Pio Gama Pinto

Pio Gama Pinto was born in Kenya on March 31, 1927. He was assassinated in Nairobi on February 24, 1965. In his short life, he became a symbol of anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles in Kenya and India. He was actively involved in Goa's struggle against Portuguese colonialism and in Mau Mau during Kenya's war of independence. For this, he was detained by the British colonial authorities in Kenya from 1954-59. His contribution to the struggle for liberation for working people spanned two continents - Africa and Asia. And it covered two phases of imperialism - colonialism in Kenya and Goa and neo-colonialism in Kenya after independence. His enemies saw no way of stopping the intense, lifelong struggle waged by Pinto - except through an assassin's bullets. But his contribution, his ideas, and his ideals are remembered and upheld even today by people active in liberation struggles. This book does not aim or claim to be a comprehensive record on Pio Gama Pinto, just the beginning of the long journey necessary to record the history of Kenya from an anti-imperialist perspective. It introduces readers to voices of many people who have written about Pinto to build up as clear a picture of Pinto as possible. In that spirit, it seeks to make history available to those whose story it is - people of Kenya, Africa and progressive people around the world.

This booklet on Pio Gama Pinto has been produced in the tradition of 'looking back, in order to move forward' to not only salvage history but also to use it as a mirror to reflect on the current political, economic and social conditions in Kenya. The essays, dubbed reflections, that appear in the booklet are a product of the efforts and dedication of young women and men under the banner of the 'Organic Intellectuals Network' in Kenya. We use the concept of 'organic intellecutal' as developed by Antonio Gramsci. Members of the Organic Intellectual Network selected the book Pio Gama Pinto: Kenya's Unsung Martyr 1927-1965 by Shiraz Durrani (Vita Books, 2018) as a basis for discussion for celebrating and remembering the life of Pio Gama Pinto, Kenya first Martyr, a dedicated and selfless individual in the struggle for freedom in Kenya.

This book studies African history through a geopolitically transcendent lens that brings African countries into conversation with other relevant histories both within and outside of the continent. The collection analyzes historical figures, struggles for independence and stability, social and economic development, and legal and human rights issues.

This is the fourth edition of 'Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era. It is also the largest and includes new material not found in previous editions. The work is a comprehensive study of the political career of President Julius Nyerere spanning half a century. The author takes a critical look at Nyerere's policies and influence in the domestic and international arenas for an objective evaluation of the life and times of one of the most influential leaders in the twentieth century. The major role he played in the liberation of southern Africa is just one of the subjects addressed by the author. He also provides insights into Nyerere's personality from some of the people who knew him best. Included in the book are interviews with some of the people who knew Nyerere since his childhood. Some of them were his teachers. And they outlived him. Others were his schoolmates and colleagues in government and when he was a teacher. And some of them were his students. Also included are interviews with some of his family members. This is an essential study of post-colonial Africa. It is also a study in political leadership and Cold War politics in the African context, among many other subjects addressed in the book which should serve as a reference text for scholars and laymen alike interested in Africa and the Third World in general.

Sana Aiyar chronicles the strategies by which Indians sought a political voice in Kenya, from the beginning of colonial rule to independence. She examines how the strands of Indians’ diasporic identity influenced Kenya’s leadership—from partnering with Europeans to colonize East Africa, to collaborating with Africans to battle racial inequality.

Very few countries hide or obscure the significance of their most important historical achievements. Kenya has managed to do so without any regrets or even a thought about the implication of such a major oversight in connection with Mau Mau Resistance. The reason for this underplay is not difficult to understand. The government that came to power at independence was not only not part of the Mau Mau movement which fought for land and freedom for working people, but actively opposed it. It sought and was given by the departing colonial power state power, land and freedom for its class, thereby sidelining the radical resistance movement and its activists. This elite then used its state power to ensure that the nation forgets its radical history which would have alerted future generations to the theft of their inheritance and country. This book provides essential facts about Mau Mau. It seeks to give voice to the Mau Mau resistance fighters. It is aimed at young people who were born after independence and who have been deprived of their historical heritage; it is also a tribute to those who played a part in the war of independence and in Mau Mau without whose contribution independence would have remained a dream. It seeks to restore Kenyas working class history of resistance to colonialism and imperialism. The Kenya Resists Series covers different aspects of resistance by people of Kenya to colonialism and imperialism. It reproduces material from books, unpublished reports, research and oral or visual testimonies. The three aspects chosen for the first three publications in the Series Mau Mau, Trade Unions and Peoples Resistance make up the three pillars of resistance of the people of Kenya.

