ciahota kuiganira nduka igiri. Uhoro uria nyonete ni ati andu acio
mangikoruo mari mirongo ina o mundu ekuoya Baithikiri yake akoiga
athii kugura indo nduka-ini kwa Muhindi. Riu mundu ucio agathii
kwenjwo ni Muhindi nake uria ungi ageka oro uguo nake agathii kwen-
jwo ni Muhindi na njira yake mwanya. Riu uria andu acio mangika ni
getha matige kuhenio muno ni muturanire mbeca ta kuuga o mundu
akaruta Shs. 200/- mugurage indo ciothe hamwe mugacoka kugayana
wega. No aakoruo mundu ari ona tubeca twake tunini ni mukuniwo
ni kuhenio ni Uhindi ririkanai ati kamuingi koyaga ndiri.
Nindironire hindi ingi na guku Nyeri ati kamuingi koyaga Ndiri na
gitumi turathire na mutokaa kurakoruo kwi ndoro muno, mutokaa
uraremwo ni guthii. Hindi iria andu maraigwire twina hau maroka
maroya mutokaa ucio uratwaruo kuraya muno. Hena maundu matatu
magukuria Ruriri, wa mbere ni Uiguano wa keri ni Githomo, na wa
gatatu ni kurima na kumenyerera migunda iria twinayo. Macio nimo
maundu matatu. No riri, he kiugo kimwe ingienda kuhutia, nakio ni
giki, ati ni hari andu aingi aria mokite maigue kana ninjaragia Gikuyu,
na angi magoka kuona kana nderu ciakwa ikinyite githuri, kana mone
matonyo maria ndihumbite. No riri andu aria meguka maigue ciugo
igiri, acio nio marahanda mbeu njega. Ririkanai uria athomi moigaga,
twina matu na tutiguaga, twina maitho na tutionaga. Tungirora no tuone
atitwina utonga muingi muno bururi-ini uyu witu. Na niguo utongetie
ageni, tungimenya uguo twahota kuruta mawira maitu tutekumenithia
Ithe witu Gikuyu na Nyina witu Mumbi.
Riu Ciana cia Mumbi irogia na uhoti. Ningi ciana cia Mumbi iro-
thathara tukirie kuoya bururi witu twina kio. Arikia kwaria ciugo icio
agiikara thi andu makihura ruhi makenete.
kenyatta is our reconciler
351
(13) How to Conduct our Trade
Mr Kenyatta who was in a jolly mood went on to tell his audience:
‘Th
e Kikuyu attitude that spoils their relations with each other is that
of still saying: “I’m circumcised”. Th
is is because when one of them
does something the others follow suit, all wanting to become leaders.
Since my return, I’ve visited many tribal markets where I’ve seen many
good shops being built of stone, and have seen the goods stored and
sold in them.
‘When I think about it I fi nd that all the goods kept in those shops
could easily have been kept in two shops only. For what I’ve learned is
that if there are forty shopkeepers in a market, each picks up his bicycle
and says he’s off to buy his goods from the Indian shopkeepers.
‘A man goes to an Indian where he gets shaven alone ( cheated).
Another man does the same and gets shaven in his own way by the
Indians. What those people ought to do, to stop being cheated, is to
subscribe money and put it together, say each shopkeeper paying down
about 200/- shillings.
‘Th
ey would then go and buy all their goods together, and divide
them up when they get them back to their market. If everyone continues
to take his little money to the Indians, he will soon be out of business
aft er being cheated dry by the Indian shopkeepers.69
Th
e people ought to remember the tribal saying: ‘Kamuingi koyaga
Ndiri’, which means: ‘A group of people is capable of lift ing a heavy
object’.70
How my car got stuck in the mud
Th
en Kenyatta continued: ‘When I was in Nyeri District the other
day, I was reminded of the importance of that saying, that a group of
people can lift a heavy object. For the heavy rain there had turned the
roads into muddy puddles. My car soon got stuck in the mud so that
it couldn’t move. But when the people living nearby heard that my car
was stuck, they came along in large numbers, lift ed my car, and carried
it out of the muddy section where it had been stuck.’71
To advance means doing three things
‘Th
ere are three things we ought to do in order to advance our country
and nation. Th
e fi rst is UNITY. Th
e second is Education. Th
e third is
to farm well and take care of the land we have already got. Th
ose are
the three things which are most important to us all.
