“The cat with nine lives”: Paul Ngei and the making of modern Kenya

Abstract

Every Kenyan knows a story about the Kamba politician Paul Ngei. Ngei fought for Kenya's freedom from British colonial rule during the 1950s, then remained at the pinnacle of the political system in independent Kenya for almost three decades. Yet despite Ngei's prominence, he is almost entirely absent from the large volume of academic scholarship on Kenya. Bringing together testimony from his remaining family and past political associates, as well as utilizing archival records, this article presents a portrait of Ngei. It demonstrates the important role he played in shaping the history of colonial and independent Kenya. As one of the greatest orators in Kenya's history, with an ability to rally rural support like none other, Ngei was a profound threat for Kenya's presidents, especially Jomo Kenyatta. Ngei's ability to hold on to power despite controversy and scandal led the press to nickname him “the cat with nine lives”.

Keywords:

• Paul Ngei
• Kenya
• Kamba
• Jomo Kenyatta
• independence
• politics

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Mwendwa Musyimi for his assistance in undertaking the interviews cited here, as well as John Lonsdale, Daniel Ostendorff, and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the text.

Notes

1. “When Kenya Reigned,” The Monitor, December 21, 2002. Kenya went on to win the match 4–2 on penalties.

2. Grignon, “Le Politicien entrepreneur.”

3. Some of the biographical information on Ngei's early life and final years appears in shortened form in Osborne, “Paul Ngei.”

4. “The Rise and Fall of J.D. Otiende,” East African Standard: The Big Issue, September 9, 2002.

5. The Trial of Jomo Kenyatta and 5 Others (1952–3) [hereafter TJK], Vol. III, p. 1759, Kenya National Archives [hereafter KNA]: RR/9/15. The date Ngei entered Alliance is unclear; I have chosen 1939 as it was the date given by Ngei himself in 1953.

6. Interestingly, this brigade produced the “largest and most openly defiant act of non-violent collective resistance by combat askaris in the Second World War.” The men refused to join the ships assigned to take them from North-east Africa to Ceylon until they had received leave. Parsons, African Rank-and-File, 203–6.

7. TJK, Vol. III, pp. 1759–60, KNA: RR/9/15.

8. Parsons, African Rank-and-File, 192.

9. Grignon, “Le Politicien entrepreneur,” 99; TJK, Vol. III, pp. 1760, 1773–4, KNA: RR/9/15.

10. Interview No. 58, Kanzalu, October 23, 2006. All interviews were carried out in person by the author, with occasional assistance from a translator, Mwendwa Musyimi. Details regarding informants’ identities remain in the possession of the author, except where the author received explicit permission from the interviewee to publish his or her name.

11. Odinga, Not Yet Uhuru, 81–2.

12. Ngei wrote to the district commissioner of Machakos – J.K.R. Thorp – in mid-1951: “I am compelled to write … for the purpose of obtaining an official permission to tour all locations in Machakos District with the intention of starting a printing and publishing company.” Thorp – naively – was interested in the proposal, noting that officials hoped to restart the government-issued Muei wa Mukamba shortly! Thorp to Ngei, July 30, 1951, KNA: DC/MKS/9/3.

13. Corfield, Historical Survey, 202–7; Osborne, “Kamba and Mau Mau.”

14. Interview with Emma Muloko Paul Ngei, Kanzalu, October 23, 2006. For a useful introduction to the primary source material on the Mau Mau oath see Clough, Mau Mau Memoirs, 85–125.

15. Kaggia, Roots of Freedom, 125.

16. Anderson, Histories of the Hanged, 63.

17. TJK, Vol. I, p. 1, KNA: RR/9/13.

18. Information presented here about Ngei's trial is taken from TJK, Vol. I, pp. 158–74, 180–98, 266, 270, 280–90, KNA: RR/9/13; Vol. II, pp. 746–7, KNA: RR/9/14; Vol. III, pp. 1766–73, 1778–83, KNA: RR/9/15. Peter Evans also provides an interesting – though slightly different – account of these events: Evans, Law and Disorder, 110–6.

19. Lonsdale, “Kenyatta's Trials,” 226, 237.

20. Kaggia, Roots of Freedom, 145.

21. Press Office Handout No. 197, “New Daily Broadcasts in Kikamba,” February 15, 1954, KNA: DC/MKS/11/1. For more on the divide-and-rule methods used to separate Kamba from Kikuyu see Osborne, “Kamba and Mau Mau,” 75–9.

22. Interview No. 58, Kanzalu, October 23, 2006; Interview with Emma Muloko Paul Ngei, Kanzalu, October 23, 2006.

23. Lokitaung Sub-District Annual Report, 1953, KNA: DC/TURK/1/10.

24. Watkins, Jomo's Jailor, 183–9.

25. Interview No. 58, Kanzalu, October 23, 2006.

26. Grignon, “Le Politicien entrepreneur,” 216.

27. Kaggia, Roots of Freedom, 173.

28. “Our Land Must Be Returned to Us, Mr. Kenyatta Tells Mass Rally,” East African Standard, September 11, 1961.

