Nearly the entire nation is aware that retired President Daniel Moi was on the verge of losing his seat in the Hezekiah Ochuka-led 1982 failed coup.
However, very less is said of the initial coup attempt that also failed on the 8, April, 1971, co-led by the then only 26 year old Airforce army-man Frederick Collins Omondi Oyoo against President Jomo Kenyatta's regime.
The plan to topple the government was made at the Lanet Barracks in Nakuru, by a group of soldiers under the leadership of a soldier only identified as Lieutenant Owino, and came only a short time after Ugandan dictator Iddi Amin had done away with Milton Obote.
According to Collins who is now in his early 70s and lives in Kisumu, the coup was better planned as compared to the 1982 one, with top officials being part of the scheme, with a poor pay being one of the reasons that encouraged the soldiers to rebel.
As a pilot, Frederick had the access of the other barracks in the nation, seeing him rise to the position of the coup's Coordination and Liaison Officer. He was also set for a cabinet slot upon success.
However, things went south on the D-Day, when the group decided to seek Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere's support, with Nyerere not only turning down the request, but also facilitated the leak of the plan to the Kenyatta, forcing Frederick to flee, ironically, to Tanzania.
''I learnt from colleagues that Special Branch officers were looking for me because of my role in the failed coup. I could not wait because I knew they would kill me. I left Nairobi in my saloon car at dusk and drove towards the Kenya-Tanzania border. By the time the police sent signals to all border crossing points to have me intercepted, I was safely in Tanzania cruising towards the capital Dar es Salaam,'' he was quoted in a Standard publication dated July, 25, 2010.
He turned himself in upon reaching Tanzania and was later repatriated to Kenyan in a prisoner swap program.
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