Echoes From a Distant Land (34 page)

The general strike that was called to protest the arrest of Chege Muthuri and others lasted eighteen days, during which time the member unions of the Trades Union Council demonstrated and marched in all the major towns, particularly in Mombasa and Nairobi — the two largest. As Chege Muthuri predicted, the administration didn't proceed with the planned expansion of the city boundaries and the union men were released without charges being laid.

A few weeks after the strike, Muthuri became the leader of the Trades Union Council while retaining his role as Secretary-General of the Transport and Allied Workers' Union. It made him one of the most powerful men in Kenya — and put him in direct competition with Jomo Kenyatta and his political party, the Kenya African Union.

Jelani was filing papers in the archives room adjacent to Muthuri's office when he heard the unmistakeable voice of Jomo Kenyatta through the open door to the Secretary-General's office. Their heated conversation had obviously commenced before they entered Muthuri's office and neither of them were aware of Jelani's presence.

He was about to close the door when he heard Kenyatta mention the Mau Mau.

‘It's no wonder these young men get swept up by Kaggia's thugs,' Jelani heard Kenyatta say. ‘The mission schools have enticed them away from the traditional Kikuyu culture to make them good Christian boys. Then, having broken traditional ties, they join the Mau Mau.'

‘They join up because they are gullible young bucks, not because they believe everything they are told at mission school,' Muthuri said.

‘Of course they don't, but they are happy to go along with it because the missions have convinced them that if they give up the
circumcision and warrior ceremonies and become Christians, they'll get a good office job. They let them believe that if they dress and speak like an Englishman they'll get a job like an Englishman. Then they find there are no jobs for them; they are stuck, neither Kikuyu nor Christian. That's when the Mau Mau find it easy to pick them up.'

‘You worry too much. The Kikuyu have always used oaths.'

‘No. The Mau Mau coerce people into this oath. That is not our way. They corrupt our Kikuyu culture with their oathing ceremonies. They are taken secretly and at night, not, as our culture demands, in front of witnesses and agreed to by all the family.'

‘They might attract a few ignorant villagers, but do you seriously believe that a young educated Kikuyu fellow would join such an organisation, with its mumbo jumbo and black magic nonsense?'

‘I know they're finding recruits among returned servicemen. Men who have learned how to use modern weapons. I tell you, Chege, if the Mau Mau can find a source of arms they will be very dangerous. They're an abomination.'

‘Rubbish, Kenyatta. You're overly imaginative.'

‘The Mau Mau are not right for us. They deliberately lie when they say we can win by force of arms. How can a few thousand ignorant tribal people with
pangas
and spears attack the British army?'

‘Thankfully, that won't happen and, even if it did, they wouldn't have to fight the British army,' Muthuri said. ‘Just the Kenya police and a few reservists.'

‘I'm not at all sure of that. If the Mau Mau continue to grow, and goes the way I suspect it will, the Kenyan government will have no choice but to call for assistance from the defence forces. Then there will be real trouble for all of us. And we'll not see independence for decades.'

‘It won't go that far,' Muthuri insisted.

‘No? Already they're in a panic. They've closed down all the Kikuyu schools in the reserves. There's talk about concentration camps like they had for the Boers.'

‘Nonsense,' Muthuri said dismissively. ‘They wouldn't have the nerve.'

‘I'm telling you, if the Mau Mau don't get what they want by poisoning watering holes and mutilating farm animals, they'll turn to murder. Then we'll have a hell of a battle to keep our people out of a full-scale war.'

Jelani quietly closed the adjoining door.

Kenyatta's argument surprised him. He'd not considered the Mau Mau to be anything more than a militant protest group, and he'd certainly never considered taking up arms with them.

Jelani's view was more in line with Chege's — that the Mau Mau would be a pressure group, harassing the administration in hit-and-run operations. He went back to his filing work, but Kenyatta's words niggled at the back of his mind.

 

Muthuri casually mentioned to Jelani that he'd received confirmation of his trip to America. Jelani could hardly contain himself and, when he met Beth at the bus station a few days later, he started jabbering the news the moment she stepped out of the vehicle.

