[Jaramogi Oginga Odinga in a past photo. Details that indicates how he was embroiled in bitter rivalry with Tom Mboya have been made public by British Archives. Photo/Nation]
Arguably the most prominent politicians from the modern day Luo Nyanza, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Tom Mboya’s relationship was not the ‘best’ any politician could admire.
Keen to solidify his South Nyanzan home turf, Mboya waged vicious fight to dislodge Odinga, who hailed from Central Nyanza as a defacto leader of Luo community.
And their political war could be traced to pre-independence Kenya where Mboya, working in cohort of his friend JM Kariuki, then Jomo Kenyatta’s Private Secretary, tried to fix Odinga’s reputation at his fellow freedom fighter and Pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah.
“I urge upon you not to believe the imperialist lies which have been passed upon you. It is absolutely untrue that I am fighting for power and not helping Jomo Kenyatta,’ Odinga’s private Secretary Oluande Oduol is quoted writing to Nkrumah on behalf of his boss.
The letter further says: “We have proven facts that Mboya is an Anglo-American agent working within KANU to uphold Western dominance in our party and country.”
Although it’s not clear what JM had told Nkrumah, the contents of the letter that was made available at British Archives shows that he had portrayed Odinga as an anti-change socialist capitalist working with Western powers.
While Odinga would later serve as pioneer Vice President, Mboya, who had been installed KANU Secretary General worked as government Minister until his assassination in 1969.
But their bitter rivalry over the control of Luo politics could see Odinga resign as VP for opposition KPU and subsequently accusing Kenyatta of working with Mboya to belittle him.