From the archives of a pioneer minister in Kenya’s first Cabinet

Of the three surviving elected Members of Parliament who served in independent Kenya’s first Cabinet, two are retired presidents — Daniel arap Moi and Mwai Kibaki — while the third, James Nakhwanga Osogo, is leading a quiet and humble life at the lakeside town of Port Victoria in Busia County.

CONTEMPORARIES

And, despite being “the odd one out” without access to State security and other hefty perks, Mr Osogo still regards Moi and Kibaki as contemporaries, with whom he often shares jokes via phone and even dispatches advisory letters to.

“Before he exited office, for instance, I wrote a long letter to Mr Kibaki, warning him against fence-sitting. I pointed out to him that his ministers were letting him down for declaring government policies in market places, something that he and I know Mzee (Kenyatta) would never have allowed us do,” Mr Osogo says reflectively with reference to Kenya’s first President, Jomo Kenyatta.

Besides 95-year-old Moi, Kibaki (88) and Osogo (87), the other surviving members of Kenyatta’s first government is Charles Mugane Njonjo (99), an ex-officio Member of Parliament and Cabinet, who served as Attorney General.

The rest, including the founding President, have since passed on, the latest being Joseph Otiende, a former Minister for Education, in March 2017.

SIGNIFICANCE

And as Kenya marks the 55th Jamhuri Day — the day we attained full independence and admittance to the Commonwealth as a republic in 1964, Mr Osogo recalls with nostalgia the ecstatic celebrations of yesteryear, marked with fanfare including fireworks under the moonlight and dinner dances led by Mzee himself. This is in total contrast to what he regards as the dull ritual of speech-reading and parades, punctuated by unending presidential campaigns.

“It was a very emotional moment for us at the time, since we attached a lot of significance to national days, probably because of fresh memories of experiences in the political struggle and our eventual collective victory. This is hardly the case today as people appear to regard these days as mere holidays, which accord them a break from work,” the pioneer minister says.

When Mr Kenyatta constituted his first Cabinet in 1963, he appointed Mr Osogo as parliamentary secretary (assistant minister) for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry. The ministry was headed by Bruce Mackenzie, the only white-man in the Cabinet.

ELEVATED

Mr Osogo was elevated to a full Cabinet position three years later in 1966 as Information and Broadcasting Minister, replacing Mr Achieng Oneko, who had resigned in solidarity with Vice-President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who opted out of government in 1966 after falling out with Kenyatta.

Mr Moi similarly joined the Cabinet later after his Kadu political party was disbanded as a result of a merger with the ruling Kanu party in 1964, while Kibaki — another parliamentary secretary — became full minister in charge of Finance of Planning in 1967. Kenyatta’s initial Cabinet comprised himself as Prime Minister, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga as Minister for Home Affairs, Joseph Murumbi (State in PM’s Office) and Mackenzie (Agriculture). Others were Tom Mboya, Mbiyu Koinange, James Gichuru, Lawrence Sagini, Mr Oneko, Kyale Mwendwa, Jackson Harvester Angaine, Julius Kiano, Joseph Otiende, Samuel Ayodo, Njoroge Mungai and Dawson Mwanyumba.

FORCEFUL

“We served as ministers at a time when our population was around six to seven million people. We were fairly a small country and a small Cabinet that was effective and respectful to one another and to our leader. Today our population stands at 47 million and the Cabinet is either overwhelmed or knowingly operating at cross purpose,” opines former Busia South (present-day Budalang’i) MP. In his heyday, Mr Osogo or Orada (the vanquisher), as he is fondly referred to by his political supporters, was an abrasive and forceful politician. His biggest political rival at home was Cabinet minister Peter Habenga Okondo, notoriously called “loose tongue”, who has since died.

“My supporters believed that I, Orada, was the only one capable of politically dealing with Okondo, with whom we interchanged the Busia South parliamentary seat for decades,” recalls Mr Osogo.

As Local Government minister, Mr Osogo prides himself for “giving back to society” by offering job openings to the people of western Kenya, including renaming some of the Nairobi streets after local leaders, Luhya sub-tribes, clans and places.

REPRIMANDED

He recalls naming Busia Road in Industrial Area, Bunyala Road, Hakati Road, Rugunga Close in South C, Wanga’apala Road, Langiri Road in Woodley, Ndekwa Road in South C, Bulemia Road in Parklands and John Osogo Road in Dandora, after his elder brother, a revered academician and author, who has since died.

“Kenyatta not only delegated authority to us but was also respectful to his ministers. If he thought one was acting excessively, he called and privately cautioned the minister unlike his successor (Moi), who publicly reprimanded us,” he says.

Today, however, ‘Orada’ has no clout to influence decisions in government or vanquish opponents. The ailing octogenarian, who has suffered two strokes in the last nine years, is also diabetic.

He leads a quiet life in Lunyofu village on the shores of Lake Victoria. When the Nation team visited him on Monday morning, Mr Osogo was having breakfast — fermented millet porridge served in a sikwada (calabash) with boiled arrowroots. His eldest wife, Maria, said his typical breakfast is sugarless porridge.

OPEN AND FRANK

The sitting room is spacious and neat. The walls are bedecked with images of the ex-minister at various events, mostly with the founding President and Cabinet colleagues.

Reflecting on leadership styles of former presidents, Mr Osogo says Mzee Kenyatta was an open and frank leader who never kept a secret on a negative report on anyone.