On Sunday, October 26, 1969, the nation saw one of its most memorable massacres, after a hospital launching event in Kisumu turned into a shooting spree, leaving hundreds dead, others injured, peace disrupted and the nation scarred.
This was an aftermath of a clash between President Jomo Kenyatta and his former ally and deputy Jaramogi Oginga, two of the nation's most powerful leaders then, who couldn't, however, stand each other after a terrible fallout earlier in 1966.
According to Mr Odungi Randa, a former Oginga aide, Kenyatta showed up at the lakeside city to launch the Russia Hospital (now Nyanza Provincial Hospital) which Oginga and his allies had secured foreign funds to establish, and as soon as he arrived, at around 3 PM, politics played in, with Oginga's Kenya People's Union (KPU) Dume! slogans renting the air.
Randa told the Standard that the hecklers were rather Kenyatta's KANU supporters who wanted to exacerbate the tension and soon worsened the situation, after which the presidential security opened fire on the people in a shootout that lasted close to 15 minutes.
Immediately, Randa, Jaramogi's bodyguard Zephaniah Signh Mauji, and other aides whisked the opposition figure into the hospital and onto the rooftop via the stairs.
Also present were Oginga's children Raila Odinga (now opposition leader) and Spectre International Director Ruth Adhiambo.
Jaramogi stayed there for the entire time, after which the event was no longer able to be conducted, as people had scampered for safety and order was disrupted.
Among those who died was a drunk man who had climbed a tree to have a better glimpse of the shooting and was as well heckling while up there and was shot from the same spot.
"The shooting continued as we climbed the stairs to the roof of the building. We came down after about 15 minutes later," he told the paper.
When calm returned, Kenyatta left for Kericho for a cabinet meeting and a curfew was hours later announced in Kisumu and extended to Siaya, Oginga's home ground, a few days later.
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