Writing for Kenya
Page 49
getting things because we lack Unity, and fail to be of one mind. Th
at’s
very bad on our part. For if we fail to take heed of one of these two
things, we make the other one25 useless. If we are United and speak with
one voice and one mind, everything we demand will be given us.
‘Th
en if that’s the right thing to do, let’s be United. Another thing I
noticed when being taken round Nairobi is that as we drove through
Parklands26 I saw many Indian children and the big building where
they were at school. Th
en I was taken down the Kabete road, where I
saw a long line formed by European children and the big building in
which they were being educated. Th
en I left that place and soon got to
Waithaka on the way to Dagoretti.27 Th
ere, I met the children of the
house of Mumbi and saw their school.
‘When I compared those three buildings, I said to myself, what a
pity that we, the House of Mumbi, should have been forced into such a
precarious position! For those three buildings are very diff erent indeed
and show good evidence of our backwardness. But some of you will say
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Ni wega tugie na witii, no ti witii wa kurumana, ni witii wauria
muiritu kana o mwanake etiaga ati niarua akona ati riu ni mugina.
Tondu maithe maitu nimatunoraga wega tondu riri hindi iria andu
matumaga magacoka magathii kuuna mugumo ni maikagia ndorothi
makamiagararia Mugumo, nakio gitumi kiria giatumaga meke uguo
ni kuuga ati maundu mothe ma wana nimaikio na maagarario muti
ucio. Ona ningi kiu nokio gitumi giatumaga andu methambe ruciini
tene matanarua. Moigaga ati wana wothe niwathererio niruui maarikia
gwithamba mwiri wothe. Kwoguo mwanake arua akamenya ni mwa-
nake, na muiritu arua akamenya ni muiritu. Naho hau niho hacokaga
hakoima athuri na Atumia mena ugima wothe, na uthingu uria utumaga
mundu atuika mundu.
kenyatta is our reconciler
329
to me: “What’s wrong with you Mr Kenyatta? Don’t you know that we
Africans are poor?” But I would reply:
‘Indians and Europeans don’t come to this country with a lot of
money locked in boxes. Th
ey have all become rich here. If we achieve
Unity there would be nothing to stop us from building good big schools
similar to those of the Indians and Europeans.28
‘At the same time, I didn’t see any Indian or European child with
their feet eaten up by jiggers. Th
en I asked myself, are we the only
people whom God ordained to be eaten up by jiggers?29
‘I’ll tell you what I’ve learned by comparing Kikuyu knowledge with
that of other nations:
‘I have not found any saying from other nations that is superior to
that of the Kikuyu people. But a mistake many people make is to for-
get what Kikuyu have said about [cultural envy], namely: ‘Mugathi wa
kuona uteaga wa mwene’ which means: ‘A new-found necklace makes
its fi nder lose his original necklace, left us by Mumbi, which might have been better or more valuable than the new-found necklace.30
‘So it’s better to remember our necklace, left to us by Mumbi—which
is the wealth of Kikuyu proverbs or wise sayings, all full of good
advice.
‘But what happens is that when young people leave the country [of
Kikuyu] for Mombasa, they stay say about three months and when they
return home, they say they’ve forgotten how to speak Kikuyu and can
only speak Swahili.
‘But elders like Koinange, when at this Th
ingira, ( man’s hut), and
Kinyanjui and Wambugu,31 taught me knowledge that helped me
greatly when I went to Europe. If I hadn’t had that sort of knowledge
I wouldn’t have been able to do anything at all in Europe. But armed
with that kind of knowledge, I added to it that of other nations, while
also comparing theirs with that of the Kikuyu people. Th
at being so,
it is better for us to become more United. Start respecting each other,
because what makes other races call us barbarians is this: When you
are ordered to strike this man, you take heed and obey the order as
you slap your brother with your hand. When a white man sees that, he
says to the friend beside him: “Don’t you see how stupid these savages
are?” Th
at’s no way to earn the respect of others.