352
chapter six
(14) Uria Kinyatta Erire Agikuyu Mathakoini ma Cukuru ya
Karing’a Waithaka
Matuku manyinyi mathira ni kwagiire na mathako Cukuru-ini ya
Karing’a Waithaka na thutha wa Mathako ene mucii na atongoria aguo
ni maririe makiuga uria makenete tondu wa gukoruo me hamwe na
Njamba nene ti Kinyatta. Ningi magicoka makionia Aciari na kirindi
ati mena thina wa mwako, ona ningi magicokeria andu aria maakinyite
ngatho. Na thutha wa miario yao niguo merire Kinyatta agethanie na
andu. Nake hindi iria arugamire akiuga atiri: Uria nguuga ni atiriri,
ndina gikeno kinene ni undu wa kuonana na inyui, tondu andu aria
maciaritwo ndi kuraya ni aingi muno. Ningi ngumwira ati ni kuri na
Athuri monete thina munene na tondu wa thina ucio monire, nikio
twina gikeno giki uumuthi. Tondu hindi ya tene tutingiahotire guce-
mania ta haha tutahoete rutha. No riu nitucemanitie, na ningi Athuri
acio nimamuhotithitie guthoma githomo kiria mukwenda. Riu kimenyei
ati wira ucio wa gutwara githomo na mbere wi ciande-ini cianyu na
mwarikia kunyita wira ucio mukimenyerere mutikae guthukia wira
ucio. Menyai nitubataire ni githomo na macukuru mega na tuiguanite
na twina kiyo twahota gwaka miako miega. Agicoka akimera o kiugo
kiria oigire Mombasa akinya atiri.
kenyatta is our reconciler
353
‘But there is something else I’d like to touch on, which is that many
people have come to hear if I speak in Gikuyu, while others have come
to see if my beard is long enough to reach my chest, or to see what
I’m wearing. But those who have come to hear one or two words are
those who are planting good seeds. You should bear in mind what the
readers say: “Th
at you have ears but do not hear, that you have eyes
but do not see”.72
‘If we look very closely, we’d fi nd that we have great riches in our
country. It is this wealth which the foreigners have used in order
to enrich themselves.73 If we could understand that, we would work
hard without bringing shame to our Ancestors Gikuyu and Mumbi.
I wish all children of Mumbi to gain power, that all children of
Mumbi should continue to increase, so that we can lift up our country
energetically’.74
Aft er uttering those words, he sat down amidst wild applause.
(14) Kenyatta’s Words at Waithaka School
‘We are not poor people’
Not long aft erwards, a Sports Day was held at Waithaka Independent
school where Kenyatta was asked to speak aft er watching the Sports.
Aft er they ended, the school’s leaders spoke fi rst and told the crowd
how happy they were to be there with our great hero Jomo Kenyatta.
Th
ey also stressed to the paren
ts as well as other spectators that they
needed fi nancial support to build new school facilities. Aft er that they
introduced Kenyatta to the crowd and invited him to speak. When
Kenyatta got up, he said:
‘What I want to say to you is that I’m very happy to see you all here.
For many people who are here today were born while I was away. I
also want to tell you that many elders suff ered a lot in the past. And
it is because of their suff erings that we are all able to enjoy this Sports
meeting today.75
‘For in the past, we would not have been able to meet without per-
mission. But today we are meeting to enjoy our sports. Th
ose elders
made it possible for you to get the education you want. It is therefore
important for you to realize that the work of improving education rests
[now] on your shoulders. And when you undertake that responsibility,
take care not to spoil it.
