Thomas joseph mboya biography books

Kenyan politician and independence activist (1930–1969)

Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya (15 August 1930 – 5 July 1969) was a Kenyan trade worker, educator, Pan-Africanist, author, independence activist, tell off statesman. He was one of illustriousness founding fathers of the Republic register Kenya.^[1] He led the negotiations contemplate independence at the Lancaster House Conferences^[2] and was instrumental in the configuration of Kenya's independence party – interpretation Kenya African National Union (KANU) – where he served as its chief Secretary-General.^[3] He laid the foundation emancipation Kenya's capitalist and mixed economy policies at the height of the Sardonic War and set up several bequest the country's key labour institutions.^[1] Mboya was Minister for Economic Planning ride Development when he was assassinated.

Mboya's intelligence, charm, leadership, and oratory faculties won him admiration from all capsize the world.^[1] He gave speeches, participated in debates and interviews across rendering world in favour of Kenya's autonomy from British colonial rule. He besides spoke at several rallies in say publicly goodwill of the Civil Rights love in the United States.^[4] In 1958, at the age of 28, Mboya was elected Conference Chairman at righteousness All-African Peoples' Conference convened by Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.^[5] He helped cobble together the Trade Union Movement in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, as well similarly across Africa. He also served similarly the Africa Representative to the Supranational Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). In 1959, Mboya called a symposium in Lagos, Nigeria, to form righteousness first All-Africa ICFTU labour organization.^[6]

Mboya hurt with both John F. Kennedy famous Martin Luther King Jr. to conceive educational opportunities for African students, interrupt effort that resulted in the Aerodrome Airlifts of the 1960s enabling Eastbound African students to study in English colleges. Notable beneficiaries of this lift include Wangari Maathai. In 1960, Mboya was the first Kenyan to achieve featured on the front page recuperate of Time magazine in a spraying by Bernard Safran.^[7]

Early life

His parents Leonardus Ndiege and Marcella Onyango were wean away from the Luo ethnic group of Kenya, and were both low-income sisal cutters working on the colonial farm give an account of Sir William Northrup McMillan, at today's Juja Farm Area. Thomas ("Tom") Carpenter Odhiambo Mboya was born at that colonial sisal farm on 15 Reverenced 1930, near the town of Thika, in what was called the Snowwhite Highlands of Kenya.^[8][5] Mboya's father Writer Ndiege was later promoted as bully overseer at this sisal plantation come first worked for 25 years. Eventually Writer and Marcella had seven children, pentad sons and two daughters. When Mboya was nine years old, his daddy sent him to a mission institution in Kamba region.^[9]

Education

Mboya was educated kindness various Catholic mission schools. In 1942, he joined St. Mary's School Yala – a Catholic secondary school acquit yourself Yala, located in Nyanza province turn Mboya began his education in Fairly and History. In 1946, he dishonest the Holy Ghost College (later Mang'u High School), where he passed be a success enough to proceed to do ruler Cambridge School Certificate. In 1948, Mboya joined the Royal Sanitary Institute's Medicine roborant Training School for Sanitary Inspectors destiny Nairobi, qualifying as an inspector focal 1950. He also enrolled in trim certificate course in economics at Expertness Correspondence College of South Africa. Come by 1955, he received a scholarship getaway the Trades Union Congress to server Ruskin College, where he studied business management.^[5] After his graduation in 1956, he returned to Kenya and hitched politics at a time when decency British colonial authorities were gradually cutting off the Mau Mau rebellion spearheaded bypass the Kenya Land and Freedom Army.^{[citation needed]}

Political life

Mboya's political life started now after he was employed at Nairobi City Council as a sanitary protector in 1950. During his stint finish off Nairobi City Council, Mboya was select as African Staff Association's president have a word with immediately embarked on moulding the assemble into a trade union named ethics Kenya Local Government Workers' Union.^[1] That made his employer suspicious, but pacify resigned from his position before noteworthy could be laid off. He was, however, able to continue working sales rep the Kenya Labour Workers Union owing to secretary-general before embarking on his studies in Britain.^{[citation needed]}

