THE KAMBA POLITICS EVER SINCE PRE-INDEPENDENCE DAYS IS THAT OF BETRAYAL, OPPORTUNISM AND CONFUSION.

Commentary By Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City

The modern political history in this country is painting the Kamba community negatively as a people whose politics has always been shrouded in numerous allegations of betrayal dishonest and opportunism.

Had the Vice President Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka stood firm and steadfast in ODM and worked side by side, the party could have won the 2007 general elections with an overwhelming majority of seats in the National Assembly and in all the elective bodies such as municipalities and counties.

It was Kalonzo Musyoka’s that saw him ditching ODM that led to confusion and suspicion leading to the hotly disputed presidential polls result. Although the election was much thawed, but with Kalonzoi Musyoka working side by side with Raila Odinga things could have been different.

This kind of ego-centric and self-serving interest has denied, is what has denied this proud community the chance to produce a politician with the national outlook who could capture the hearts of Kenyan electorate across the country.

To examine the Kamba community recent past political history dating back to 1960s,especially at the time of the country’s attained hr political independence in 1963,the Kambas were politically divided into small patches, one that is behind Paul Joseph Ngei, the other one supporting the founding father of the nation Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, another group particularly those from Machakos region were firm in the pockets of the late Tom Mboya while those in Kitui were firm in the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga camp of radicals or loosely the so called leftists pursuing scientific socialism based on borrowed foreign political ideologies..

The attitudes of the Kamba politicians of the old days, were just similar in comparison to the self-centered policies currently being pursued by the Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.

In 1960, Paul Joseph Ngei {Kin-Kuu} wearing a black hut with inscription PG meaning prison graduate too the Kenyan nation with storm, He immediately earned the nick name Bwana Mashamba owing to his hard-line stance by demanding that all the white settlers in this country should immediately vacate their farms , pack and go even before independence.

Ngei had just been released from the colonial jail and detention camps in the remote Northern Kenya, therefore his claims to be a prison graduate was somehow justified. He became classified by the colonial administration as extremely radical politician, and was grouped and categorized with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga by the colonial intelligence unit of the Kenya police.

At the time KANU was led by another ex-detainee, but a teacher by profession but a moderate politician James Samuel Gichuru a Kikuyu from Kiambu, while Jaramogi Oginga Odinga was the party’s vice president and Tom Mboya also a Luo, but urbanized Nairobian was the party Secretary General and William Mbolu Malu a Kamba from Machakos was the KANU national Treasurer.

Kenyatta was release one year later in 1961.Ngei and Kenyatta together with Bildad Kaggia, Richard Achieng’Oneko, Kungu Karumba and Fred Kubai were the Famous Kapenguria Six accused of managing Mau Mau and were all sentenced to seven year hard labor. After the completion of their jail term which started in 1953, each was banished to a detention camp also in the northern region of Kenya as part of corporal punishment.

There were two major competing political parties, namely Kenya African Union {KANU} and the Kenya African Democratic Union {KADU}, which claims to have amalgamated minority communities. Kadu also had its affiliates like Mombasa African Democratic Union, Maasai United front and Kalenjin Political Alliance, while KANU had its smaller party affiliated to it such as Nairobi People Convention Party {NPCP}, Central Nyanza District Association {ADA},Nairobi African District Congress and South Nyanza District Political Association {SINDAPA}

The Mt Kenya region residents were not allowed under the emergency to form a party. The region groups the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru referred to as {KEM}.Political activities in this Mau Mau infested region was not allowed until late in 1960 when a countrywide African political party in the name of KANU was formed and registered.

Upon his release from detention camp, Ngei immediately identified himself with KANU and toured many parts of Kenya addressing mammoth of crowds, at time even shedding tear about the African land which had been forcefully grabbed by whites.

The late Kenyatta also came out of detention camp in Maralal, Samburu district and immediately identified himself with KANU, but emphasized the need for the two parties to form a united front so that they could expedite the achievement of Uhuru.

This was at the time when Kenya leaders were preparing themselves to travel to the second and final Lancaster house Round Table Constitution Conference in London, UK. Kenyatta had secured a seat in the colonial Legislative Council when the late Kariuki Njiri who a year earlier had won the Fort Hall {Murang’s} seat in the mini-general election of1961 voluntarily resigned paving the way for Kenyatta entry into the H8use. Ngei did not get a chance or anyone to vacate his or her set for him to enter Parliament and was very apprehensive about this.

