From fasting to protests, a brief history of heroes’ day

Security officers match during Mashujaa Day celebrations at Bukhungu Stadium, Kakamega County, on October 20, 2018. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mboya insisted that Kenyatta Day was to be purely a day of fasting observed according to the conscience of the individual.
  • Kiano managed to make it to Government House where he presented a petition to the acting Governor calling for Kenyatta’s release and the registration of KIM.
  • The police used batons to break a crowd of 4,000 people which had gathered outside the court and in the streets.

While every year most Kenyans look forward to the time off that comes with Mashujaa Day, not many know how the public holiday — originally known as Kenyatta Day to mark the arrest of Jomo Kenyatta on October 20, 1952 — started.

According to archived documents analysed by the Sunday Nation, initial discussions took place on September 15, 1958 at a meeting attended by prominent members of the Nairobi People’s Convention Party (NPCP).

Tom Mboya, who was the party president, was then attending the Pan African Movement of East and Central Africa conference in Mwanza and it was agreed that the proposal should be forwarded to him.

However, Clement Lubembe, the Vice President of NPCP, went ahead and convened a meeting of 800 party members on September 21, 1958 where it was resolved that the anniversary of Kenyatta’s arrest should in future be observed as a day of fasting.

FASTING
Joram Oyangi Mbaja, the NPCP propaganda Secretary, suggested that in addition to fasting, members should boycott buses and places of entertainment.

Mboya, on his return, was not happy that his deputy and other NPCP officials had initiated action in his absence.

However, he agreed there should be activities to mark the day, including fasting, but was opposed to any other extreme measures.

Mboya was under immense pressure from the more radical wing, that included Elijah Omolo Agar, who wanted him to approve activities like praying facing Mount Kenya or Lokitaung and singing hymns in praise of Kenyatta outside Kiburi House, the former headquarters of the Kenya African Union, Africans not exchanging greetings with Europeans and walking bare foot to Government House.

Mboya adopted delaying tactics, saying a decision would be made after he had visited Ethiopia and Mombasa in the first two weeks of October.

African elected members of the LegCo and leaders of different district political associations were also divided on the question of Kenyatta Day.

LEGCO
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga favoured an alcohol and food boycott but was reluctant to be seen as following the lead of NPCP, while Nairobi African District Congress President Argwings Kodhek issued a counter-proposal claiming that Kenyatta Day should be April 8 to mark the day the independence hero was sentenced.

To heal the rift, prominent elected members of LegCo — among them Mboya, Julius Gikonyo Kiano, Lawrence Oguda and Oginga — met on September 23 and agreed in principle to recognise October 20 as Kenyatta Day.

They agreed not to publicly declare this decision immediately.

That evening, Mboya chaired the general council of the NPCP where he revealed his discussion with fellow members of LegCo and instructed Agar to quietly spread information throughout African locations.

Two weeks before the proposed Kenyatta Day, moderate elected members of LegCo — who included, Justus Ole Tipis, Taita arap Towett, Jeremiah Nyagah, Ronald Ngala and Bernard Mate — held a meeting and strongly opposed any plans to commemorate the arrest.

OPPOSITION
Tipis warned that this would be interpreted as support for Mau Mau and a person who some people abroad viewed as a communist.

They were, however, not prepared to go public but opted for the return of Mboya from Ethiopia.

When Mboya returned, the colonial Governor summoned him and issued a warning for NPCP to “stop the nonsense” of Kenyatta Day.

Two days later, at a conference organised by Francis Khamisi in Mombasa, Mboya stopped Agar from speaking on the subject.

He was further angered by the behaviour of Agar and other associates who created disturbance outside Tononoka Hall by singing praises of Kenyatta and demanding independence as Mboya was addressing a conference of the Kenya Muslim League.

It was becoming apparent to Mboya that apart from the extreme elements within the NPCP, there was little support for Kenyatta Day from key political personalities.

DISINTEREST
Jaramogi had already lost enthusiasm about it, and moderate leaders, among them Ngala, had expressed their disapproval.

On his return to Nairobi from Mombasa, Mboya told Agar that he wouldn’t agree to any form of demonstration or any other radical activities.

Three days before October 20, he instructed party members that there should be no coercion, no walking barefoot and no placards as suggested initially.

He insisted Kenyatta Day, which was to be marked under the title Freedom Day, was to be purely a day of fasting observed according to the conscience of the individual.

As a result, the first Kenyatta Day was only observed by NPCP officials and members.

But in 1959, Kenyatta Day was well-organised and was considered a success because of the protests it had generated.

LICENCE
It was organised by KIM, a union of political expediency between Mboya, Oginga, Kiano and Oguda.

One week before it was observed, the Governor warned Kiano and Mboya that the procession would be illegal unless licenced.

When it became apparent that they did not intend to apply for a licence, they were summoned to appear before a Magistrate in Nairobi on October 19 to execute a bond to keep the peace.

Informing the Colonial Office in London, the acting Governor Sir Walter Coutts wrote: “Mboya’s decision was based on the assumption that he was above the law and the Government would be afraid to prosecute him….he has now decided on a head-on collision with the Kenya Government.”

After a short hearing, lawyer Kapila, on behalf of the respondents, asked for the adjournment — and the magistrate surprisingly adjourned the case until 9.30am the following day.

This made the government’s position much more difficult as it created a loophole the politicians could exploit to stage demonstrations.

WARNING
The Governor, who was annoyed by the Magistrate’s action, wrote: “I am now afraid that there may well be a breach of the peace tomorrow (October 20), and the police are accordingly ready to deal with it.”

On October 20, 1959, African politicians defied the Governor’s warning and observed the day.

Bus services were boycotted and many abstained from smoking and drinking. In addition, a procession to Government House in Nairobi was launched from two points.

One was led by Mboya from Consulate House and Kiano led the other from Dagoretti Corner.

While Kiano managed to make it to Government House where he presented a petition to the acting Governor calling for Kenyatta’s release and the registration of KIM, Mboya and the legislators in his procession were arrested and taken to court.

BOND
The police who had their revolvers for the first time since the end of the emergency, used batons to break a crowd of 4,000 people which had gathered outside the court and in the streets.

The legislators were released but Mboya was ordered to sign a bond of £100 to keep the peace for three months.

Kenyatta Day was clandestinely observed as a national day in subsequent years until after independence in 1963 when it was gazetted.

In 2010, following the promulgation of the new Constitution, it was renamed Mashujaa Day in honour of all the heroes and the heroines of the independence struggle.

The writer is based in London