Kumekuch Exclusive: Interview With Person Close To Tom Mboya

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On Tom Mboya’s epitaph it reads.

Go and fight like this man
Who fought for mankind's cause
Who died because he fought
Whose battles are still un-won.


I am honored today to carry a candid interview with somebody who was very close to Mboya and is therefore more knowledgeable than most would be about him.

Although we welcome diverse opinion in this blog I was rather upset yesterday by somebody who left a comment here that displayed their total ignorance about this great son of Africa (and not just Kenya). The worst thing anybody can do is to pretend to be knowledgeable on a subject they know nothing about. If it were possible I would have insisted that we limit Mboya comments only to those who have read David Goldworthy’s book; Tom Mboya: The Man Kenya wanted to forget. Alas most Kenyans do very little reading but too much talking, unlike Mboya himself as you will realize in this fascinating interview you are about to read.

Some of the enemies of Mboya are still alive and well today and enjoying their ill-gotten wealth and are in fact still very powerful in the land and this is the reason why the person we have interviewed here has opted to remain anonymous. However I know them very well and have known them for a number of years now.

Read, enjoy, think and purpose to start doing something for your country today.

Kumekucha: In your opinion how did Mboya's assassination 38 years ago change Kenya?

Kenya would in my opinion be far better off today if Mboya had not been killed. Many of the socio economic problems that bedevil us today Mboya had the foresight to have seen in his day. In particular he would have been concerned with ensuring that a reasonable state of equity pertained in the country. Unlike today where the elite are so wealthy and the masses so very poor. This brings instability to a country.

Kumekucha: There was this American who insisted that his ashes be interred next to Mboya's grave on Rusinga Island. Please tell us more about this and why the strange request. Was it fulfilled?

His name was Bill Schieneman. He was a prominent businessman in the USA and was the one who first introduced Mboya to Kennedy and hence starting the first airlift. Mboya and Schieneman were best of friends. After he passed away, his son told the family that his fathers last request was to have his ashes interred beside Mboya. The Ndiege clan knowing the bond between the two consented.

Kumekucha: Mboya was not a University graduate although many people were sure that he had to be. What was his secret? How was he able to get so brilliant and knowledgeable with his limited educational background?

Mboya was an avid reader. He was a person who felt compelled to understand things. He felt there was a need for his country and as such he was determined to fulfill that need. He read because he wanted to be sure that he was doing what was in Kenya’s interests. He also enjoyed being knowledgeable. He proved that determination is just as important as education

Kumekucha: President Kibaki was a very close friend of TJs. In fact it was TJ (Mboya) who drove all the way to Makerere University in his VW to fetch him to be Kanu's first executive officer. Why do you think the President has never pursued the issue of his murder when some of those who planned it are still alive today?

I think this was because Kibaki knew the kind of people he was dealing with. The kind that Killed Tom. (he was proved right when the same group killed JM 6 years later) So I think he was afraid for his own life to challenge them.

Kumekucha: Was Tom Mboya A CIA agent?

Ha ha ha ha ha (loud laughter). Everyone is an agent of someone or something. No I don’t think he was directly an agent. The CIA may have been covertly funding some of the labour movements that Mboya dealt with, but I do not believe that he had any direct or indirect links with them.

Kumekucha: KICC belongs to Kanu and President Kibaki knows it because he must remember how Mboya organized for it to be built. Why then do you think he allowed the Kenyan government to grab it from its' rightful owners?

I believe that at the time He was just into his first few months of his presidency and as such the he may have been indecisive about how to handle the situation. Also with Raila being a key ally it may not have been politically prudent to be seen to be bringing out the Mboya name.

Kumekucha: In your view, why was Mboya murdered?

Mboya was murdered because of greed and jealousy. Some members of the Kenyatta Government could see that they were no match for him in terms of leadership and that should anything happen to Kenyatta (Kenyatta had suffered a stroke a few months before) the cabinet and public would have wanted Mboya to be the next leader. Also Mboya was not the kind of person who believed in the unjust accumulation of wealth (corruption) They realized that should he take over their chances of plundering the country were zero.

Kumekucha: There is a theory that the Americans whom Mboya was close to had a hand in his assassination and that is why they remained so aloof after he was gunned down. Please comment.

No. I would think that the British were more likely the beneficiaries of Mboya’s assassination. The Americans were keen on Mboya because they worked so well with him and could easily see the benefits of having a presence in East Africa. The British though may have been glad since it restored their grip on Kenyan politics. The Americans merely decided to wait for a more opportune time…like now.

Kumekucha: What were Mboya's strongest points, politically?

I would say his ability to strategize. That is to look ahead and work backwards in order to achieve his goals. His confidence too was a boost. The fact that he read a lot meant he understood what he was talking about and people could see the results. He was also an excellent organizer and had a genuine interest in the lives of his people and the state of the country.

Kumekucha: Have you read David Goldworthy's book on Mboya? If so what do you think about it?

I have read it. I think it’s the most accurate account of the lives and times of Mboya. It is well researched and does a splendid job of demonstrating how Mboya could use his trade union platform for political gain without the colonial Government being able to pin him down.

Kumekucha: Any other comments?

The older political elite in Kenya are fully aware of how much Mboya did for this country but choose to bury their heads in the sand. It’s a shame that none of them have the courage and integrity to come out openly and say that he was the true architect of Kenya’s independence.

To read the other numerous and fascinating Tom Mboya articles in this blog go to the top of this page and key in the words "Tom Mboya" above and before you click on "search" highlight "Kumekucha.blogspot.com."

The photographs Kumekucha feared to publish.

Horror of Kenyan with female sex organ sharing cell with men at Kamiti Prison

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