From: People For Peace
Colleagues Home & Abroad Regional News
BY FR JOACHIM OMOLO OUKO, AJ
NAIROBI-KENYA
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012
Today is February 28. It is exactly 20 years ago when the late Prof Wanagari Maathai joined mothers of political prisoners to demand their release in 1992 at Uhuru Park. The women who were kicked out of Uhuru Park moved to All Saints Cathedral where they stayed in the church’s compound for over seven months before their sons were eventually released.
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These are the mothers who fought for the release of their sons. They set up camp in the Uhuru (Freedom) Park where they staged a hunger strike and waited for the release of their sons. The mothers included Leah Wanjiru Mungai, 77, Elizabeth Wanjiru Matenjwa, 74, Milka Wanjiku, 84, Veronica Wambui Nduthu, 71, and Monica Wangu Wamwere, 81.
Led by Maathai, these mothers held a publicized meeting on February 28, 1992 with Attorney General Amos Wako to whom they handed a letter of support for their sons. They demanded that the Kenyan government uphold democratic principles and allow freedom of speech, but Wako met their demands only with a promise that he would look into the matter.
On March 3, the Moi government decided to forcibly disperse the demonstrators. Government police forces beat protesters with batons, fired gunshots into the air, and hurled tear-gas into the tent where protesters were gathered.
To ward off the police, three of the protesting mothers stripped their clothing, shook their breasts, and shouted, “What kind of government is this that beats women! Kill us! Kill us now! We shall die with our children!” The police forces responded by turning away and leaving the scene.
Although it could look as if there were no other political prisoners from other ethnic communities, other women like Marcella Ojuka (mother to Paddy Onyango), Margaret Opiata (mother to Odindo Opiata), Joyce Wafula (mother to Wafula Buke), Beldina Adhiambo (mother to Apiny Adhiambo), and Anne Kitur (wife to Tirop Kitur) may not have been at Uhuru Park but they, too, identified with the other womens’ struggles.
These were the days that the political atmosphere in Kenya was characterized by brutal government repression and terror. They were the days many students, journalists, lawyers, and human rights advocates were among those imprisoned for perceived anti-government statements, ideas, and actions.
People for Peace in Africa (PPA)
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Nairobi
00800, Westlands
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Tel +254-7350-14559/+254-722-623-578
E-mail- ppa@africaonline.co.ke
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Website: www.peopleforpeaceafrica.org