SABA SABA. 35 years ago today

Sometimes successful 1990, 2 governmental ‘dissidents’ went to Cargen House successful Nairobi’s Moi Avenue. Controversial erstwhile Kitutu Masaba MP George Anyona and his neighbour successful Madaraka Estate Njeru Kathagu’s ngo was to rein successful a antheral disgraced by the ruling enactment Kanu and thrown into governmental cold. Their gathering with Kenneth Matiba had been brokered by erstwhile almighty Cabinet Minister Simeon Nyachae, who was present being treated arsenic a Kanu pariah. In the meeting, Matiba was briefed connected the presumption of the clamour for governmental pluralism and helium embraced the telephone for the propulsion for galore governmental parties. But Anyona and Kathangu, who had some tasted the wrath of the strategy by being jailed and detained for contradicting the Kanu regime, warned their big that the authorities had demonstrated willingness to ruthlessly woody with dissidents. “When we told Matiba not to beryllium careless arsenic helium could beryllium arrested oregon adjacent eliminated, helium laughed disconnected our caution and and exclaimed, I cannot beryllium detained oregon jailed,” said Kathangu. Apparently, Matiba, who had been stripped disconnected his ministerial presumption and Kanu posts, was not a bully pupil of history. This precise man, a Gikuyu, Embu and Meru Association (Gema) insider during Kenyatta’s time, had backed a question successful Parliament led by his workfellow Mwai Kibaki making Kenya a 1 enactment state. That was successful June 1988. Fast guardant to 1990, and Kanu had ostracised him. Matiba was an aggravated antheral openly challenging the system, but inactive believed the authorities could not interaction him. Kibaki excessively had been demoted from Vice President and was present the Health minister. This was a miscalculation Matiba was going to wage for heavily. But helium was yet to marque the gravest mistake, 1 that would alteration his destiny. On May 23, 1990, Matiba fto retired a governmental thunderbolt. With erstwhile Cabinet Minister Charles Rubia, helium called a property league successful which helium demanded the instauration of multi-party democracy. He besides announced that determination would beryllium a rally connected July 7 astatine Kamukunji successful Nairobi. He had fired the archetypal salvo. The effect from the authorities would beryllium accelerated and brutal. The archetypal program was to archetypal signifier a governmental enactment -- Kenya National Congress (KNC) -- which was to beryllium launched connected July 1, 1990. This was to beryllium followed by a bid of activities agitating for governmental reforms. But Matiba had fto the feline retired of the container and gave information agents reasons to commencement shadowing him wherever helium went. Before Matiba was reigned in, a committee comprising of Isaiah Ngotho, David Oyugi, Kariuki Gathitu, Anyona and Kathangu had been covertly gathering to program the activities of the yet to beryllium formed governmental party. They did not accidental a connection to Matiba, Rubia and Raila Odinga. With the plans for the enactment of a governmental enactment present successful jeopardy, the cardinal committee went connected secretly with their activities. Matiba connected the different manus intensified his attacks connected the government. Nyachae had besides singlehandedly taken connected the Kanu authorities and had been buying abstraction successful large newspapers to denounce it. And arsenic Matiba spent each his energies warding disconnected the police, the committee leased an bureau astatine Musa House overlooking Kamukunji. Using a scope hidden successful the office, Kathangu and his co-conspirators monitored the venue of the overmuch anticipated meeting. The planners past distributed leaflets crossed the state inviting Kenyans to Kamukunji connected July 7. The rally was to commencement astatine 10 am, the leaflets said. Four days earlier the planned rally, Matiba, Raila, Rubia and different leaders were arrested. But chartless to the police, Kathangu and his committee had different plans, arranging buses to ferry supporters from each implicit the country. “We had 3 groups of people. In the mediate was a radical of boys who were playing soccer. On the fringes of the venue were 3 groups of radical seated successful antithetic positions conscionable similar locals discussing events,” said Kathangu. Despite each their planning, the constabulary inactive raided Kamukunji and started dispersing the multitudes. By then, connection had dispersed astir the city. Thousands were retired successful the thoroughfare battling the constabulary and the attendant chaos rapidly dispersed to different parts of the country, making it ungovernable. Scores were killed successful the metropolis and astir the country. Consequently, Anyona, Kathangu, Ngotho, Oyugi and an estimated 5,000 different radical were arrested and locked up successful assorted constabulary stations crossed the state arsenic chaos reigned. Kamukunji and the aborted rally dubbed Saba Saba became a rallying telephone for wide protests to pressurise the authorities to scrap the contentious Section 2a of the constitution which had made Kenya a azygous enactment state. With astir of the multi-party proponents gone, Jaramogi and a 5 others devised a program to support the governmental occurrence burning. Former legislator George Nthenge recalls however they outfoxed the authorities arsenic they kept up the unit and the hard-nosed quality officers astatine bay. “Jaramogi was an aged antheral and helium knew that if helium brought 9 different elders together, the authorities would not hazard planetary condemnation by arresting us. This is however Masinde Murilo and Martin Shikuku were sent to enlistee me. Ahmed Bahmariz was besides recruited but we could not get 3 different elders to bring the full to nine” helium said. The six would conscionable successful a lawyers office, person feedback from scholars and ineligible experts and past convene planetary property conferences. They continuously hammered astatine the authorities until it caved successful to outer pressure. Ironically, Matiba, Raila, Rubia and different reformists were successful jailhouse erstwhile the constitution was amended and Kanu agreed to clasp caller elections. “While we were successful prison, 19 parties were formed by the authorities done quality service. The parties had handpicked leaders to caput these parties. All we could bash was effort to acceptable successful to them arsenic the state hurtled towards a General Election,” Kathangu said. Predictably, Kanu won the 1992 General Election arsenic the galore parties Kenyans had been warring for were dogged by enactment wrangles, astatine times splitting into respective entities.