Until April 9, 2021, I knew very little about Pio Gama Pinto. Well, actually what I knew was that he was one of the many assassinated politicians in Kenya. However, on this day something happened that would later trigger my interest towards knowing more about his work and his ideology. It eventually made me read the book Pio Gama Pinto: Kenya’s Unsung Martyr.
A comrade friend had suggested that we take a reflection walk. So, on that day in April, we walked all the way from the informal settlements of Mathare to Muthaiga and then proceeded to City Park. Soon, I would see a cemetery and I must admit at first, I freaked out. After taking a few more steps, there I was standing beside Pio Gama’s grave. My comrade friend knew a lot about Pio Pinto and I stood in awe as he narrated how Pio came out of prison after detention without shoes as he had given them away. I learned how he came to be assassinated and had been buried in the same grave as his father. I learned how his best friend Joseph Murumbi came to be buried just a few meters from him, now known as the Murumbi Memorial. By the end of that reflection, I settled on reading more about Pio Pinto.
Emma Gama Pinto, his wife, feels that despite having many people who referred to Pio as a communist and a socialist, the best word that fits his description is as a humanist. He was simply a man of the people and he upheld humanity in his time. It is even more interesting when his wife admits that she never knew how much money Pio Gama earned, because he gave much of it away to support the widows of the freedom fighters. This is simple humanity at its best and we should all learn from these acts and embark on saving humanity since currently, I feel, it has been jeopardized and so many people are willing to exchange humanity for their own selfish gain, including the current increase in cases of extra-judicial executions and other evils. By all cost, we must save humanity!
Pio Gama Pinto is a symbol of resistance to all evils affecting the people. During his time, he courageously resisted and exposed colonialism, imperialism and capitalism which were the evils that the working people of Kenya needed to defeat. Today, 56 years since his assassination, Kenya is still facing the same evils of imperialism, capitalism and we now have neocolonialism. These evils have resulted to high levels of poverty and so many people cannot even afford basic needs. Many of us are living in shanties with very poor conditions and having food to put on the table is not even guaranteed.
Pio Pinto was a political detainee for five years 1954 to 1959, commencing shortly after his marriage to Emma. While in detention, he used the letters his wife often sent him to teach other detainees how to read. He was determined to educate and liberate his fellow detainees. This also poses a big challenge in our current quest for social justice as there is a need for us to ensure that we educate the masses. There is power in the masses and for us to win the fight against all injustices, the masses should be well empowered so that we all speak in one voice.
Pinto was an all-rounded man and his commitment towards what he lived for is up to today unquestionable. His efforts are evident in how he was able to come through whenever needed. As the book states:
When it was time to write political and legal cases for people’s rights, Pinto was there. When it was time to develop working class and anti-imperialist ideologies, Pinto was there. When it was time to face the enemy with guns, Pinto was there. When it was time to support victims of colonial and neo colonialism terrorism, Pinto was there. When it was time to take a political stand after independence, Pinto was there. When it was time to make personal and family sacrifices for a greater cause, Pinto was there. And when the end came, when it was time to stand for his principles and to die for his country, Pinto was there.
It is so unfortunate that despite Pio’s contributions towards making Kenya free from social inequality and economic exploitation, the then President Kenyatta’s regime did not recognize his efforts. Many years after his assassination, Pio is still being referred to as a Kenya’s unsung martyr. He is one of the people we should be celebrating. They are our heroes and our role models. It is entirely up to us to make sure that such people as well as people such as Maina wa Kinyatti are not completely forgotten. They lived for others and generations to come and the ball is in our court to ensure that we carry this same spirit until the end. Long live the undying spirit of Pio Gama Pinto!