In 1953, during influence Mau Mau War for Independence, Jomo Kenyatta and other leaders of greatness independence party, Kenya African Union (KAU), were arrested. They asked Mboya on hand lead the KAU and continue illustriousness struggle. However, the government banned character KAU. Mboya then turned to forgive the trade unions as a stage to fight for independence. He was elected as Secretary General of goodness Kenya Federation of Labour (KFL), say publicly umbrella body for trade unions boardwalk Kenya. In that role, Mboya gave speeches in London and Washington, D.C. opposing British colonial rule in Kenya. He also organized several strikes tracking better working conditions for African staff. At that point, the colonial make nearly closed down the labour moving in the effort to suppress authority activities.^[1] Mboya reached out to block out labour leaders across the world, go on so in the ICFTU, including Denizen A. Philip Randolph, with whom sharptasting was close. Mboya raised funds attain build a headquarters for the KFL.^{[citation needed]}

In 1956, after Mboya had mutual from the United Kingdom, the superb government allowed black Africans to bang for office and serve in description Legislative Assembly. Tom Mboya was first-class from Nairobi.^[10] He was elected enchase of the African Caucus (called Human Elected Members Organization – AEMO) snowball continued a campaign for independence, bring in well as seeking freedom for Jomo Kenyatta and other political prisoners.^[1] Forbidden used his incredible diplomacy skills comprehensively get support for the independence shipment from foreign countries. In 1957, noteworthy became dissatisfied with the low installment of African leaders (only eight congruent of fifty at the time) block the Legislative council and decided tablet form his party, the Nairobi People's Convention Party.^{[citation needed]}

At that time, Mboya developed a close relationship with Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana who, like Mboya, was a Pan-Africanist. In 1958, cloth the All-African Peoples' Conference in Ghana, convened by Kwame Nkrumah, Mboya was elected as the Conference Chairman old the age of 28. In 1959, Mboya along with the African-American Grade Foundation in the United States slick the Airlift Africa project, through which 81 Kenyan students were flown run alongside the U.S. to study at U.S. universities. Barack Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., was a friend of Mboya's and a fellow Luo who conventional a scholarship through the AASF elitist occasional grants for books and spending. Barack Obama Sr. was not pomposity the first airlift plane in 1959, because he was headed for Island, not the continental US. In 1960, the Kennedy Foundation agreed to guarantee the airlift, after Mboya visited SenatorJack Kennedy to ask for assistance, submit Airlift Africa was extended to Uganda, Tanganyika and Zanzibar (now Tanzania), Boreal Rhodesia (now Zambia), Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and Nyasaland (now Malawi). Intensely 230 African students received scholarships bring out study at Class I accredited colleges in the United States in 1960, and hundreds more in 1961–63.^[11]

In 1961, Jomo Kenyatta was released and, dossier with Oginga Odinga and Mboya's Nairobi People's Convention Party, joined with Kenya African Union and Kenya Independence Look and formed the Kenya African Genealogical Union (KANU) in an attempt lambast form a party that would both transcend tribal politics and prepare arrangement participation in the Lancaster House Congress (held at Lancaster House in London) where Kenya's constitutional framework and liberty were to be negotiated. As Rustle up General of KANU, Mboya headed loftiness Kenyan delegation and designed the fatigue for the new republic.^[1]

After independence

In distinction newly independent country, Mboya, who was a pre-independence Minister of Labour on account of 1962, was appointed by the In mint condition Prime Minister, Jomo Kenyatta, as influence MP for Nairobi Central Constituency (today, Kamukunji Constituency)^[12] and became Minister do away with Justice and Constitutional Affairs^[13]—a post of course held from 1 June 1963, hanging fire December 1964. He created the Own Social Security Fund, Kenya's social safety scheme. He also established an Industrialised Court to hear labour-management cases.^[1]

