News Analysis By Leo Odera Omolo In Kericho Town
Apparently encouraged and sensitized by the relatively small progress being made as the result of legal suit filed by the Mau Mau veterans in High Court in London against the British government for the torture and atrocities against members of the Kikuyu community in Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising years in the 1950s, another Kenyan community which had suffered similar treatment is also in the process of filing another historical suit in the UK seeking compensation for its members who had suffered similar treatment.
Member of the Talai community, a sub-tribe of the larger Kalenjin ethnic groups who were banished and exiled from their ancestral land in Kericho, Nandi, Tugen and other place for close to forty years are also considering the option of suing the British government to compensate for the loss of their ancestral land, property and the, loss of their freedom.
Commonly known as Laibon is for the belief by many Kenyans that its members possess supernatural powers of soothsaying and prophecy, the Talai community, The Talai community who were before the year 1934 were living happily among the other Kalenjin sub-tribes like the Nandis, Tugen, and Kipsigis .
The Talai had occupied the most fertile in the Kericho Highlands region. The British had decided to give this area to the white settlers for tea plantations and construction of the green tea leaves processing factories.
The large tea plantations and factories which were introduced as cash crops in the region in early 1920s still stands there and owned by foreign British multinational foreign companies to-date.
The colonial authorities in Kenya, was becoming increasingly intolerant with the falsified accusations peddled by colonial chiefs and white missionaries alleging that the Talai were mobilizing their people to stage an armed rebellion in protest for the confiscation of land meant for tea plantations. Other accusers to the colonial authorities that the Talai were capable of bewitching families even government officials to death.
A discriminating ordinance was hurriedly tabled in the Whites and settlers dominated Colonial Legislative Council in Nairobi. The newly enacted law, which was immediately sanctioned by the Whitehall and colonial office in London.
It gave the colonial authorities in Kenya the power to remove the Talai community and forced them into internal exile. Talai members were hunted down like wild antelope, bundle together in makeshift camp in Sosiot and in other places while on transits camp while waiting to be walked for miles to their new homes.
They together with their herds animals were escorted by armed soldiers and policemen across the Nyanza Province and the remotest hills are of Gwassi now known as Suba South district. The place was infested by tse-tse flies and the colonial authorities expected the members of the Talai community to perish udder such squalid condition on top of the remote Gwassi Hillsh with no water for their animals and even for human consumption.
Close 2,600 families were involved in the inhuman exercises. The Talai members use to take their herds of cow for watering 15 kilometers away at Sori at Karungu-Bay on the shore of lake Victoria only twice a week. The group was placed under the administrative watchful of one generous retired Chief Kasuku Matunga with whom the group quickly cultivated close friends and family ties, making the life much easier for them to survive. Their leader Arap Koilagen was late relocated to another remotes part of the neighboring Mfangano Island, where he later succumbed to death exile in around 1956.
While In Mfangano those Talai members who were hard-core were placed under the supervision of the latex-Senior Chief Simeon Wasonga Kwach with those who were exiled there also cultivated another very warm friendship and relationship which has lasted for decades. Strict restrictions were paced on the Talai.
They were m allowed t ravel outside Gwassi or South Nyanza district without the express permission granted permission by the local chiefs, district officers {DOs], police District Commissioners. They were also barred from receiving visitors from their original Kalenjin home region, Only the boys and girls were, however, allowed to travel back home during mandatory circumcision periods .
The came the year 1962, when Kenyan people were clamoring for political independence,the then Legislative Member representing the Kipsigis community in the white settlers dominated Colonial Legislative Council Dr. Taaitta Araap Toweett moved a motion calling upon the government to revoke lift all the restrictions t had imposed on the exiled Talai community so that these people should come back home and resume normal life among their kins in their ancestral land in Kericho.
The motion which was seconded by the late Tom Mboya and supported by among other legislators Oginga Odinga, Masinde Muliro Ronald Gideon Ngala and Daniel T.Arap Moi. It was accepted by the colonial government unanimously supported by all the 14 African elected members of the Legco, moderate Europeans and White Settler, Asian members and the rest. There, was, however some loopholes in the motion itself. It din t spelt clearly how he close 7,000 families of the Talai community would be resettled, where to settled them and the availability of the lands were never mentioned. The Talai were verbally promised they would be resettled among their people with no specific mention about the land. This is because thee were no more land in the region for free in Kericho and in most parts of Kalenjin region had already been settled and exhausted.
The Talai were then abandoned in a small Kericho Municipality parcel of land where they have been living in a crowded manner ever since 1962
The majority of hose living in Kericho have yet to get the land which they can call their own and settled on despite of the repeated assurances by the successive independent governments of Kenya.
This week members of the Talai community converged for a cultural celebration gathering. They issued fresh demands for compensation from the British government.
The community spokesman Joseph Sigilai said the community suffered heavily in the hands of the colonialists and wanted compensation from Britain as soon as possible failure of which will institute legal action.
“There are hard facts that our people were tortured by the colonialists before us being pushed from our fertile ancestral land to create room for the Tea plantations and factories in that has benefited other people still languishing in abject poverty,” said Sigilai.
The sub-tribe spokesman said they were keenly watching how the Mau Mau fighter’s case was being dealt with before making the next move or instructing lawyers to commence legal action seeking compensation.
The youths participating in the cultural gathering wee n of the role their forefathers played, particularly the late Arap Koilagen in resisting the colonialists leading to his torture and eventually forced exile and displacement of his people from Kericho in 19
He said the community was also demanding land from the government as promised saying since they retreated to their ancestral home in Kericho County, the have been accommodated relatives some of whom have now run out of patience.
“We came back to Kericho in 1962 and we were accepted and accommodated by our distance relatives. Due to pressure of land, some of us are now being told to seek for land elsewhere rendering us squatters once again” ,said Sigilai.
He said the Kenya government has only managed to settle 515 families out of the total 5,574, and we are still being told by the authorities to be patient.”Surely we have run out of patience as the government seemed to be buying times as we suffer,”said Sigalai.
The celebrations were held at the Moi Garden ground in Kericho.
Ends