Writing for Kenya
Page 44
wakuma Mombasa kinya Nairobi.
Rugendo-ini kuuma Mombasa tutigana kuona thina tondu hindi ya
toro ya kinya Mwandikithia wa Mumenyereri niaririe na aruti a wira
a Railway aria maratuire marutithanagia wira nao, makiheo handu
hega hagikomwo ni Kinyatta na mugeni wake na Mwandikithia wa
Mumenyereri.
Kahinda-ini kau niguo Kinyatta monire hindi ya gutereta na Mwandiki
wa maundu maya maundu maingi, ma guku ona ma Ruruya.
Nake Mwandiki wa maundu maya uria angienda kuigwithia athoni
amo ni ati Kinyatta ni mugi muno, naena matanya mega na manene
makuhota gutuguna ithuothe koruo twahota kumuigua na gwika uria
aritutaraga naguo. Ekuga ati we ndokite gwathana. no okite gutaarana
tondu wa ugi uria wothe erutite hindi io arari Ruraya. Nierutite ugi
wa urimi ena ugi wa wandiki, ena ugi wa urutani, tondu ona hindi ya
mbara, arari murutani wa kuruta thigari cia Angeretha kuu Ruraya o
hindi iria inyui ciana cia mumbi mukumenya ati tweragwo nia kuire
na angi makoiga ati atuire kwa Njirimani macio ni maundu maria
maragio ni thu cia ruriri ruitu na eririri. Uhoro munene ni ati hindi ira
athungu ario matururaga ugi guku. Kinyatta niwe urarutaga athugungu
ugi wa maundu kuu Ruraya. Ningi icera riake rirari ria athungu aria
moikaine muno na atongoria a bururi wa Ngeretha. Na tondu ucio ni
hinya muno athungu aingi aria metuaga akumu guku kuona kahinda
ga kwaria na Kinyatta kuu Ruraya tondu matingietire kumukuhihiria
ni guitigira anene ao. Na hihi nikio gitumi giatumaga athungu aingi
moka guku mahenanie ati Kinyatta ndagacoka tondu niahenereirio ni
gikeno kia Ruraya. Riu ucio wothe nitumenyete ni maheni tondu hatiri
mundu wendete gikeno ungihota guthoma githomo kiu Kinyatta ari
nakio. Githi gutiiragwo ati mubihia igiri ndagaga imwe icura?
Mwandiki wa maundu maya ekuga atiri. Tondu wa kuigua na
guthikiriria na kinyi ciugo cia Kinyatta ndahota kuga itari na nganja ati
Kinyatta ahana muhonokia witu, wagutuhonokia tume thina-ini wa indo
cia guku thi, o undu umwe na cia iguru iria iheanagwo tondu wogima
na uhoreri ni uthingu uria utumaga mundu etigire Ngai. Kinyatta we
mwene, ndariganagiruo ni Mwene-Nyaga, ithe wa maithe maitu, na
hihi uguo wothe ni muonete marua-ini make maingi maria mwana-
thoma. Th
ina uria angiona no angikoruo ithui turi Agikuyu kana turi
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295
So we all boarded the train in the Th
ird Class. Many Mombasa
Africans had come to the station to see us off . Th
ey waved their hands
cheerfully as the train moved away, and we in turn waved back to them
to say our goodbyes. We felt rather sad at leaving our friends behind as the train gained speed and the crowd disappeared from sight.71
It turned out to be a good journey because, when the time came
to sleep, the editor of Mumenyereri was able to speak to some of the
Railway travelling staff he knew, since he used to work with them
before he left the Railway in 1945 to start his newspaper. He was a
guard. (But he was studying journalism during the War years while he
was working in the Railway.) Th
e Railway staff he spoke to were able
to fi nd sleeping berths for Kenyatta in the Second Class, as well as for
his friend Brother Francis and the editor himself.
Kenyatta and the Editor get to know one another
In the new compartment the editor and Mr Kenyatta were able to talk
of many things now that they had the time. It was a way to get to know
each other better since they had not previously met. Th
e editor was still
at school when Kenyatta had left fi ft een years earlier.
