The news came in the afternoon Pinto is assassinated
The news came in the afternoon
Pinto is assassinated
Pinto is assassinated
Pinto is dead
The smog of people’s anger
Clouded the city streets
Police were mobilized
Not to hunt the killers
To cover up the murder
Death silence roamed statehouse
As the principle killers
Watched the reaction of the people
Unexpectedly
An official statement was distributed
In the capital city
Pinto was killed they said
Because he was a communist
The names of the killers
Were never revealed
But the situation went back to normal
The workers went back to the factories
The university students resumed their studies
A communist is killed
A Kenyan Asian communist
Who cares?
Who gives a damn?
And yet
He represented the best in us.
Tribute by Maina Wa Kinyatti, March 6, 1986, Kamiti Prison.
“If after independence, we get black Delamares instead of the white Delamere, then we will have achieved nothing.” – Pio Gama Pinto
There is nothing as fulfilling as being immersed in the struggle to transform oneself and their society. Drawing inspiration from the happenings of your surroundings, lessons from your people, and experience from your praxis. Kenya, a country faced with a myriad of economic and political challenges carries with it a rich history. The African continent embodies an encyclopedia of political thought, determination and action. The African people, as it can be true with all oppressed people of the world, have been in a constant struggle for liberation. On one hand the continent has produced heroes who have been revered, and on the other, sell-outs and opportunists who have been condemned.
The happenings of the morning of 24th February 1965 happened not as a warning, but a heinously calculated move with impunity to stamp authority. Paving way to an authoritarian regime dressed to succeed the colonial regime, or simply, look after the welfare of the royalty when the masters were away.
It goes without mention the hefty and challenging task of discussing the Kenyan Liberation struggle without a mention of the contributions of Pio Gama Pinto. Pinto was a committed, hopeful and ideologically clear journalist and communist of Asian descent. Pinto lived his whole life in struggle for social justice. He hailed from a humble background; his parents having come to Kenya to build the Kenya-Uganda railway. He devotedly studied both in Kenya and in India during his young age, witnessing the callous domination from the British colonialists in both societies. His exposure to such aggression crystalized his sharp disgust against colonialism.
Pio returned in 1949 to face a Kenya which was engaged in liberation struggles against colonialism. Without hesitation, he dives into the works of publication. Collecting stories and photographs exposing the British brutal administration in Kenya. He would rise to prominence fast and joined organizations such as the then Nationalist Party and the Kenya African Union while still maintaining his active membership and role at the Indian National Congress which for which he would later be the Secretary General. The Indian National Congress happened to be one of the greatest sources of solidarity for the African people during the independence struggle, uniting East African struggles to Pan African ones, and creating connections from Malcolm X to Nehru and building solidarity from Nairobi to Goa. He was also an active contributor militarily, monetarily and intellectually to the Mau Mau war council which was the legislative arm and the supreme organ of the guerilla warfare (MAUMAU).
Soon after these incidents, the British commenced the Operation Anvil, an aggression purposed to quell the rising Mau Mau popularity and then declared the State of Emergency which saw many freedom fighters detained and many of them maimed. Them including the Kapenguria six: Bildad Kagia, Achieng’ Oneko, Kung’u Karumba, Jomo Kenyatta, Fred Kubai, and Paul Ngei. Pinto joined forces with Joseph Murumbi, who later came to be the Kenyan first vice president, and Achieng’ Oneko to raise funds and support the families of the detainees while still fighting for their legal redress. June 19, 1954, Pio was arrested and taken to Manda, a far island and where he would spend his next five years. This was just five months after he had married his wife, Emma. She was not allowed to see him until 10 months and in three years when he was transferred to Kabarnet. However, this detention did not break his resolve or shake his stance. It offered him an opportunity to meet other political prisoners, write and smuggle publications and exchange tactics on building the Kenyan cause. After his release in detention, he embarked on a four pointer mission to; fight for the Kenyan independence, build unity, support to the families of the detainees, and to make Kenya a free and sovereign nation. Pinto supported the liberation cause heartily. When he edited the Sauti Ya Kanu, he would donate half of his salary to supporting the families of the detainees and publishing. When he was gifted the first car after his wedding, he donated it to the party campaigns, and it was sooner wrecked. When Kenya acquired sovereignty from the direct rule by the British, Pio took up the other three missions including unifying the two opposing political parties then: Kenya African National Union led by Jomo Kenyatta and the Kenya African Democratic Union. He also served as a representative to the Lancaster Conferences and the East Africa Community Central Legislative Assembly, espousing a rich clarity of internationalism and the need for a Pan-African alternative. He saw a dazzling hope that Kenya had an opportunity to chart its way towards determination. This was however not long lived. The new government turned just as quick towards subverting the aspirations of the Kenyan people and confiscating huge tracts of land through primitive accumulation and murder. The freedom fighters were left to die in poverty and hunger. Pinto and the progressive camp, among them Bildad Kaggia and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, moved unabated against the rising impunity, massive land grabbing and authoritarianism. This made him many foes.