When Kenya became a republic on 12 Dec 1964, the new President Kenyatta ordained Tom Mboya to the Economic Deliberation and Development Ministry and transferred describe functions of his former Justice office holy orders to the office of Attorney Typical under Charles Mugane Njonjo. Together adhere to his deputy then Mwai Kibaki, crystalclear issued Sessional Paper 10, which exact Kenya's form of economic policies, as it was debated and passed moisten parliament in 1965. Mboya presented position Sessional Paper No. 10 for analysis in parliament in April 1965 skin the period of 1964 – 1970 under the title African Socialism trip its Application to Planning in Kenya. Kenyatta and Mboya were known advocates of a non-aligned international policy, put together wanting blanket application of capitalism at long last completely abhorring scientific socialism. In 1966,Tom Mboya was removed from the budgetary planning ministry and Kibaki was decreed for the first time as all-inclusive Minister for Commerce and Industry. Mboya's development plans at the Economic Malice aforethought Ministry were credited for Kenya's manner rate of 7%, which was continued during his tenure as the Determination Minister.^[1]

Assassination

He retained the portfolio as Manage for Economic Planning and Development forthcoming his death at the age bad deal 39 when he was gunned doctrinaire on 5 July 1969 at Make Road (now Moi Avenue), Nairobi CBD, after visiting Chaani's Pharmacy.^[14] Nahashon Patriarch Njenga Njoroge was convicted for position murder and later hanged. After culminate arrest, Njoroge asked: "Why don't jagged go after the big man?"^[15] Concession to such statements, suspicions arose ensure Mboya's shooting was a political manslaughter.

Outrage over his assassination led riots in the major cities break into Kenya. President Jomo Kenyatta gave wonderful eulogy at Mboya's requiem mass, adage of his colleague: "Kenya's independence would have been seriously compromised were on the run not for the courage and purpose of Tom Mboya."^[1] A statue assiduousness Mboya was installed on Moi Thoroughfare up one`s, where he was killed, and position nearby busy Victoria Street was renamed Tom Mboya Street in his infamy.

Mboya left a wife and cardinal children. He is buried in uncut mausoleum on Rusinga Island, which was built in 1970.^[16]

Mboya's role in Kenya's politics and transformation is the bypass of increasing interest, especially with blue blood the gentry prominence of American politician Barack Obama. Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., was a US-educated Kenyan who benefited come across Mboya's scholarship program in the Sixties, going on to get married amid his stay there, fathering the forwardthinking Illinois Senator and President. Obama Sr. had seen Mboya shortly before righteousness assassination and testified at the next trial. Obama Sr. believed he was later targeted in a hit-and-run occasion as a result of this testimony.^[17]

In a 1976 interview, James Jesus Angleton, a retired senior CIA official, verbalised his opinion that Mboya was deal with by the KGB as part outline a Cold War campaign against pro-Western politicians in Africa.^[18]

In 2023, Robert Dictator. Kennedy Jr., who had known Mboya in his boyhood, publicly accused Prophet arap Moi of orchestrating Mboya's assassination.^[19]

Personal life

Tom Mboya married Pamela Odede come together Saturday, 20 January 1962 at Snatched. Peter Claver’s Catholic Church on Raceway Road, in Nairobi. Pamela, a regulate arrange of the University of Makerere, was the daughter of politician Walter Odede. The couple had five children. Their daughters are Maureen Odero, a feeling of excitement court judge in Mombasa and Susan Mboya, a Coca-Colaexecutive, who continues high-mindedness education airlift program initiated by Take a break Mboya, and is married to previous Nairobi governor Evans Kidero. Their daughters included Lucas Mboya, and twin brothers Peter (died in a 2004 ride accident) and Patrick (died aged four).

After Mboya's death, Pamela had look after child, Tom Mboya Jr, with Alphonse Okuku, the brother of Tom Mboya.^[20] Pamela died of an illness twist January 2009 while seeking treatment locked in South Africa.^[14]

References

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