‘It would be better if we acquired self-respect—not the pride that
makes one abuse others but the honour that a girl or young man used
to feel by knowing they were circumcised and that from that stage she
or he was mature and seen to be adult.
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(5) Uria Kinyatta Erire Uhindi na Andu airu aria Moi Githungu
Nairobi Cai-ini uria Etiiruo ni Anake a Uhindi
Th
utha wa matuku manyinyi niguo Kinyatta acokire agitiruo cai ni
Anake a Uhindi; na thiini wacai-ini ucio, ni kwari andu airu aria moi
Githungu gikundi kinene a Nduriri ciothe njiru ona Athuri a Uhindi
na anake ao mari kuo, mwakiri na mandagitari aria ogi na mirimu na
ndawa. Naguo cai ucio warugithitio thiini wa Hutiri iria iriagwo ni
Uhindi na Athungu igwitwo ‘Paradise’.
Andu marikia kunyua cai, mwene Giti wa Kiama kia Anake a Uhindi
agiukira, akira andu othe ati mena mugeni uikaine muno na muugi
muno uikarite Ruraya miaka ikumi na Itano, na mugeni ucio niwe
Jomo Kinyatta.
Hindi iria Kinyatta arugamire akiuga ena gikeno kinene tondu
wa kuona ahindi aingi uguo na andu airu me hamwe tondu uhoro
ucio wa andu airu na Uhindi guikarania hamwe koruo ni tene ndun-
gioneka. Tondu mutugo wa guku Kenya ti mwega, amu Athungu
meciragia ati nio me mbere ya andu aria angi nao Ahindi mageciria
ati nio megatagati-ini nao andu airu magatuika ati nio me thutha wa
Nduriri icio ingi. Akimera ati uhoro ucio ti wa ma ona hanini, tondu
kenyatta is our reconciler
331
‘For our fathers used to teach us many good, useful, lessons. Aft er
young people had danced the ritual dance before being circumcised,
they had to run to the Mugumo [fi g]tree that young men then climbed,
to break off its [top] branches. Before that, as they approached the tree,
they had to throw their dancing sticks over it. Th
at was a symbolic
way of saying they had thrown away all childish things, over the top
of the tree.32
‘Th
e same idea was behind the custom of having a bath in the early
hours of the morning before the young people climbed up from the
river to be circumcised on the ridge. It was a way of saying that all
childish things had been washed down the river as they began their
new life as adults.
‘It was a feeling of pride for a young man to know that he was now
a fully circumcised man. And for a girl to know she was a fully adult
woman. Th
at is how male elders and women came to possess all their
maturity, and the purity (or honour) which causes somebody to become
a person.’ He sat down as the crowd clapp
ed hands wildly.
(5) Th
e Words of Kenyatta to the Indians and English
Speaking Africans
A few days later, Kenyatta was invited to a Tea Party arranged in
Nairobi at an Indian Hotel by the Indian Young People.33 Th
ere were
also many English-speaking Africans whom the Indian Young People
had invited along, from diff erent tribes of Kenya.
But among the Indian community old men and women also attended
the Tea Party, not only the Young People, as their name suggested.
Th
ere were well-known lawyers and doctors who know how to treat
all sorts of diseases. Th
e Tea Party was held in a hotel used mainly by
Indians and Europeans, known as ‘Paradise’.
Aft er Tea, the chairman of the Young Indians got on his feet and said
to the assembled guests, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, we have with us today
a well-known and famous person who has been living in England for
fi ft een years. And the name of our honoured guest is Jomo Kenyatta.
I will ask him to speak to you now’.
When Kenyatta stood up, he said in English:
‘I’m very happy to see so many Indians and Africans sit down
together. For in the olden days, for Indian and Africans to sit down
together would have been impossible. Th
is was because the custom
followed in Kenya was not good.34 For Europeans are used to thinking
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matuku nimahitukire hindi iria andu eru meciragia ati mundu muiru
ona ungimugutha na nyondo mutwe, ndungihota kuhonderia mutwe
ucio tondu woria omite na ati gatombo ka mundu muiru ni kanyinyi
muno, uguo tima ona hanini.
