Pio Gama Pinto was born on March 31, 1927.
He was under British detention & restriction from 1954-1959.
He was assassinated on February 24, 1965.

That, in brief, is the story of Pio Gama Pinto. Since his assassination, there is just one brief appearance of his name — in 1966. This was in a booklet edited by Ambu Patel: Pio Gama Pinto, Independent Kenya’s First Martyr: Socialist and Freedom Fighter. Then total silence. No meaningful mention of Pinto in newspapers, radio, TV, books, history, research. His enemies, who had him assassinated, feared the mention of his name even after his death. They feared most his vision and commitment to equality, justice and socialism. The British Colonial Government destroyed or hid all papers related to Pinto. Similarly, the KANU Governments of Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel arap Moi and all the succeeding governments to date fear him in death as much as the British and the first KANU government feared him in life. They have imposed a ‘silence’ about him with ruthlessness and violence that showed their fear of this one man. They refused to release secret files held by the government, even to the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission which tried to probe his assassination in 2013.

That silence would have removed Pinto’s name from the history of Kenya for ever — but for a fact which the British and Kenya Governments had not reckoned with: History never dies; oppression and exploitation always give rise to resistance, especially among the young; those who lost their loved ones, land and property can never forget the atrocities of the invading horde of White settlers from South Africa and Britain who the British Government supported and then went on to ‘legalise’ their loot by imposing a comprador regime at independence. With the blessings of the imperialists, the new regime carried on similar looting and atrocities.

The Moi regime ruled with guns, massacres, murders, jailing and disappearance of thousands. It took advantage of the 1982 Coup to start a more ruthless oppression. In spite of, as well as because of, that resistance also intensified. The Kenyan youth, many born after independence, started their search for the real history of Kenya. They wanted to know more about their history. The student organisation (SONU) at the University of Nairobi published articles in the University Platform on Mau Mau, Kimathi, Makhan Singh and Pio Gama Pinto. That was the first public mention of Pinto since 1966. This was followed by articles on Pinto in The Standard in September 1984. The silent embargo on Pinto and his vision was broken. But the Establishment ensured that this was covered up and Pinto and his history were suppressed once more.

Yet Pinto was never forgotten among the progressive left which had remained active all through the period of repression by the various KANU governments. They celebrated his achievement not only in private, but in public too, whenever conditions allowed. For example, the event, Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Assassination of Shujaa Pio Gama Pinto held at the Mazingira Institute in Nairobi on 7 March 2015. Vidija (2015) reported on it:

On Saturday afternoon the Mazingira Institute in Nairobi hosted a special commemoration of the 50th anniversary of his assassination.

The guest of honour at the event was Chief Justice Willy Mutunga. He described Pinto as a freedom fighter, detainee, socialist, political strategist, a focused journalist and family-man who loved and cherished everything around him. Among those who participated in the event were Gitu wa Kahengeri, Yash Pal Ghai, Pheroze Nowrojee, Rev Timothy Njoya, Muthoni Likimani and Dr Elizabeth Orchidson-Mazrui and Firoze Manji. One of the presentations at the event (Manji, 2018) was reproduced in Durrani (2018). Pheroze Nowrojee went on to publish an important (and perhaps the only) book on Pinto since 1966, Pio Gama Pinto: Patriot for social Justice (Nowrojee, 2007) which gave many hidden facts about Pinto and remains an important resource on Pinto to-date.

Thus when the book, Pio Gama Pinto, Kenya’s Unsung Martyr 1927-1965 (Durrani, 2018) came out in 2018 with a public launch in Nairobi, it brought together all those who had been keeping the memory of Pinto alive. In a matter of a few years, there have been several developments that have forced the story of Pio Gama Pinto back to centre stage in Kenya: forcing the issue of stolen lands back on national agenda; forcing issues of equality and justice for working people as the agenda for Kenya today.

