After Tom Mboya's assassination (on 5 July 1969) his body was taken to his Nairobi home.
Kikuyu people who came there to pay their respects were beaten by the crowd; & VP Moi had to make a hasty retreat while his car was pelted with stones.
Clip from @Reuters. 1/4
Kikuyu people who came there to pay their respects were beaten by the crowd; & VP Moi had to make a hasty retreat while his car was pelted with stones.
Clip from @Reuters. 1/4
2/4
Mboya's assassination sparked off a major crisis for the Kenyatta govt.
3 days after Mboya's death a requiem was said in the basilica in Nairobi. There were 50,000 mourners. Kenyatta's car was stoned; & a riot took shape. There was tear gas in the air as Kenyatta departed.
Mboya's assassination sparked off a major crisis for the Kenyatta govt.
3 days after Mboya's death a requiem was said in the basilica in Nairobi. There were 50,000 mourners. Kenyatta's car was stoned; & a riot took shape. There was tear gas in the air as Kenyatta departed.
3/4
A day later Mboya's body was taken to Nyanza. Thousands of Kenyans lined the road to pay their respects as the motorcade passed.
Mboya was buried on 11 July at his ancestral home on Rusinga Island. Oginga Odinga--his leading adversary--was there, dressed in traditional garb.
A day later Mboya's body was taken to Nyanza. Thousands of Kenyans lined the road to pay their respects as the motorcade passed.
Mboya was buried on 11 July at his ancestral home on Rusinga Island. Oginga Odinga--his leading adversary--was there, dressed in traditional garb.
4/4
In life Mboya had been a cosmopolitan, a man of the world. In death, he was made into a Luo hero.
Moi, in a press conference, called for cool reflection and unity among Kenyans, & asked them to defend 'all that we fought for and have built with our faith and our sweat.'
In life Mboya had been a cosmopolitan, a man of the world. In death, he was made into a Luo hero.
Moi, in a press conference, called for cool reflection and unity among Kenyans, & asked them to defend 'all that we fought for and have built with our faith and our sweat.'
Coda
The police charged a man named Nahashon Njoroge with Mboya's murder. As he was arrested he asked 'Why pick on me? Why not the big man?'
Who that 'big man' was never established. Njoroge was convicted & hung, hastily, in Oct. 1969. He never revealed who he worked for.
The police charged a man named Nahashon Njoroge with Mboya's murder. As he was arrested he asked 'Why pick on me? Why not the big man?'
Who that 'big man' was never established. Njoroge was convicted & hung, hastily, in Oct. 1969. He never revealed who he worked for.