Non-Legco members were not eligible to attend the London Constitutional Conference even as in observer status, but Ngei insisted that he must attend as pat of KANU delegation to the talks.

A wing of KANU led by Gichuru and Mboya was not comfortable with Ngei, though he forced his way to London. Upon his return, Ngei developed hostility incessantly attacking KANU leaders, Kenyatta included. And in the same year Kenyatta called for a delegate conference. The meeting was held at Kaloleni Hall, Nairobi and attended by close to 2400 representatives from district branches throughout Kenya.

On the first day, Ngei who by that time had teamed u Jaramogi Oginga Odinga launched scathing attack on Gichuru Mboya axis dismissing them as imperialist’s agents, and demanded that those who had not graduated from prison should be kicked out of KANU leadership so that those who had suffered imprisonment in the cause of liberation war should replace them.

ON kamba support of Ngei by the name Victor Kasimbih from Kitui insulted Kenyatta and dismissed him as too old to lead. Kasimbihi who seemed to be partly mentally deranged was thrown out of the halls window by muscled KANU youths with Kenyatta reaching his bakora {walking stick} and saying “Mwacheni akione cha mtema kuni.Thge matter, however, calmed down with Kenyatta defending Mboya to the hilt and no top KANU official lost his or her job demoted or dismissed.

This did not please Ngei who had declared himself he was going toi be the KANU SECRETARY-General. Therefore Ngei walked out of KANU and Kenyatta readily approved. He formed his own African People Party {APP} which was soon to become the third largest political party in the country.

Ngei claimed there was a “ Sungura Mjanja” loosely translated as the rascal hare!!. Mboya hit back the hardest by referring Ngei’s APP as Akamba Pickpockets Party . Kenyatta disowned Ngei wondering why he was jailed in Kapenguria whereas his role was theft of motor vehicles spare parts in Grogan Road in Nairobi {now Kirinyaga}. The exchange of insults by boh side went for the duration of the 1963 general election. App won only nine seats, two senate for kitui and Machakos and seven members in the National Assembly.

APP failed to attract the following from other communities outside Ukambani with exception of the late Elijah Omolo Agar a radical politician who had also come out of detention camp and temporarily disagree with Mboya and Oodinga. Agar served as the APP National Organizing Secretary, but on sensing that APP had no feature ditched it and return to KANU shortly before the 1963 general election and won became the first Karachuonyo MP, a seat which he won as an independent KANU candidate.

Kenyatta deliberately appointed Ngei’s arch-rival in Kamba political derby Eliud Ngala Mwenda to the post independence cabinet as the Minister for Labour, and Ngei after sensing that he was in the cold trooped back to KANU together with his seven MPs and two Senators and were welcomed by Kenyatta who immediately appointed him the chairman of the defunct Western Kenya Marketing Board based in Kisum

The hitherto vibrant Western Kenya Produce and marketing Board was immediately hit with the claims of massive financial scandals and theft of maize, which sent its general manager, J.P.Oyende, to prison and Ngei narrowly escaped Punishment by whisker in what many observers saw as due to Kenyatta’s personal intervention to save the skin of his fellow former prison colleagues at Lodwar..

Ngei was later welcomed back to the cabinet and serve as Ministries for Co-operative Development and Housing.

I have just summarized all these to justify my claims at the opening of this article that Kamba politics is always shrouded in betrayal opportunism and confusion. Ngei’s story is not far from what Kalono Musyoka has been conducting himself in Kenya politics.

Reading fro the borderline point of view the conduct of the Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, how he jumped the ship at the eleventh hours when the ODM, was heading for a landslide election victory, how he readily joined Kibaki during the dispute of the tallying of presidential votes in 2007, and how he has been involved in diplomatic shuttle in futile attempt to have the Ocampo Six cases at the ICC deferred by the UN for one year, one would rightly say the Kambas are still far away from producing a national leader with nationalistic command to the hearts of all Kenyans people.

What wikileaks had written about Kalonzo are not far from being the truth and nothing. Our Vice President seemed not to like the politics of consistency. Of late he has become the architect of sycophantic outbursts each time he opened his mouth. He therefore need to weigh his remarks in public rallies and newspaper statements

Ends