The following are just a few initiatives on Pio Gama Pinto:

1. A group has been formed to look after Pinto’s neglected grave at the City Park. It has also commissioned a bust of Pinto to be installed at the cemetery.
2. Young people from Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) visit Pinto grave and learn his history following their study on Pinto at Mathare.
3. Various readings and activities on Pinto take place at Ukombozi Library.
4. Social Justice Centres take up Pinto studies.
5. Until Everyone is Free: A seven-part podcast on Pinto in Sheng’ is making the rounds among people in Kenya and overseas.
6. The social media has seen numerous postings on Pinto, his life and his assassination.

The latest on the scene is this book, Kenya Organic Intellectuals Reflect on the Legacy of Pio Gama Pinto (edited by Nicholas Mwangi and Lewis Maghanga Njuguna) from activists at the Social Justice Centres and the Ukombozi Library, carrying on the tradition of Kenyan youth to explore and understand history as a guide to action. History never dies — ‘A thousand beacons from the spark he bore’ have started rising. Nothing can extinguish this new fire in Kenya. The history of resistance cannot be suppressed for ever. There comes a time when the hidden chapters of history and the crimes of the ruling class are exposed. That time has come for Pio Gama Pinto. It is the brave ones, armed with a clear understanding of history, undaunted by batons and bullets of the ruling class, who are taking people’s history back to people. Liberating minds. Preparing for new battles. That time is here. The very act by the writers in this book to read and reflect on Pio Gama Pinto indicates that clearly.

What has inspired these writers to take up the study of a man assassinated over half a century ago, when most of them were not even born? They represent a generation growing up under capitalism. They are the ones who have seen and suffered the consequence of inequality and injustice that capitalism has brought to Kenya. And they represent the generation that says Tunakataa! They refuse to accept the poverty, the looting, the massacres and the daily police harassment and killings that the state uses to suppress working people. Reading and reflecting on Pio Gama Pinto is an appropriate way to say ‘No’ to the capitalist status quo. Pinto was, after all, the one who said ‘No’ to capitalist injustices at the very beginning of independence.

The struggle for socialism is long and painful, requiring many sacrifices. However, without such struggles, this generation and future generations will be condemned to poverty and injustice. By taking up the study of Pinto, the writers of this book have made a commitment to struggle for socialism, equality and justice for working people. They are looking back into history to organise a better future for all. They are not just a few individuals taking up the struggle. They are part of a larger community, organised and acting for change as shown by the section, About the Contributors, at the end of the book. Each contributor is an activist among various communities. It is this that gives a greater significance to their reflections and to this book. These are not the reflections of only 14 individuals. These are reflections and aspirations of their communities, of millions of working people in Kenya whose voice these 14 represent.

These voices would not have reached everyone in Kenya, in Africa, indeed all working people around the world, had their reflections not been committed to print. Daraja Press needs to be congratulated for publishing these Reflections. Their support also indicates that the voice of working people of Kenya is not calling out in isolation. It indicates that they have supporters thousands of miles from Kenya, in Canada, as in many other countries. And that their struggle is also the struggle of all working people who have had capitalism imposed on them by imperialism. The struggle for socialism in Kenya is part of the struggle in Africa and the world against exploitation and oppression. These Reflections by 14 courageous Kenyans are a challenge to the entire population of Kenya to reflect on where we have been and to work towards achieving the vision that Pio Gama Pinto had — ‘a democratic, African, socialist state in which the people have the right to be free from economic exploitation and the right to social equality’. It is the vision of working people in Kenya and the world. The struggle continues.