Agicoka akimera ati we niakoretwo akirora matombo ma nduriri
ciothe cia thi, Ahindi, Andu Airu, Achina, Eskimos o undu umwe na
Athungu, na ati Kinyatta nieyoneire we mwene ati matombo ma andu
acio othe nimahanaine na no mahote kuruta wira oro undu umwe, no
kiria andu airu magaga ni munyaka wa kurekeruo mawira manene ni
getha mahote kuhuthira matombo macio mao ta nduriri ria ingi. Akiuga
angikoruo ni hari na mundu ugukararia uhoro ucio, Kinyata e tayari
gucindana na ndagitari uria muugi muno na uhoro ucio wa miiri ya
andu, Kinyatta amurehere Th
akame ya andu i thiini watucuba tutatu
kamwe gekiruo thakame ya Muhindi karia kangi ya mundu muiru na
karia kangi ya Muthungu. Riu mundagitari ucio mugi athure thakame
icio oige ya mundu muiru ni ino kana ya Muthungu ona kana ya
Muhindi. Kinyatta agicoka akiuga ati nioi nama ati hatiri mundagitari
ungihota guthurania thakame icio, no uria angigua no kuuga angiuga
ati thakame icio nicia andu; no ndangihota kuuga ino ni ya Muhiriga
muna.
Akiuga ati ena kiugo kimwe ekwira andu airu aria mari hau; nakio
ni kia ati andu airu marute wira na kio na mena uiguano na maririkane
ati ihinda niriahitukire riria maremagwo ni gwika undu makoiga ati
ucio ni uhoro wa Ngai, ningi ni wega matige gwitia makamena aciari
ao makimetaga acenii. Akiuga ati ucio ti mutugo mwega ona hanini,
tondu uria kwagiriire ni andu gutia aciari ao.
Agicoka akiuga koruo ni Ruraya araria gikundi kiu kia andu acio
othe angigugita kia andu airu, no riu uguo tiguo tondu ona thiini wa
Nyumba ino ni hari na Ahindi aingi mewgiciria ati o me bata gukira
andu airu. na makoiga ati o ti andu airu. Agikimera ati angikoruo
Ahindi nimekwenda urata na andu airu, ni wega mambiririe gwika
ciiko ci kuonania ati nimekwenda urata biu, tondu ciiko i bata gukira
kuuga na kanua.
Agicoka akimaririkania ati tene Ahindi maari urata na andu airu
hindi iria Ahindi matetikiritio kugia na aaririria ao Kiama-ini kia
Baruthi. Uguo ni kuuga ta mwaka-ini wa 1923.
No hindi iria ahindi metikiririo kugia na aaririria ao Kiama-ini kiu,
makinina urata ucio, makirika gwita andu airu acenji.
Muthuri Mugathe ti Kinyatta agikimera ati we ndekwenda Urata
wa kanua ati matungana na Muhindi njira-ini akamurutira ngobia
kenyatta is our reconciler
333
that they’re ahead of everyone else. And Indians are used to thinking
they’re ahead of Africans, or that they occupy the middle stage—while
Africans are seen as below all the other races.’ Th
en Kenyatta said ‘Th
ere
is no truth whatsoever in that arrangement and its entire conception.
Gone are the days when white people thought that even if you hit a
black man on his head with a hammer, you could not dent it because
his head was so thick and hard, since his brain was so small. Th
ere is
no truth whatsoever in such a belief.’35 Th
en he went on to say: ‘I myself
have investigated the brains of all humans living on Earth, Indians,
Africans, Chinese, Eskimos,36 as well as Europeans. And I’ve discov-
ered that all those brains are the same and work in the same way. But
in the African case, what’s been lacking is a legal opportunity to do
large and important works, to use their brainpower like the members
of other races.’