Th
ey talked about various matters to do with politics.72 Th
e editor
remembers asking Kenyatta what signs would show that Africans were
about to get their Independence? And Kenyatta replying that [it would
be] when whites got angry and put many people in prison. When do
you think that will be, the editor asked. Kenyatta said I should not
forget that the white man came to Kenya when England was under a
woman, Queen Victoria. Africans will be given their Independence when
a woman sits on the throne of England as Queen. Which proved to be
true a few years later. He also told the editor that Africans are diff erent from Indians; that meant the white man would not rule Africa as long
as he had in India.
As they talked, Kenyatta said to the editor: ‘I think you are only
interested in getting a story for your newspaper. Th
en you will forget me
as you go in search of more stories.’ But the editor replied: ‘It is not my habit to give up my friends or to stop helping them so easily.’
Aft er their exchange of ideas and listening to Kenyatta’s answers to his questions, the editor, who did not publish most of what they discussed on that journey, summed up his views when he wrote for his readers:
What I would like to tell readers is that Kenyatta is a wise man. He
is full of good intentions which can bring much benefi t to us all if we
could only listen to him and agree to do what he tells us to do. He
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andu airu haria twaruma hihi tutiritikira kuru mbuiya utaarani wake.
Th
u iitu iria nene ni ruthuro na mwiyendo wa kuga turi ogi na turi
atongu ningi angi ni ithayo. Tungieheria ruthuro twendane na twitikire
utaarani wake, twahota gwika maundu manene magutuma tugie kiene.
No twathaya na turege gwika undu ona uriku tweterere ati Kinyatta
atwikire we mwene ndehota gwika undu. Ekiugo kimwe erire andu a
Mombasa, nakio nikiagiriiruo ni kumenywo ni athomi a maundu maya
nakio ni giki Ati gutiri mundu ungihota guikara thi ere Ngai ndehere
icembe, kana amwire amucimbire mugunda wake. Ngai aheaga mundu
ugi na hinya, nake mundu akahuthira ugi ucio na hinya ucio akona
icembe na mugunda, akagunika.
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297
says he did not come home in order to rule others. But he has come in
order to off er us his well-considered advice73 because of the wisdom he
has gained during those years he studied in Europe. He says he studied
farming, he was a writer, and he learned how to teach because, even
during the War, he was taught British troops there in England. Th
is
is contrary to what our people were told about him here. For some
of the stories we were told were that he was already dead, others that
he lived in Germany. All those stories were spread by enemies of the
African people.74
Th
e most interesting thing is that over here it is the white man who
teaches Africans, while in Europe Kenyatta taught whites what they
did not know themselves. Kenyatta’s friends75 were well-known leaders
of their people in England. Th
is means that it is hard for local white
men living in this country to approach such leaders themselves when
they go to England. Neither, therefore, did local whites fi nd time or
opportunity to talk to Kenyatta.
Th
at might be one of the reasons why, when they r
eturn to this
country, they spread false stories that Kenyatta would never come back
because the pleasure he enjoyed in Europe was too great to resist. We
now know all those stories to have been nothing but lies.76
We know that nobody who loves pleasure can fi nd the time to study
anything new, as Kenyatta did. We have a tribal saying that asserts:
‘Muhihia igiri ndagaga imwe icura’ which means: He who cooks two
pots at the same time cannot help one of them getting burned.
The editor’s conclusion is this: by listening attentively to what
Kenyatta had to say to him, in answer to all the questions put to him,
[the editor] can say without a shred of doubt that Kenyatta is like our
saviour77 from earthly poverty as well as [bringer of] heavenly things
which are given as a result of the people’s good hearts, honest inten-
tions, and the humility that enables a person to fear God his Creator.
For Kenyatta himself does not forget God, calling him ‘Mwene Nyaga’,
the father of our fathers and their forefathers. But you have already
seen that in his letters from Europe, many of which you have read in
the past.
Trouble could arise only if we Kikuyu or, rather, we Africans in
general wherever we may be, fail to heed his words. Our greatest enemy
is hatred and pride that make some of us say that we are more clever,
or rich, and we are therefore able to mind our [own] business without
caring what anyone else says.78 Or while some of us are simply [too]
bone idle to pay attention to anything outside ourselves.