29. Interview No. 53, September 12, 2006.

30. “Kamba Squatters Mark Out Plots on Thika Farms,” East African Standard, September 4, 1961.

31. “Ngei Leads 120,000 in the ‘Land Hymn,’” Daily Nation, September 25, 1961.

32. “Letter from Prison,” The Observer, June 8, 1958. The letter alleged that the detainees were beaten, poorly fed, and that the Kenya government aimed to starve them to death. The allegations – dismissed after an inquiry – enraged liberal groups ranging from Christian Action to the Movement for Colonial Freedom to the National Council for Civil Liberties. See, for instance, National Council for Civil Liberties to the Colonial Secretary, June 11, 1958, KNA: MSS/53/12.

33. “Mixed Reactions to Speeches at Weekend Rally: Coalition Leader Has a Meeting with Governor,” East African Standard, September 12, 1961.

34. Parliamentary Debates, House of Lords, Vol. 235, cols. 84–7, November 1, 1961.

35. Memorandum of the Colonial Secretary, “Kenya” (Secret), February 6, 1962, The National Archives of the United Kingdom [hereafter TNA]: Public Record Office [hereafter PRO], CAB 129/108.

36. Kenyatta seemed highly embarrassed by Ngei's speeches, refusing comment to a journalist who asked him about Ngei's views. “Ngei: I Will Say It Again,” Daily Nation, September 14, 1961.

37. “Kenyatta is Challenged,” New York Times, January 29, 1962.

38. Special Branch Report, “The General Election – May 1963,” May 6, 1963, TNA: PRO, CO 822/3166.

39. Sanger and Nottingham, “The Kenya General Election,” 4–5. For more detail about the numbers of seats won at the elections see Kenya Calling, April 27, 1963, TNA: PRO, CO 822/3166.

40. Kyle, Politics, 173.

41. John Nottingham, personal communication, 2005.

42. Interview No. 5, Ngelani, July 10, 2004.

43. Memorandum of KANU Members, Northern Division, Machakos, to Kenyatta, June 22, 1963, KNA: MAC/KEN/36/8.

44. Kyle, Politics, 174.

45. The mistitled file is KNA: MAC/KEN/36/8 (see note 43).

46. Odinga, Not Yet Uhuru, 281.

47. Parsons, The 1964 Army Mutinies, 135.

48. Grignon, “Le Politicien entrepreneur,” 272. Despite being in opposition, Ngei attended the third Lancaster House conference in 1963, at which officials and delegates discussed the future constitution of an independent Kenya. Various political intrigues had prevented him from attending the first two conferences, which took place in 1960 and 1962 respectively. Great Britain, Kenya Independence Conference; Kaggia, Roots of Freedom, 188–91.

49. “Investigation Must Get All the Facts,” East African Standard, January 11, 1966; “Mr. Ngei Gives ‘Secret’ Evidence to Inquiry,” East African Standard, February 19, 1966; “No Record of ‘Rules’ Reply by Mr. Ngei,” East African Standard, February 23, 1966.

50. “Mr. Ngei Loyal to President,” East African Standard, February 26, 1966.

51. “Mr. Ngei Disallowed from Front Bench,” East African Standard, February 26, 1966.

52. “Ngei Reinstated as Minister,” Daily Nation, May 30, 1966; “President Announces Ministerial Changes: Murumbi is New Vice-President,” Daily Nation, May 4, 1966.

53. “‘Death Threat’ Made by Ngei,” The Standard, October 7, 1975; “Ngei Ruled Out for Five Years,” The Standard, November 20, 1975; “Pardoned Ngei in the Poll Race,” The Standard, December 15, 1975.

54. Goldsworthy, Tom Mboya, 247 n34.

55. Widner, Rise, 76.

56. Interview No. 11, Ngelani, July 16, 2004.

57. Interview with Emma Muloko Paul Ngei, Kanzalu, October 23, 2006; Mutiso, Kenya, 256–79. See also Prins, “Uneasy Alliance,” 114; Throup and Hornsby, Multi-Party Politics, 506.

58. Interview with Stephen Savono Maveke, Tala, March 27, 2011.

59. Karimi and Ochieng, The Kenyatta Succession, 7–14, 27–30.

60. Interview No. 55, Miu, October 19, 2006; Interview No. 64, Kiima Kimwe, October 26, 2006.

61. Ngei had physically fought Malu two decades earlier at the KANU offices. “Minister and M.P. Scuffle at Machakos KANU Office: Branch Take-Over Resisted,” East African Standard, July 2, 1968.

62. “Rigging Claim in Kenya Election,” The Times, March 22, 1988.

63. Throup and Hornsby, Multi-Party Politics, 298, 505, 545.

64. “How the Loan Sharks Felled Nairobi's Political Colossus,” East African Standard: The Big Issue, February 18, 2002; “Kenya: A Century of Oppressive Laws,” Daily Nation, August 17, 1997.

65. “Kenya: Leaders Tired of Unending Hostilities,” East African Standard, November 2, 2003.

66. Interview with Ngala Mwendwa, Kitui Town, August 9, 2006.