He then said that if anyone was prepared to deny that fact, he was
ready to challenge him even if he were a doctor trained [to know]
about human bodies. Kenyatta would bring him human blood, placed
in three small bottles. One would contain Indian blood, the second that
of a black man, while the third would contain the blood of the white
man or European.
Th
en the clever doctor would be required to sort out those bloods
and pick which belonged to each of the three diff erent races by point-
ing out that this blood belongs to an Indian, that to a black man, and
this to a European.
Kenyatta said he already knew that no doctor could do any such
thing. All he would be able to say was that all those blood [samples]
belonged to human beings. But he would be unable to point out exactly
which blood belonged to which race.37
He then said he had something to tell the Africans there—that they
should be prepared to work hard, with Unity, and remember that the
time was past when, if they were unable to do something, they could
make the excuse: ‘Shauri ya Mungu’, which is to say: Th
at’s God’s
Aff air, meaning that it was God who prevented them from knowing
how to do it.38
It was also good to cease being so proud that they hated their parents,
even calling them savages. Th
at was a bad thing to do. It was proper
for people to respect their parents.
Th
en he said that, were he addressing such a gathering in Europe, he
would have called them all black people. But here it was not so, since
even in this room some Indians thought they were more important than
Africans and did not consider themselves black. He went on to say:
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akamwita murata makwa Kinyatta; akiuga ciiko nicio ciakira maundu
macio mothe.
Ucio niguo uhoro uria Kinyatta erire Kiama kiu kia aanake a Uhindi
na andu aria othe maari ho.
(6) Uria Kinyatta Erire Andu na Cia
na Cia Cukuru Mathako-ini
Macukuru ya Karing’a Rironi
Th
utha ucio niguo Muthuri Mugathe ti Kinyatta athire mathako-ini
maria athondekithiirio ma mbere ni Cukuru ya Agikuyu Karing’a
Rironi. Na thutha wamathako, munene wa Mathukuru ma Karing’a
Muthuri Mugathe ti Johana Karanja akira andu na Ciana cia Cukuru
atiri: Muthuri uria tutuire tumuheaga uhoro wake riu e haha hamwe
na ithui, na riu kiiyukiei mundu wanyu nitwamuriha thiri wanyu tondu
wa kumugira kuria araturaga.
Hindi iria Kinyatta arugamire, andu makimukenera ota mutugo,
nake akimera atiri Ni uhoro munene uria muri naguo muthenya uyu
naguo undu ucio munene ni gikeno kia mathako. Hihi ni kuri na andu
meciragia ati macukuru matithiaga na mbere; no kungikoruo ni kuri
andu moigaga uguo uhoro wao ti wa ma, tondu riri, hindi iria ndokite
itanacoka Ruraya hindi ya keri macukuru maitu mothe mari mathi-
kenyatta is our reconciler
335
‘If Indians want to make friends with Africans, they should begin
showing by action that they really intend to make friends. For deeds
are more important than mere words.’ He then reminded them that
in the olden days, Indians used to be the friends of Africans—but that
was before they were allowed their own representatives in Legislative
Council.
‘Th
at is to say about 1923. But when Indians were allowed to have
their representatives, they ended that friendship and began calling
Africans savages.’39 He told them he did not want the empty friendship
of mere words, such as when he met an Indian in the street and the
latter lift ed his hat and called him my friend Kenyatta. Actions were
far better. Th
is is what Kenyatta told the committee of Indian youths
and all the other people there. He then sat down amid the clapping of
hands.
How Some Kikuyus were Beaten on their heads with batons
During the Emergency, whose main purpose for the Colonial regime was
to counter and refute Kenyatta’s infl uence, some Kikuyu tribesmen were
killed at Hola by being beaten with big batons like cricket bats. Th
e aim
was to prove that many white men still believed that Africans had thick
heads with few brains in them, so confi rming that what Kenyatta said,
in English, at that meeting was not true.40
(6) Kenyatta at Rironi, Th