Kung'u Karumba

Last updated

Kung'u Karumba was a Kenyan nationalist and freedom-fighter. He was a member of the Kapenguria Six, along with Bildad Kaggia, Jomo Kenyatta, Fred Kubai, Paul Ngei, and Ochieng Oneko.

Contents

Kungu Karumba along with five other men, including Jomo Kenyatta, were arrested on October 20, 1952 in Kapenguria by British colonial governor, for being involved in a revolutionary group called the Mau Mau, which led a revolt against British colonial rule. Reason as to why the case was held in Kapenguria was so that the Mau Mau could not get to free the men. The area was remote at the time. He was convicted and locked up in prison for seven years with hard labor before the country's independence on December 12, 1963. [1] [2]

Following Kenya's independence, he remained a close friend and influential advisor to Kenyatta who had risen to Prime Minister of Kenya. Active as businessman, Karumba invested in Uganda. He loaned a substantial sum of money to the wife of Ugandan military commander Isaac Maliyamungu, but she did not pay back her debt. Karumba consequently travelled to Uganda in June 1974, [3] and disappeared, his fate unclear. [4] Intelligence reports later implicated Maliyamungu of murdering Karumba during a disagreement over his wife's debts. [3]

Family

Kung'u Karumba had a son called Abraham Karanja. [5]

Business career

As a business man, Kung'u Karumba invested in the transport industry where he owned a fleet of long distance vehicles. [5] He also ran a bulk oil haulage where he transported oil from the Port of Mombasa to Kampala and Bujumbura. In addition to that, he also owned a textile factory at downtown Nairobi. [5]

Legacy

In Kenya, Karumba is considered a national hero. His disappearance garnered much attention, [4] and probably contributed to the deterioration of political relations between Kenya and Uganda. [3] A popular musician at the time, Daniel Kamau, wrote a song entitled 'Where Did Kung'u Karumba Disappear To?' [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya African National Union</span> Political party in Kenya

The Kenya African National Union (KANU) is a Kenyan political party that ruled for nearly 40 years after Kenya's independence from British colonial rule in 1963 until its electoral loss in 2002. It was known as Kenya African Union (KAU) from 1944 but due to pressure from the colonial government, KAU changed its name to Kenya African Study Union (KASU) mainly because all political parties were banned in 1939 following the start of the Second World War. In 1946 KASU rebranded itself into KAU following the resignation of Harry Thuku as president due to internal differences between the moderates who wanted peaceful negotiations and the militants who wanted to use force, the latter forming the Aanake a forty, which later became the Mau Mau. His post was then occupied by James Gichuru, who stepped down for Jomo Kenyatta in 1947 as president of KAU. The KAU was banned by the colonial government from 1952 to 1960. It was re-established by James Gichuru in 1960 and renamed KANU on 14 May 1960 after a merger with Tom Mboya's Kenya Independence Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jomo Kenyatta</span> President of Kenya from 1964 to 1978

Jomo Kenyatta was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first president and played a significant role in the transformation of Kenya from a colony of the British Empire into an independent republic. Ideologically an African nationalist and conservative, he led the Kenya African National Union (KANU) party from 1961 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenya African Democratic Union</span> Political party in Kenya

The Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) was a political party in Kenya. It was founded in 1960 when several leading politicians refused to join Jomo Kenyatta's Kenya African National Union (KANU). It was led by Ronald Ngala who was joined by Moi's Kalenjin Political Alliance, the Masai United Front, the Kenya African Peoples Party, the Coast African Political Union, Masinde Muliro's Baluhya Political Union and the Somali National Front. The separate tribal organisations were to retain their identity and so, from the very start, KADU based its political approach on tribalism. KADU's aim was to defend the interests of the so-called KAMATUSA as well as the British settlers, against the imagined future dominance of the larger Luo and Kikuyu that comprised the majority of KANU's membership, when it became inevitable that Kenya will achieve its independence. The KADU objective was to work towards a multiracial self government within the existing colonial political system. After release of Jomo Kenyatta, KADU was becoming increasingly popular with European settlers and, on the whole, repudiated Kenyatta's leadership. KADU's plan at Lancaster meetings was devised by European supporters, essentially to protect prevailing British settlers land rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dedan Kimathi</span> Kenyan leader during the Mau Mau Uprising (1920–1957)

Dedan Kimathi Waciuri, born Kimathi wa Waciuri in what was then British Kenya, was the senior military and spiritual leader of the Mau Mau Uprising. Widely regarded as a revolutionary leader, he led the armed military struggle against the British colonial regime in Kenya in the 1950s until his capture in 1956 and execution in 1957. Kimathi is credited with leading efforts to create formal military structures within the Mau Mau, and convening a war council in 1953. He, along with Musa Mwariama, General China and Muthoni Kirima, was one of the Field Marshals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Mboya</span> Kenyan politician that played a major role in the founding The Sovereign Kenyan State

Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya was a Kenyan trade unionist, educator, Pan-Africanist, author, independence activist, and statesman. He was one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya. He led the negotiations for independence at the Lancaster House Conferences and was instrumental in the formation of Kenya's independence party – the Kenya African National Union (KANU) – where he served as its first Secretary-General. He laid the foundation for Kenya's capitalist and mixed economy policies at the height of the Cold War and set up several of the country's key labour institutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kapenguria</span> Town in Kenya

Kapenguria is a town in Kenya. It is the capital and largest urban center of West Pokot County. The town lies north east of Kitale on the A1 road in Kenya. Kapenguria forms a municipality with a population of 40,751 as per the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census.