Among the most contested actions was the Sessional Paper no.10, a retrogressive US-imposed economic development framework that was to be adopted in the planning of Kenya thereby strengthening the capitalist bloc. In contest, the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga’s camp, including Pio Gama Pinto, opted to present a counter paper, which rattled the minds of the imperial powers and their local agents in the new government. Fitz De Souza, the then deputy speaker has given an account of witnessing a heated argument between Pinto and Kenyatta at Parliament on where the country was headed.
On February 24, 1965, gun shots were heard in the quiet Nairobi atmosphere. Bullets were sprayed at a life that carried a Kenyan vision, brain shut. An innocent Tereshka looks on her lifeless dad’s body soaked in blood. The assailants speed off. Wails are heard from the nanny. A revolutionary had been extinguished. Pinto’s body lay dead.
Pinto understood the vitality and the necessity of centering political education through the veins of struggle and cadre development. He was involved in establishing the Lumumba Institute, a political school purposed to intensify popular education. A few years after his assassination, the Lumumba Institute was shut down. The closure of the Lumumba institute was meant to erase his historical contributions to the Kenyan society. His contributions to the liberation struggle are hardly taught in schools.
Pinto’s death was a validation of the trembling nature of his killers. The fragile appearance of the state against progressive ideas. They were afraid of the ideological position Pinto and his political camp had adopted. They could not handle the resistance that Pio and his comrades were advancing. A class of a few, privileged, selfish elites, hijacked the liberation journey, taking advantage of their societal status in the transition from colonialism independence. The struggles against colonialism did not settle the question of class exploitation in Kenya; they only replaced the structural apparatus with new classes. The collective sacrifices and contributions made by the Kenya Land and Freedom Army, and other freedom fighters across the continent ought to be acknowledged and preserved, as they form part of our history, ours struggle, and identity.
If Pinto was still alive, he would be among the downtrodden, in the quest against the rising dictatorship in the country. He would be in the ghettos, shanties and villages organizing the masses to make sure that despair finds no room among them. He would be in a social justice center. He would have insisted on left unity, not unity to showcase, but unity in a principled approach. He would have called out opportunism, vacillations and apathy without fear, and in deeds. He would have been at the center of the Gen Z protests condemning the betrayal of the Kenyan people by their government. He would call upon world solidarity against hegemony and domination.
The ruling class has always been an agent deliberately designed to enhance repression towards those against its master’s establishment. These few, privileged groups of people, who hold power have hit men, the police, prisons and machinery to enforce repression by unleashing force against those who try to speak truth to power. It ought to be said that the current Kenyan state apparatus just inherited the characteristics, institutions and conduct from the colonial powers. There has been no disengagement from the system of oppression implemented by the colonizers. Today, the state continues to repress progressive movements by mass extrajudicial killings, infiltration, arrest of its key leaders, and economic warfare among others. This is a distraction from the failures of the powerholders to deliver development including quality healthcare, housing, food and basic livelihood and, generally, the high cost of living.
In the past, it was very rare if not impossible to come across Pinto’s material, pictures or any public mention of Pinto nor his works. This is however different today. There has been a notable conscientization on history among the young people, consequently giving rise to the emergence of a militant youthful generation. They have upheld their generational call to duty, and the tasks to service the revolution.
There have been several articles about Pinto at Ukombozi library. His image is put up on walls and in offices. Ukombozi library, and comrade Willy Mutunga have bought some sculptures of Pinto creatively done by Musungu. Additionally, a youthful Kenyan local podcast, ‘Until All Are Free’ is hosted by a youthful team in sheng (Kenyan slang) educating young people on Kenyan History. It is also a great mobilization channel. Seminars and discussions have been held at Pinto’s grave by different social movements and progressive organizations. The organic intellectuals’ network in Kenya, has recently published a reflection book on The Legacy of Pio Gama Pinto. The network consists of young intellectuals from the Social Justice Movement who are inspired by the legacy of Antonio Gramsci, the Italian revolutionary intellectual, and the example set by organic intellectuals like Walter Rodney, Mwalimu Nyerere and Amilcar Cabral. Shirraz Durani and Vita Books have published materials on Pio Gama Pinto, including a collection of Pio’s life, Pio Gama Pinto, Kenyan Unsung Martyr 1927-1965, (published in 2018). The other work is titled Pio Gamma Pinto, Patriot for Social Justice by Pheroz Nowrojee. While still little has been achieved, we are hopeful that history shall be correctly read.
As they say, you can kill a revolutionary, but you cannot kill the revolution. Pinto’s life remains an inspiration to Kenyan liberation struggles towards socialism 60 years after his brutal assassination. The reactionary response by the assaulters of history has proven futile. Their attempts to vilify socialism has been outlived by the events and demands of time and history. Those who are afraid of socialism, of change, are afraid of themselves. Pinto has not been forgotten. His discipline, consistency and faith towards the liberation cause and the cause for humanity are among the lessons our generation should take forward. His selfless and camaraderie are the additives necessary for the sail. The Young People have taken the baton, they have risen in both numbers, consciousness and will. They have taken up the lessons. We are convinced that our victory from the shackles of exploitation is inevitable! It is time for Uhuru!
Brian Mathenge is a community organizer with the Social Justice Movement in Nairobi and a political organizer. He is also Secretary General of the Young Communist League, and a writer with the Organic Intellectuals Network in Kenya.