Very few countries hide or obscure the significance of their most important historical achievements. Kenya has managed to do so without any regrets or even a thought about the implication of such a major oversight in connection with Mau Mau Resistance. The reason for this underplay is not difficult to understand. The government that came to power at independence was not only not part of the Mau Mau movement which fought for land and freedom for working people, but actively opposed it. It sought – and was given by the departing colonial power – state power, land and freedom for its class, thereby sidelining the radical resistance movement and its activists. This elite then used its state power to ensure that the nation forgets its radical history which would have alerted future generations to the theft of their inheritance and country. This book provides essential facts about Mau Mau. It seeks to give voice to the Mau Mau resistance fighters. It is aimed at young people who were born after independence and who have been deprived of their historical heritage; it is also a tribute to those who played a part in the war of independence and in Mau Mau without whose contribution independence would have remained a dream. It seeks to restore Kenya’s working class history of resistance to colonialism and imperialism. The Kenya Resists Series covers different aspects of resistance by people of Kenya to colonialism and imperialism. It reproduces material from books, unpublished reports, research and oral or visual testimonies. The three aspects chosen for the first three publications in the Series – Mau Mau, Trade Unions and People’s Resistance – make up the three pillars of resistance of the people of Kenya.

Essays on Pan-Africanism begins with essays by Shiraz Durrani, Abdilatif Abdulla, Issa Shivji, Firoze Manji, Sabatho Nyamsenda, Willy Mutunga and Noosim Naimasiah on various aspects of Pan-Africanism. This is followed by Remembering the Champions of African Liberation, with articles on Patrice Lumumba by Antoine Lokongo, Abdulrahman Babu by Amrit Wilson, Makhan Singh by Hindpal Singh and Piyo Rattansi, followed by Tajudeen Abdul Raheem's last Pan African Postcard (2009) and Debating and Documenting Africa - A Conversation. The Preface, Pan-African Thought, is by Prof. Issa Shivji. The book incorporates Karim Essack's compilation, The Pan African Path (1993) with historical records and documents on Pan-African history, with a new Preface by Prof. Issa Shivji. The final section has documents on Pan-Africanism, including the Kampala Declaration (1994)

“We will never be silent until we get land to cultivate and freedom in this country of ours”...so sang Mau Mau activists. The struggle for independence in Kenya was waged at many levels. Never be Silent explores how this struggle was reflected in the communications field. It looks at publishing activities of the main contending forces and explores internal contradictions within each community. It documents the major part played by the communications activities of the organised working class and Mau Mau in the achievement of independence in Kenya. The book contributes to a reinterpretation of colonial history in Kenya from a working class point of view and also provides a new perspective on how communications can be a weapon for social justice in the hands of liberation forces.

During the first six decades of the twentieth century, when the majority of present-day Kenya was under the control of the British Empire, many secular newspapers emerged as the products of tensions between Asian and European immigrants, the British administration, and the African petite bourgeoisie. In Pressing Interests Phoebe Musandu shows that, far from expressions of public opinion or vehicles of a free market, these periodicals served as powerful tools for the colonial government and the elite to shape political and economic conditions in their favour. Following the development of the most important newspapers established in colonial Kenya as they evolved to reflect the priorities and ambitions of their owners, investors, publishers, journalists, and editors, Pressing Interests explores the roles and contributions of the press in the country's political and economic history. Shedding light on newspapers as business ventures, Musandu focuses on the management, financial, and production aspects of media. Drawing on previously unearthed archival documents, official and unofficial correspondence, police and legal records, and the newspapers themselves, she further examines the press as a medium for inter- and intra-racial competition for power and influence, as a base for the production of knowledge, and as an instrument for social control. In an era when we are often reminded of the power inherent in the ability to generate and disseminate information, Pressing Interests tells the story of colonial Kenya's press through a timely mix of riveting accounts and the clarifying lens of careful analysis.

Kenya's War of Independence restores Kenya’s stolen history to its rightful place, stripped of colonial interpretations. In this expanded and revised version of his 1986 booklet, Kimaathi, Mau Mau's First Prime Minister of Kenya, Durrani covers Mau Mau’s resistance to colonialism and neo-colonialism and reflects on its ideology, organisation and achievements. He sees Mau Mau in the larger context of Kenya’s war of independence and looks at the influence of organised, radical trade unions as the engine of resistance, linking economic with political demands of working people. Additional chapters document the post-independence resistance by the underground December Twelve Movement-Mwakenya. Durrani captures the dynamism of transition from colonialism to neo-colonialism: “Imperialism replaced colonialism, African elites replaced White Settlers, neo-colonial government replaced colonial government. Resistance changed from the War of Independence to War of Economic Independence. Worker and peasant resistance is evident once again. History is on the march”.

Author Cyprian Fernandes was born a war baby in 1943 in Kenya. Forced to leave school at the age of thirteen because he would not drop his pants for a caning, Fernandes experienced a wild and epic childhood. In Yesterday in Paradise, he tells his story growing up in colonial British East Africa. With a history of the region and the people originating from the state of Goa, India, and the Republic of Kenya, East Africa, woven in, Fernandes shares a host of stories that became a part of his first twenty-plus years. He was in the middle of the bloodcurdling Mau Mau rebellion and was arrested with thousands of others. He was there when Pio Gama Pinto was murdered. He embarked on an adventure that eventually took him to the four corners of the Earth. He travelled the length and breadth of Africa, the United Kingdom, and Europe as an investigative reporter. Providing a look at Fernandes eventful past, Yesterday in Paradise narrates a memoir filled with prejudice, murder, conflict, and more. He shares the events, the people, and the many, many places that fashioned his life.