Ng'ethe Njoroge is a Kenyan journalist and a former diplomat.

The Honourable Paul Joseph Ngei was a Kenyan politician who was imprisoned for his role in the anti-colonial movement, but who went on to hold several government ministerial positions after Kenya became independent.

Fitzval Remedios Santana Neville de Souza, often known as Dr. F. R. S. de Souza and Fitz de Souza, was a Kenyan lawyer and politician who was an important figure in the campaign for independence for Kenya, a member of the Kenyan parliament in the 1960s and Deputy Speaker for several years. He helped provide a legal defence for those accused of Mau Mau activities including the Kapenguria Six, and he was one of the people involved in the Lancaster House conferences held to draw up a constitutional framework for Kenyan independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Achieng Oneko</span> Kenyan politician

Ramogi Achieng Oneko (1920–2007) was a Kenyan freedom fighter and a politician. In Kenya, he is considered as a national hero.

Rawson Mbugua Macharia was the key prosecution witness at the trial of the Kapenguria Six, who included Jomo Kenyatta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bildad Kaggia</span> Kenyan freedom fighter and politician

Bildad Mwaganu Kaggia was a Kenyan nationalist, activist, and politician. Kaggia was a member of the Mau Mau Central Committee. After independence he became a Member of Parliament. He established himself as a militant, fiery nationalist who wanted to serve the poor and landless people. Because of this he fell out irreconcilably with Jomo Kenyatta.

The Kapenguria Six – Bildad Kaggia, Kung'u Karumba, Jomo Kenyatta, Fred Kubai, Paul Ngei, and Achieng' Oneko – were six leading Kenyan nationalists who were arrested in 1952, tried at Kapenguria in 1952–53, and imprisoned thereafter in Northern Kenya.

Peter Mbiyu Koinange was a politician from Kenya. He served in the government and cabinet of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, for 16 years. During this time, he held the post of member of parliament for the Kiambaa constituency and the portfolios of Minister of State for Education, External Affairs, Pan-African Affairs, as well as Minister of State in the Office of the President.

Achhroo Ram Kapila, usually known as A.R. Kapila or Achhroo Kapila, was one of Kenya's pre-eminent criminal trial lawyers, representing a number of African leaders.


The Kapenguria Museum is a museum located in Kapenguria, Kenya. The museum is located inside the prison where prominent leaders of the Kenyan independence movement were held and put on trial in 1952/3. The museum features galleries in the former cells of the prison, including displays on these leaders and the struggle against colonialism, and houses a memorial library in their honour.

Ransley Samuel Thacker was a British lawyer and judge. Employed in the colonial service, he served as Chief Justice of St Vincent (1931–1933), Attorney General of Fiji (1933-1938), and as a judge in British Kenya. He is best known for the jailing of Jomo Kenyatta.

Fred Kubai was one of the Kapenguria Six, members of the Kenya African Union arrested in 1952, tried and imprisoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ochola Ogaye Mak'Anyengo</span> Kenyan trade unionist and politician (1930-1990)

Ochola Ogaye Mak'Anyengo, also known as George Philip Ochola (1930–1990) was a Kenyan trade unionist and Member of Parliament for Ndhiwa, South Nyanza, Kenya. He was involved in the fight for Kenya's independence and was a beneficiary of the Mboya-Kennedy airlifts.

The Nairobi People's Convention Party (NPCP) was a Nairobi based political party formed in 1957 by Tom Mboya. This party played a crucial role in the fight for Kenya's independence. Despite attempts at suppression from the colonial government, the NPCP managed to mobilise Africans in Nairobi to further the nationalist cause and fight for independence from Britain. Following Jomo Kenyatta's release from detention in 1961, the NPCP merged with the Kenya African Union (KAU) and Kenya Independence Movement (KIM) to form the Kenya African National Union (KANU).

References

  1. Dec. 12, 1963 | Kenya Gains Independence - The New York Times
  2. The case that immortalised Kenya's 'Kapenguria Six'. (2017, July 1). https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/Case-that-immortalised-Kenya-Kapenguria-Six-/434746-3995106-s8sxn5z/index.html
  3. 1 2 3 Amos Kareithi (30 September 2018). "Why Uganda's Idi Amin rejected Jomo's free flight offer from Nairobi". Standard. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Kenya History - Makes of a Nation". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-07-21.
  5. 1 2 3 "How Karumba's pursuit of debtor led to his death". Daily Nation. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  6. Popular Music Censorship in Africa - Google Books

The case that immortalised Kenya's 'Kapenguria Six'. (2017, July 1). Retrieved from https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/Case-that-immortalised-Kenya-Kapenguria-Six-/434746-3995106-s8sxn5z/index.html