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(16) Gukinya Nairobi
Mweri 26–9–46 rucini muthenya wa kana thaa ithatu niguo twakinyire
Nairobi nao andu aria mari hau giceceni mokite gutunga Kinyatta maari
aingi muno amu aria twari ngari tuonaga andu othe ta mekurugaruga
maroretie meciria na maitho mao na kuria Kinyatta ari. Munene wa
kiama gia K.C.A. muthuri ti Joseph Kangethe na muthuri ti Mbiyu wa
Koinange mari o hamwe na aria mokite gutunga Kinyatta. Hindi iria
andu mamuonire, makihura hi na gikeno, na thutha wa kugeithania
na andu kahinda kanini, akihaica mutokaa mena Mbiyu na Kangethe
o kinya gwake mucii Dagoretti.
Njamba ciothe iria cianahuranira bururi na ihoto cia mwena wa
Kiambu Muranga, Nyeri na Embu ciothe ciari cai-ini ucio. Na thutha
wa cai Muthuri ti Mbiyu wa Koinange akira andu othe ati niekumera
kaundu ke murio nako ni ati hindi iria mari njira makiuma Nairobi
makuite Kinyatta nimakorire twana tumetereire handu njira-ini natuo
tukimuinira muthuo. Agigicoka akira andu ati riu athuri nimagikinyirie
mugeni mucii, na ati tondu wauria anogete tondu wa ngari gutingi-
hoteka andu othe kumugeithia hindi io ni wega and aria matoima ete
mamenye ati ti kugiriririo kumwona tondu maundu nimabange na
hatiri mundu utarigia na kahinda ga kwaria nake na ga kumugeithia
agithaitha andu matige kurakara.
Agicoka akiuga ati hindi iria ari Ruruya nitamatindanagia na Kinyatta
no hindi iria Mbiyu okaga o nake Kinyatta no endete guka. No tondu
wa uria Kinyatta atari na uteithio wa kuigana akira Mbiyu oka amu-
roragire mucii. Na riu ihinda riri Mbiyu niacokia mucii kwi mwene
guo. Agicoka akiuga ni wega andu makenere mugeni ucio wa Uganda
mokite na Kinyatta akihuriruo ruhi rua gikeno.
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299
But if we were to get rid of that hatred, take to loving each other,
and then believe in his advice, we would be able to achieve great things
that would bring us much-needed respect. But if we prefer to be lazy,79
refuse to do anything in the way of self-help, and wait for Kenyatta to
do everything, he will not be able to do anything for us.
He said something important to the Mombasa Africans that should
be known to the readers of this text. Th
at was, ‘Nobody sits down and
says to God: Bring me the hoe, or asks God to dig his garden for him.
For God gives the man knowledge and strength, and in turn, man uses
that skill and strength and picks up the hoe and starts to dig his garden
in order to get the benefi t from it which God provides.’80
(16) Arriving at Nairobi Station
On 26–9–46, in the morning of the fourth day, at nine o’clock, we
arrived at Nairobi station. Great numbers of people were on the station
platform to meet Kenyatta. We saw them from the train. Th
ey seemed
to be jumping up and down as they tried to catch a glimpse of Jomo
Kenyatta before the train came to a halt. Strangely enough, nobody made
any noise whatsoever. Th
e silence at the station was deeply disturbing if
not surprising, with no apparent reason.
On the platform waiting to welcome Kenyatta were well-known
persons, namely the President of the KCA Mr Joseph Kang’ethe, and
Mbiyu Koinange81 beside him, and others who had come to meet
Kenyatta and joined the silent crowd.
When the crowd saw Kenyatta emerge from the train they applauded
cheerfully. Aft er the usual hand-shaking with the group of leading
people, Kenyatta was led from the station to the car waiting outside.
He got into it with Mr Joseph Kang’ethe, Mr Mbiyu Koinange, and one
or two others, to be driven to his home at Dagoretti.82
Th
e Tea Party at Kenyatta’s Home
A tea party has been prepared at Kenyatta’s home to welcome him back.
All the virile heroes of the KCA and doughty men from all corners
of the Kikuyu country were present. Th
is meant they had come from
Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri, and Embu.
