Aasai

Kisumu was an active tinderbox by the time Jomo Kenyatta was making his visit in 25th October 1969. From Oginga Odinga and Achieng Oneko’s resignation in 1966, Kenyatta had spared no effort in antagonizing and sidelining the Luo community in government. Kenya People’s Union (KPU) dawn raids had led to the arrests of several Luo party officials who were not only detained but lost their government posts. The prominent lawyer and MP aspirant Argwings Kodhek died in a mysterious car accident in January 1969 only for Tom Mboya, who was the darling of his people, to be gunned down in July of the same year. The Luo community was bitter and Kenyatta was about to throw the match that would turn the tinderbox into a roaring inferno.

Russia Hospital (Nyanza Provincial General Hospital) was being inaugurated by Kenyatta on the last day of his two-day tour of the Western and Nyanza Region. The hospital was built with Russian funding through Jaramogi’s close ties with the East. Kenyatta arrived and they met cordially at the hospital where they undertook the business of launching the new hospital. Afterwards they retreated to a public rally nearby and this is when things started getting awry.

Upon arrival, Jaramogi was welcomed with shouts of ‘Dume! Dume!’. The KPU logo was a bull so this was not only a rallying call but it was a taunt to Kenyatta as well. Some also shouted ‘We want Mboya’ and had placards towards the same effect. As expected, Kenyatta’s personality could not condone those insults and he answered with insults of his own. As the programme moved from the Nyanza PC to the Vice President then the President (despite being in the Nyanza Region, Oginga was not given a chance to speak) the crowd stood in silence waiting to be addressed.

Kenyatta did not hold anything back. His speech was filled with tribal hate speech and insults aimed directly at Odinga who responded from the podium in turn. Kenyatta complained about the laziness of this people who seemingly wanted him to do everything for them. As he spoke the anger of the people spoke as insult after insult landed. Oginga challenged him saying the people were hungry and Kenyatta in turn accused him of only benefitting himself and lining his own pockets instead of his people.

Kenyatta complained that KPU was a dissent party that did nothing worthwhile for the people referring to the chants that had heralded his arrival at the rally. He added that if it were not for his friendship with Oginga, he would have had him arrested and detained in Manyani long ago.

“Nimekuacha siku mingi kwa sababu wewe ni rafiki yangu. Kama si hivo, wewe unajua ningefanya nini...”

(I have let you be for too long because you’re my friend. If that wasn’t the case, you know what I would have done)

He further threatened the Luo community saying:

“Tuangalie nani anatawala nchi hii. Kama ni KANU ama ni vinyangarika wengine wanatawala nchii hii... kama watu hawa wako wachafu... kama wakitoa nyokonyoko, sisi tutawaonyesha kwamba Kenya iko na serikali yake. Hatuwezi chezewa sisi.”

(We’ll know who is ruling this country. Whether its KANU or it is these other grasshoppers who are ruling this country. If these dirty people of yours try to make a disturbance we will show them that Kenya has its own government. We will not be trifled with.

At this point the people had heard enough.

All hell broke loose when a stone was hurled towards the dais as the crowd suddenly surged forward. Shots rent the air as the youths had a confrontation with the police. Desperate wails and gunshots rent the air as the police tried to stop the crowd from approaching. Oginga Odinga was whisked away by his people promptly but Kenyatta did not have it that easy. The presidential security team had to form a shield around him to keep him from being harmed. One of the presidential guards had to hoist him on his shoulders and dashed with him feet off the ground to the parked presidential Limousine which then drove off.

Many were shot down in the chaos at the rally but the tally was increased as police officers opened fire as the motorcade snaked its way out of the city. Passersby, women and children were not spared in this orgy of bloodshed that went as far as Ahero and Awasi kilometres away from the site of the rally. Government released the death toll at only 11 but Humanitarian organizations have estimated a toll of over 50.

The reparations were swift. True to his word, Kenyatta had KPU banned making Kenya a de facto one-party state. Odinga was put under house arrest in Kisumu before being ferried to Manyani alongside several other detainees. Members of the Luo community were now even further ostracised from the government and the development of the Nyanza region would be deliberately stunted for years to come. Kenyatta had left a mess in Kisumu, a town that he would never come back to and a nation locked in tribal conflict.