354
chapter six
Kigiria kiria kigiragia twike maundu manene ni hindi iria mundu
oiga atiri, kai nii ndikiri muthungu kana kai nii ndikiri Muhindi, riu ni
ihoya ria kuhoya Ngai ria kuga ati ithui tutingihota (kuruta wira mwega
tondu tutiri eru ta Athungu na Uhindi). Riu ni wega tukuranie kiugo
kiu na gia kuuga ndahota na ni tukuhota. Ningi ninjiguite andu aingi
makiuga ati turi athini, na riu nario ni ihoya na moiga uguo mugukiria
guthina. Ugai ati muri atongu, tondu ona mabururi maria thiite nin-
yonete andu athinu kuri inyui. Tondu iri, ithuothe aria twihaha-ri ni
hari mundu utekuga ati ndainuka mucii? Andu othe magicokia aca.
Agicoka akimoria atiri, Ningi ni hari mundu utari kagunda gake? Andu
makiuga aca. Agikimera atiri, andu acio a mabururi macio matingihota
kuga ndathii gwakwa, kana moige ndathii kagunda gakwa.
Ningi ni mukuona macukuru makitwo na mahiga, hihi mahiga
macio-ri mokite na ndege? Githi maticuhagio ni Athuri o aya me haha?
Githi ningi mahiga macio matiri o githaka-ini giki twinakio. Inuothe
mungiroka ruciu, muge Muthuri ihiga rimwe, mwanake ihiga rimwe,
mutumia ihiga rimwe na muiritu ihiga rimwe-ri githi nyumba to
murikie? Kiu nikio kiyo. Ithui tutiri athini ona hanini ona ningi tutiri
undu tutangihota gwika tondu maundu macio ni ithui twikaga. No indi
tukamenyera gwika maundu macio na undu wa gwathwo.
No tungiambiriria kwirutira mawira macio ithui ene no tugie na
micii miega, na macukuru mega na nguo njega. Tondu ucio ni wega
tweherie uguta na tutige gutembana. Arikio kwaria ciugo icio agiikara
thi. Muthuri Mugathe ti Arthur Gatungu akiaria akigathiriria miario ya
Kinyatta ya kuuga andu maiguane tuhote gwika maundu manene.
kenyatta is our reconciler
355
‘You should all remember that we need education, we need more
school buildings—so that if we are United and prepared to work hard,
we’ll be able to build good and better school buildings.’ Th
en he repeated
what he had said at Mombasa:
‘Th
e obstacle that prevents us doing something important is our habit
of asking: “Am I supposed to be a white man? Or am I an Indian, to be
expected to do such and such things?” When anyone talks like that, he
is really praying to God. What he means is that, as Africans, we can’t
do anything good because we’re not white people or Indians who are
capable of doing such things. We had better change such words and say
“we can do it, or I can do it, as well as any white man or Indian.”
‘I’ve also heard many people say “We are poor”. Th
at again is a
Prayer to God. And to keep on saying that means you’ll go on getting
poorer. For you ought to be saying that you are getting rich. Th
is is
because even in some [European] countries I visited, I found some
people poorer than you.
‘Th
is is because I can put this question to all who are here today,
“Is there anyone among you who does not say I will be going home?”’
Th
e crowd answered ‘No’ with one voice. Th
en he asked them again: ‘Is
there anyone among you who has no garden of his own to cultivate?’
Th
e crowd answered again, ‘No’.
Th
en he told them, ‘Th
e poor people I told you about in those other
countries can’t say: ‘I’m going home, or that they own a piece of land
they can call their own gardens’.76
You have the power to build good school buildings
‘You can also see many stone-built schools. Are those stones brought
by planes? Aren’t those stones chiselled by the elders who are with us
today? Aren’t all those stones to be found in the lands we own?
‘If all of you were to decide that tomorrow, every elder will bring
one stone, each young man would bring a stone, each woman a stone,
and every girl a stone, would not all those stones be enough to build
a school?77
‘Th
at requires will-power. We are not poor people at all. And there
is nothing we cannot do ourselves because we are people who have
done these things already. But we are used to doing them [for others?]
because of being ruled.
356
chapter six
(15) Uria Kinyatta Erire Kiama kia Aciari Nairobi Pumwani
Memorial Hall
Kiama gia Aciari nigikoretwo gigituga Kinyatta muno, amu nikimwiti-
ire cai keri, cai umwe warugiiruo mwena wa Muranga kundu kuria
guiwitwo Muthithi, na uria ungi thiini wa Nairobi Pumwani Memorial
Hall. Mwandiki wa maundu maya ndaigana gukoruo ho cai-ini ucio
wa mbere na nikio miario iria yaririo kuo ni Kinyatta ndiigana kuona
Mwandiki.
