When a section of the military sought to overthrow President Jomo Kenyatta in 1971 led by their boss Joseph Ndolo, they involved senior civil servants, legislators, academics among others.
After the coup backfired, 12 men found themselves between a rock and a hard place in explaining their role in the botched coup. When they failed to vindicate themselves, they were sent behind bars for a period of between 7 and 9 years.Here are the 12 conspirators of the aborted 1971 coup.Gideon Mutiso, the then Yatta MP was described as the 'pivot around which the whole conspiracy to overthrow the government of the Republic of Kenya revolved'. After his arrest, according to Daily Nation, he made detailed confessions to the police and wrote a letter to Kenyatta pleading for pardon. In the confessions, he said Ndolo first told him of the coup plot at Parliament Buildings at a reception held in honour of Yugoslavia President Joseph Tito. He was jailed for nine and a half years.Joseph Daniel Owino was the seventh accused on the charge sheet. The DPP described him as the 'ringleader' of the plot as he was the point of reference by all the conspirators who made confessions to police to that effect. As a cadet officer, he had earlier been court marshaled in 1964 for 'incitement to mutiny' at Lanet barracks and jailed for seven years. As Daily Nation reports, he planned the conspiracy from Dar es Salaam where he coordinated with Prof Muga who often visited him from his Makerere University base in Kampala. Trial magistrate S K Sachdeva wondered how such a person with “little education” could hold sway to professors, legislators, and top military and civil servants. He was jailed for nine and a half years.Former MP for Rangwe Prof Joseph Ben Ouma Muga was the first accused on the charge sheet. He had argued that he was 'unwilling and hesitant participant' but questions were raised on how Owino, a semi-educated man could convince him. He was sent to the gallows for 8 years.Apollo Abraham Wakiaga Odare was the second accused on the charge sheet and whom the magistrate said 'is a highly educated person who has held important civil service posts'. He had argued that he was dragged in the conspiracy by people who had already planned it which the magistrate disagreed with, noting that in view of his intellectual capacity, he would not have fallen in the trap of Owino. He was jailed for 8 years. Juvenalis Benedict Aoko, a Catholic church committee official in Nairobi was jailed for eight years after evidence showed that he was the 'link person' to all conspirators including those who played peripheral roles.Joshua Omoth Ooko was the fourth accused and at the time he was a councillor in the Nairobi City Council representing Kaloleni Ward. According to confessions, he was tasked to mobilise people in Nairobi on the fateful day. He attended planning meetings where it was decided that 'people-power' was necessary for the conspiracy to succeed. He was sentenced for eight years.Silvanus Christopher Okech Oduor played a similar role to Aoko's and was the 'link person' to all the conspirators. He was imprisoned for eight years. Eliud Kipserem arap Some Langat, Daniel Kipkrui arap Langat, and Eric Kimtai Chepkuony were charged as fifth, sixth and ninth accused respectively. The court was satisfied that none was a ring-leader in the plot. However, the court concluded that they were 'cogs in the wheel of the conspiracy' without whom the wheels could not turn. With their military training, the court noted, they were prepared to kill and destroy in the parts they were given to play in the coup. They were jailed for seven years each.Elijah Mukaya Sabwe, Jafetha Oyangi Mbaja and Ahmed Abdi Aden were charged as 10th, 11th and 12th accused respectively. Sabwe was a former official of Jaramogi Odinga’s Kenya Peoples Union party which had been banned. Oyangi too was a KPU politician and close aide of Odinga. They both hailed from Western and they were tasked to mobilise people from the region to support the coup. Aden from North Eastern was similarly to play same role of mobilising people from the region. They were jailed for seven years each.#historynow