It is due to the success of the trade union movement in the national liberation movement that the colonial government suppressed prominent trade unions and attacked TU leaders like Makhan Singh, Fred Kubai, Pio Gama Pinto and Bildad Kaggia. It also passed on colonial laws to the independent Kenya government so as to ensure that future trade unions were forced to take the non-radical approach to meet worker needs. They thus created imperialist-oriented and led trade unions that bedevil working class politics to this day. There are valuable lessons to be learnt from the history of the militant trade unions in Kenya and also from understanding how colonialism and imperialism enforced changes that made the trade unions ineffective after independence. The selections in this book recall relevant events in the history of the militant trade union movement in Kenya and record the contribution that the trade union movement made to Mau Mau and to Kenya’s war of independence. The Kenya Resists Series covers different aspects of resistance by people of Kenya to colonialism and imperialism. It reproduces material from books, unpublished reports, research and oral or visual testimonies. The three aspects chosen for the first three publications in the Series – Mau Mau, Trade Unions and People’s Resistance – make up the three pillars of resistance of the people of Kenya.

This book looks at the third pillar of resistance to British colonialism peoples resistance, the others being Mau Mau and radical trade union movement. It brings together several aspects of peoples resistance to colonialism and imperialism before and after independence and includes resistance by nationalities, women, students, peasants and workers in what can only be described as peoples resistance. While Mau Mau and trade unions were essential in the liberation struggle, on their own they would have faced innumerable difficulties to achieve their goal. Peasants, nationalities, women, children and young people, students, independent churches, independent schools, all played a part in reinforcing the organized and ideology led resistance of Mau Mau and trade unions. Additional material is included to provide thought for reflections. The first two essays deal with the question of nationalities and with the contradictions between capitalism and socialism with the collapse of USSR. They point to the fact that that the struggle in Kenya influences, and is in turn influenced by, developments around the world. The next section is the presentation at the launch of Kenyas War of Independence in Nairobi on February 21, 2018. The final section contains solidarity messages from Shiraz Durrani, Abdilatif Abdalla and Kang'ethe Mungai at the event to commemorate and celebrate the revolutionary work of Karimi Nduthu held on March 24, 2018 at the Professional Centre in Nairobi. The Kenya Resists Series covers different aspects of resistance by people of Kenya to colonialism and imperialism. It reproduces material from books, unpublished reports, research and oral or visual testimonies. The three aspects chosen for the first three publications in the Series Mau Mau, Trade Unions and Peoples Resistance make up the three pillars of resistance of the people of Kenya.

Kenya’s nationalism during the colonial period was marked by two main characteristics that feature in this book. First, the struggle for independence that was mainly characterized by the claim for land that had been taken away by the colonizers. Second was the struggle for autonomy and self-determination, mainly through political resistance. The authors in this book analyse historical trajectories of Kenya's nationalism trends while highlighting the role of political leaders, large as well as small ethnic groups, perennial conflicts, community as well as religious leaders, among others. The discussions demonstrate that quest for a national identity that is inclusive at all levels – whether politically, economically, religiously and ethnically – has marked Kenya's struggle for nationalism, sometimes leading to violence, especially during election periods, national unity through political coalitions and reconciliation, as well as institutional reforms. In conclusion, the authors demonstrate that while Kenya is gradually advancing towards national cohesion, there are still many challenges yet to be surmounted.

In 1966, after serving first as Kenya’s Foreign Minister and then as Vice-President, Joseph Murumbi resigned from Government. Having concluded that the country had made a wrong turn away from a concern for the poor and the ideals he believed in, Morumbi told an old friend that he could no longer ‘be part of corruption in this country’. Tribalism, too, which was to take Kenya to the brink of disaster years later, had already become firmly entrenched, and he wanted no part of it. Today, Murumbi stands as a symbol of what Kenya could have become, and still could be. As the son of a Goan father and a Maasai mother, he disdained prejudice of any kind. As someone plucked from relative obscurity by Jomo Kenyatta thanks to his hard work and talents as an organiser, he was dismissive of those who depended on family or ethnic connections. And as a strong advocate of embracing and preserving African culture, he was a champion of African artists and their works. This book, which combines interviews done with Murumbi in the 1970s with historical information and recollections of the people who knew him.

Re-examines this unresolved murder in Kenya and the underlying role of rumour, the media and inter-state relations on how the death has been reported and investigated.

Kenya’s nationalism during the colonial period was marked by two main characteristics that feature in this book. First, the struggle for independence that was mainly characterized by the claim for land that had been taken away by the colonizers. Second was the struggle for autonomy and self-determination, mainly through political resistance. The authors in this book analyse historical trajectories of Kenya's nationalism trends while highlighting the role of political leaders, large as well as small ethnic groups, perennial conflicts, community as well as religious leaders, among others. The discussions demonstrate that quest for a national identity that is inclusive at all levels – whether politically, economically, religiously and ethnically – has marked Kenya's struggle for nationalism, sometimes leading to violence, especially during election periods, national unity through political coalitions and reconciliation, as well as institutional reforms. In conclusion, the authors demonstrate that while Kenya is gradually advancing towards national cohesion, there are still many challenges yet to be surmounted.