Cai ucio wa Nairobi warugithitio ni andu a mwena wa Muranga na
Nyeri na Embu meturanire hamwe. Nake Kinyatta akinyire kuu ta thaa
ikumi na agikora andu mamwetereire o wega. Na hindi iria atonyire
nyimba iyo arume makihura ruhi nao atumia ma kiuga ngemi. Nakio kiu
nikio gitio kinene amu tutigwiciria kana he mundu ungi uria woigiruo
ngemi athite handu tiga o hindi ya ruimbo ngemi ciugagwo. Th
utha
wagutugwo, Muthuri mugathe muno ti Joseph Kangethe akirugama
akiuga ati riu andu nimekuheo uhoro ukonii githomo ni mundu uria
ui uhoro ucio wega. Agicoka akiuga ati Kiama kiu matanya makio
ni githomo na agicokeria miceni ngatho tondu woria mathomithirie
andu, no ni moigire ati kwi hindi ikinyaga uhoro ukarema. Muthuri
ti Kangethe agikiuga atiti riu ndikiui kana hindi iyo niyo ino. No riri,
uria kwagiriire ni tumenyeati tukwenda githomo kiria kina.
Th
utha ucio niguo Kinyatta arugamire andu makihura ruhi makenete.
Nake akimera atiri: Riu-ri uria nii nguuga no ati munjohere ni undu wa kwaga gukinya tene. Keri ndina gikeno kinene. Nakio gikeno kiu
kiiyurite ngoro yakwa hihi ni gia kii? Gikeno kiu ti gia kunyua cai
tondu gutiri mucii utari cai. No gikeno kiu ni gia kumenya ati tugo-
manite haha ni undu wa undu uria muna, na twike undu uria muna.
Riu koruo mwanjitikiria no njuge Gikuyu kirothathara tondu koruo ti
kenyatta is our reconciler
3
57
‘But if we were to begin doing such things for ourselves, we would
have good and beautiful homes, have better, beautiful, schools, have
good clothes. In such circumstances let us get rid of laziness and stop
expressing contempt for each other.’
Aft er saying this, Kenyatta sat down. Th
e people clapped their hands
warmly. Th
e last speaker was Rev. Arthur Gatung’u,78 who supported
Kenyatta’s argument and praised him for wise words which had so
greatly encouraged the people.
(15) Kenyatta’s words to the Parents Association at Nairobi
Th
e Parents Association had invited Kenyatta to a Tea Party more than
once. Th
eir second invitation was for a Tea Party to be held at Nairobi’s
Pumwani [Memorial] Hall. One Tea Party had been held in Murang’a
[District] at a place called Muthithi. But the editor did not attend this,
so no words that Kenyatta spoke then have appeared anywhere. But
he was there to note what Kenyatta said at the second Tea Party, held
in Nairobi Memorial Hall.
Th
e organizers of the Tea Party were from Murang’a, Nyeri, and
Embu; they had joined together as one body when they again invited
Kenyatta.
Kenyatta arrived late, about four o’clock in the aft ernoon, but found
the people still waiting for him in cheerful mood. When he entered the
Hall, the men showed that by clapping while women shrieked their
traditional tribal ‘Ngemi’, repeating it fi ve times. Th
at was their way to
show Kenyatta respect, for ‘Ngemis’ are not shrieked to anyone other
than tribal dancers ( or warriors returning home aft er victory in a tribal war in the olden days).79
Aft er being welcomed, Mr Joseph Kang’ethe80 chairman of the Parents
Association stood and told the assembled audience that they were going
to be told about the value of education by someone who knew more
about it than anyone else. Th
eir association aimed to advance education
and to thank the white missionaries, for it was they who taught the
people how to read and write from the beginning. But they [had] also
said there would come a time when matters became unmanageable.81
He did not know whether or not that time had come but he did know
that what we need most is more and higher education.
It was then time for Kenyatta to speak. Th
e audience applauded again
Writing for Kenya Page 52