He bought two roasted maize cobs from a street vendor and they took them to Jeevanjee Gardens, where they sat on a stone away from the traffic noise on nearby Government Road.

Jelani told her the full story.

‘Oh, Jelani,' she said. ‘That's wonderful. You must be doing very well in your position.'

He tried to be modest, but he mentioned Muthuri's opinion that he could be a future leader of the union, or even in a higher position.

‘But I'm not sure I want to go to America now … now that I've found you again.'

She took his hand; hers was warm from the maize cob.

‘Five years ago, we had no say in our separation,' she said. ‘Now we have our lives in our own hands.'

‘Beth, I missed you every day of those five years.'

‘My love, we have the rest of our lives together. We'll make up for the days lost. No one will force us apart again.'

‘That's why I don't want to leave you. Not even to go to America.'

‘But you must. It's your future. Mr Muthuri's right. We need people like you in the important positions. And people like Chief Luka. He's a wonderful old man, and very loyal.'

‘Loyal? Loyal to who?'

‘Why, loyal to the government, of course. There's a lot of talk about this Mau Mau thing — how they are making people take an oath, and causing a lot of trouble everywhere. Chief Luka is fighting very hard to keep the young men away from them. And Deacon James and I are helping him.'

‘What do you know of the Mau Mau?' he asked.

‘They're terrorists. And murderers.'

‘I haven't heard about murders.'

‘Chief Luka says they're murdering our brother Kikuyu in villages out in the bush; we just don't hear about it.'

‘I don't believe it.'

‘Deacon James says it's true.'

‘A priest. What does he know about the Kikuyu?'

‘I think he knows a lot about us. And the Mau Mau. At Lari we're in the middle of everything.'

Jelani took a breath and held it as he tried to remain calm. When he was thirteen, he and Beth had disagreements about what was the right way of life for them: was it the Kikuyu's traditional customs as he had been taught by his parents and grandparents, or those introduced by the missionaries? Back then he had been prepared to forgo his beliefs if that was what was required to marry Beth. Now, at eighteen, he felt strongly that the Mau Mau were the Kikuyu's best hope of regaining the rights to their land, and eventually a say in their own government. He put the worrying similarities between Beth's stories and Kenyatta's anxieties out of his mind and wondered how far he could now bend his principles to hers.

He loved her, but this time he felt she should be guided by his better knowledge of the situation. He would explain what the Mau Mau were attempting to achieve for all their people — Kikuyu and other tribes — religious or not.

But not yet. Their recently reinstated love must be given time to strengthen before he tackled the inventions of her Christian upbringing.

 

Dedan Kimathi told Jelani he was more useful to the movement by writing and printing information sheets to be distributed among the villages than getting directly involved in their activities.

‘In good time, my friend,' Kimathi told him. ‘We have many hands in the bush, but few who can do what you are doing for us.'

So in the weeks before he packed his bag for the USA, Jelani spent his spare time with Kimathi at the house in Ngong Forest.

During this period, stories of the Mau Mau's senseless acts of cruelty appeared almost daily in the Nairobi newspapers. Cattle were mutilated, usually by hamstringing them, leaving the poor animals kneeling on their useless rear legs. Others were disembowelled and left to die in agony. Barnyard animals were maimed or slaughtered in increasingly bizarre rituals.

It unnerved Jelani to see the organisation so savagely attacked in the media. He suspected their methods had been exaggerated by the authorities to discredit the organisation. He put his theory to Kimathi.

‘No, they are accurate enough, my friend,' Kimathi said. ‘It is good, ah?' The gleam of excitement shone in his eyes.

‘Um, but why do we do this?' Jelani asked, keeping the surprise from his voice.

‘It shows the
wazungu
that the Mau Mau are pitiless and can reach out and strike the white farmers whenever and wherever we wish. It shows we are strong and our members will do anything we ask.'

It seemed to be working. Jelani had noticed an air of tension around the city. For once he was glad to have lighter skin. Most of the Kikuyu came under close scrutiny by the police, the Home Guard and even native
askaris
.