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Muthuri uria ungi wacokire kwaria ni Joseph Kangethe President
wa K.C.A. akiuga ati ni igongona ria kuinukia mugeni maari nario
na ati thutha andu nimariona Kahinda ga kwaria na Kinyatta, na aria
mangienda mahota kumwita kwao, tondu ucio ni wega andu meharirie
no mbere ni wega arekwo ahuruke.
Th
utha ucio Kinyatta akirugama akiuga ati ndangihota kwaria uhoro
muingi, no mbere niekumenyithia andu ati niakenete muno tondu wa
kuonana nao na makiria tondu wa kuona tiri (Andu makihura ruhi)
akiuga ati hindi iria nginyire guku ninjikirie thimbu ino yakwa tiri-ini
uria Mwene Nyaga aheire ithe witu Gikuyu. Kugwatanio gwitu ti undu
wa kiama no ni undu wa ciiga kugwatanio ni tiri tondu tiri-ini nikuo
kuumaga irio iria turiaga cia gutuikaria muoyo. Tiri niguo tukinyaga na
ningi twakua tucokaga tiri-ini tukaunorio, agicoka akiuga ati nimukiui
kuuma hindi iria mwandumire Ruraya ni nduire njaraga cararuku,
tondu ndituire kwa mundu. Na kiria kinduirie Ruraya ‘Ni kuria kiria
gikaguma andu airu’. Akiuga uguo niguo atuire aragia kiria gikamaguna,
agicoka akiuga ciugo cia bata muno itonekaga hari andu aria angi nacio
cionanagia ati uugi wa mundu na ucamba wake niuthiite na mbere
matina maingi nacio cingo icio ni ici:
‘Mutumia wakwa na twana twakwa ni akwa ota uria andu aria angi
othe airu mari akwa’. Agicoka akiuga ati ciiko iria Ciothe njega ekite
ciitagwo njega na riitwa ria Gikuyu. Akiuga ati nio
i ni kuri na andu
mokite tondu wa thuti ya kumwona na maitho mone nguo iria ehumbite
na makoria kiria okite nakio akiuga andu acio nimatige meciria ta macio.
Na ati meciria maria andu othe magiriiruo ni kugia namo nimakuria
uria tungika tuthiruo ni mathina mothe. Akiuga ati andu aingi hihi
nimoi uhoro wa mbombomu iria njeru ironiruo matuku makuhi igwituo
‘Atomic Bomb’ akiuga we tiyo okite nayo ona ndokite na mbia cia kuhe
andu, akiuga ati he kindu kingi kinene gukira mbombomu iyo nakio
kindu kiu ni Uiguano, tuiguane ithui othe. Ningi agicoka akiuga ati
we ndokite gwatha andu amerage ikai u na u, no arehetwo ni undu
umwe wa andu mende gutungatura bururi na ruriri mena ngoro njega,
akiuga okoruo andu nimekwenda amatungatire mamwire na akoruo
matikwenda moige Hau naho oigire ciugo cia tha muno ota iria oigiire
Mombasa ciakuga ati Muoyo uria riu utigarie thiini wake o ihinda riria
moko make megukoruo magitamburuka ona maguru make megukoruo
makihota guthii nieheanite gutungatira rururi na bururi. No angikoruo
andu matikwenda amatungatire nieguthii agikare thi erimire ota arume
aria angi. Akiuga ati tungiruta wira na kiyo na wendo thutha wa miaka
minyinyi no bururi ugaruruke oiga ciugo cio agikara thi.
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301
Mbiyu’s Strange Speech of Welcome 83
Aft er the Tea Party, the fi rst man to speak was Mbiyu Koinange ( who
held no known political position except that he was the Principal of Kenya Teachers College). He told the assembled guests that he was going to
tell them a sweet story. Th
is was that, on their way from Nairobi, they
found some schoolchildren by the wayside waiting to see Kenyatta.
When the car stopped, the children sang and danced the tribal dance
known as ‘Muthuo’. He went on to tell the crowd that, now that the
elders had brought their guest home, tired out by his train journey, it
was impossible for the people to greet him just now. But those who
had not been invited should know that they would not be prevented
from seeing him. Arrangements would be made to ensure that no one
would be deprived of a chance to speak to him and greet him. He
begged them not to be angry with what he had said.
Kenyatta has no Money to buy his Return Ticket
Mr Mbiyu went on to tell the people that he had spent most of his