Word: odinga
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...opposition party banned, and he himself imprisoned for "subversion," Kenya's flamboyant, left-leaning Oginga Odinga was dismayed to find that he was not even allowed to read about the national elections. When "Double O" made a plea for newspaper privileges to President Jomo Kenyatta, his onetime pal replied: "When I was in detention, the British gave me nothing to read but the Bible. Let Odinga read that. It will do him good...
...politics of new African nations. Distasteful or not, tribalism is a key to many African problems-a point that was made all too emphatically in Kenya last week. President Jomo Kenyatta, who with his fellow Kikuyu has ruled the country since independence in 1963, threw Opposition Leader Oginga Odinga in prison and banned his Luo-dominated party...
National Union (KANU) nor Odinga's Kenya People's Union (KPU) were organized along strictly tribal lines. One of KANU's brightest stars, for example, was Tom Mboya, the brilliant young Minister for Economic Planning-and a Luo. In recent years, however, both party memberships have become increasingly polarized. Mboya's assassination last July widened the rift. A Kikuyu was found guilty of Mboya's murder, and ugly rumors persist that high-ranking KANU leaders instigated the slaying. At Mboya's funeral, Kenyatta's car was stoned. Fearful of further Luo unrest...
...apparent. As a gesture of welcome, local officials had banana trees planted along the road. When Kenyatta drove past, however, cattle and goats set loose by Luo farmers were placidly munching the bananas. At a mass rally to dedicate a $3,500,000 Russian-built hospital, tension sharpened. As Odinga stood by, KPU hecklers shouted "Dume" (pronounced du-may and meaning "bull"), the party's slogan, and KANU backers retaliated. Turning on Odinga, Kenyatta shouted: "KPU is only engaged in dirty divisive words. Odinga is my friend, but he has been misled and he in turn continues to mislead...
...Kenyatta's convoy began to move away after the speech, spectators stoned the lead car. Panicky police fired point-blank into the crowd, leaving at least nine dead and 70 wounded. Two days later, Kenya police arrested Odinga, and most of the other KPU leadership, including all eight of the party's MPs. A day later, KPU was banned for allegedly seeking "to overthrow the lawful and constitutional government of the Republic of Kenya." It seemed a clear reference to Communist intrigues. Though apparently no Communist, Odinga is a leftist who has accepted funds from Soviet and Chinese...