Kimathi also told him that Bildad Kaggia had recruited a number of trusted union leaders in Nairobi. John Mungai's taxi drivers'
union provided logistical support and transport for the Mau Mau hierarchy. In a sign that the organisation was not about to wage a purely psychological war, metal workers covertly forged swords and lethal cutting weapons on the machines of unsuspecting factory owners. And four hundred of the city's prostitutes took the oath and started charging ammunition — between one and ten bullets depending upon the client — in payment for their services.

Muthuri told Jelani that Jomo Kenyatta was quietly negotiating with members of the union movement to break with Kaggia and his Mau Mau.

‘He doesn't have to worry about us. Our members won't support the Mau Mau, but Kenyatta wants everyone's allegiance,' Muthuri said. ‘But he must be careful. If the Mau Mau leaders find out he's trying to drive a wedge between them and the unions, they will be furious. He walks a fine line.'

It appeared to Jelani there were two conflicts arising: one between white and black, and the other between Kikuyu and Kikuyu. This wasn't how he'd imagined it would be. Surely the aim was to unite all black Kenyans behind a common cause?

Then, just a few days before departing for the USA, Jelani received the strongest indication that he was being groomed for a higher position within the Mau Mau.

‘Kaggia wants you to attend an oathing ceremony,' Kimathi told him.

‘An oathing ceremony … Yes, of course.'

He accepted the invitation with some trepidation. His union had publicly stated that it was implacably opposed to the Mau Mau. He had to rely on the oath of secrecy, because if Chege Muthuri discovered his involvement, it would cost him his job and, presumably, Wangira's scholarship.

The ceremony was scheduled to take place in the Mathare slums — a place avoided by the Nairobi police force after dark.

They met at the bus stop on Outer Ring Road.

Kimathi said nothing, but Jelani followed him at a distance to a clearing among the hovels. It was alight with paraffin lanterns and had been decorated with palm fronds and stalks of sugar-cane and
arrowroot. As usual, a goat had been slaughtered and skinned, and the hide cut into a single long strip that lay on the ground in a circle.

Jelani had not had time to eat before meeting Kimathi, and he eyed off the troughs of traditional food placed among the decorations and lanterns. On closer inspection, his stomach turned. The food had been fouled with blood, filth and goat faeces. He almost gagged.

Kimathi spoke for the first time. ‘It is good you are here. You will find tonight's ceremony interesting.'

Somebody struck a gong, and a dozen nervous recruits walked into the circle of goat's hide and, lifting it, faced outwards with the hide encircling them.

A figure dressed in a long white robe came from the darkness beyond the throw of the lanterns. His head was bowed, but when he looked up, Jelani took a sharp intake of breath. It was Chege Muthuri.

Jelani was at first alarmed, then realised that Muthuri must have known all along he had taken the oath.

He felt he had successfully passed another test.

 

After the oathing ceremony, as the other Mau Mau and their new recruits disbanded, Muthuri came to Jelani and slapped him on the shoulder.

‘Many people have no idea how strong the Mau Mau is,' Muthuri said. ‘Now you know we are everywhere.'

Jelani could only nod, relieved that he'd overcome his urge to discuss the Mau Mau with Muthuri and thereby break his solemn oath.

‘Come,' Muthuri continued. ‘We must talk about your visit to America.'

They went to a small bar for a generous serving of
nyama choma
and a few Tusker beers. Jelani took his lead from Muthuri, who drank slowly. Even then, by the time they'd eaten, Jelani felt the effects of the alcohol.

They sat at a table in the open area at the back of the bar.

‘Now, Jelani, my friend,' Muthuri began, glancing around the space, which was almost empty except for a group of loud drunks sitting under the sole light. ‘We must talk, ah?' he said. ‘This Wangira fellow, he wants you to study things that will make you a better stooge of the government. He says it's for you to learn how to be a leader. Well, the union movement needs leaders too. And so do the other friends we were with tonight, ah?'

Jelani nodded. Muthuri turned many of his statements into questions.