of the government by then. During this process, Jaramogi Odinga, took away the region of Trans Nzoia from the Luhya people only to give it to the Kalenjin people in the rift valley province. Jaramogi also took away Maseno region from the Luhya people and gave to his Luo people in Nyanza province. The Luhya people were so offended, above all, Elijah Masinde was so offended. During a public meeting at Kitale Show Ground , Masinde Muliro asked Jaramogi Oginga Odinga why he took away Maseno and Trans Nzoia regions from the Luhya people, Jaramogi did not take the question seriously only to respond jokingly that ‘’the keys that can open the seal on the box in which documents that can change allocation of provinces are in kept in the depth of Lake Victoria, and it is only a Luo man that can swim down the deep sea of Lake Victoria’’. This joke was taken as extension of mockery to the Luhya community.
Thus, when the meeting ended Elijah Masinde instructed the organizers not to collect away the chair on which Jaramogi Oginga Odinga had sat. It was a wooden fold chair. After all people had left and darkness had fallen, Elijah Masinde planted some voodoo secret on the chair, the chair scared the locals not to touch it, the chair remained in the open at the Show Ground for months, the chair got rotten and then got eaten away by termites, it became a termite mound, then Elijah Masinde came back to look at it , he pointed his religious walking stick at the termite mound and pronounced a curse , ‘’the house of the man who sat on this chair will rot like this chair and become soil of termite mound , any one born in this house will never rule Kenya’’. Yes, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga tried his hand at Kenya’s Presidency but it never worked. His children are in active politics in Kenya, it is now the question of let us wait and see.
Alexander Opicho writes from, Nairobi, Kenya