The Struggle for Pinto’s History

The story of Pinto is not only his story — it is the story of Mau Mau, it is the story of those who fought in forests and towns, it is the story of all those who have suffered and are still suffering the ravages of capitalism in Kenya. While there is a revived interest in Pinto, his life, his vision and his activities, there remains a large gap in his history that prevents a full record of his achievements to be written. His story remains incomplete and untold with the loss of his own papers and the refusal of the British and Kenyan governments to release documents on him. The refusal by the Kenya government to initiate or even support research on the history of Mau Mau and Kenya’s war of independence has also meant that oral and other records from those who knew Pinto has been allowed to die over time. Particularly relevant is the lack of information on Pinto as a member and activist of Mau Mau. The evidence mentioned in Durrani (2018) points to Pinto being an active member of Mau Mau. The book also mentions an interview with Mzee Wachaga wa Muthami (a Mau Mau veteran) in Nairobi on August 5, 2013 where he confirms that Pinto was a member of Mau Mau. That he has not been seen as part of Mau Mau has robbed the movement as well as Pinto of an important aspect of their history. It is not only Pinto who has been robbed of his history, but also people like Mzee Wachaga wa Muthami and thousands of the Mau Mau activists and supporters. Pinto and his life cannot be fully appreciated until the real history of all these people and of Mau Mau is researched, documented and made available. The sad irony is that many of these veterans are dying in poverty, as did Mzee Wachaga wa Muthami whose life and death reinforce the need to restore Kenya’s history — and achieve Pinto vision of a society where ‘people have the right to be free from economic exploitation and the right to social equality’. Mzee Wachaga wa Muthami’s history reflects that of thousands of others (Durrani, Shiraz and Gathui wa Manyara, 2013):

We were poor. Father’s land taken over by the British colonial government – 10 acres (?), and he was left without a shamba.It was difficult to find money for food, school fees etc, so we sold our livestock to survive. My father was a member of KCA (Kikuyu Central Association). My grandfather was Muthami Muguma, of the Njenga rikka. ^[1]

Gathui wa Manyara provides further information on Mzee Wacaga wa Muthami:

In his later days, Mzee Wacaga was a peasant farmer in Molo and actively involved in the second liberation. He moved to his mother’s house in one of the colonial villages near Wangige on the outskirts of Nairobi – commonly known as “Cuba”—after the death of his wife and only daughter. When the Kibaki Government came to power it officially recognised Mau Mau as a Freedom Fighter Movement, rather than a terrorist organisation. As a result, many Mau Mau combatants began to hope that this government would bring about the change they had been longing for. Wacaga with a few others requested the government for funds to build Mau Mau Resource Centres across the country, but were not successful.

On 25th July 2017, Mzee Wacaga fell outside his house, and was unable to walk. He was taken to hospital where surgery was recommended. Unable to raise the required funds, relatives took him back home where he passed away on 1st September 2017, at the age of 86.

It is conditions such as this which allow veterans of the war of independence to die in poverty that Pio Gama Pinto fought against and gave his life to change. The tragedy is not only for Pinto, but for all the Mau Mau combatants and activists, for all working people of Kenya. Capitalism and imperialism have captured the country, its people and its resources for their own private profit. The struggle for liberation has to continue.

References

Shiraz Durrani and Gathui wa Manyara (2013): Quoted from Notes from an interview of Mzee Wacaga wa Muthami (a Mau Mau veteran) in Nairobi on August 5, 2013. Unpublished. Manyara provided additional information on Mzee Wacaga later in private correspondence with the author.

Durrani, Shiraz (ed) (2018): Pio Gama Pinto, Kenya’s Unsung Martyr 1927-1965. Nairobi: Vita Books.

Manji, Firoze: Tribute to Pio Gama Pinto: Memorials are more about the future than about the past. In Durrani, Shiraz (2018) pp. 162-166.

Mwangi Nicholas and Lewis Maghanga Njuguna (eds.) (2021): Kenya Organic Intellectuals’ Reflect on the Legacy of Pio Gama Pinto. Daraja Press: Quebec.

Nowrojee, Pheroze (2007): Pio Gama Pinto: Patriot for Socialist Justice. Nairobi: Sasa Sema.

Patel, Ambu (Ed., 1966) : Pio Gama Pinto, Independent Kenya’s First Martyr: Socialist and Freedom Fighter. Nairobi: Pan African Press.

Vidija, Patrick (2015): Kenyans remember freedom fighter Pio Gama Pinto. The Star. 11-03-2015. Available at: https://www.the-star.co.ke/sasa/society/2015-03-11-kenyans-remember-freedom-fighter-pio-gama-pinto/ [Accessed: 04-10-2021].

Shiraz Durrani
October 4, 2021