Walter Odede was a freedom fighter and a member of LegCo who was arrested and detained on suspicion of being a mau mau after he was snitched on by Chief Gideon Magak of Kasipul in 1953.
He had just taken over as the new president of KAU following the arrest of Jomo Kenyatta who held the position .
What antagonised the colonialist most against Odede was his act of honoring D.N Pritt Queen's Counsel ,a British lawyer who was representing Jomo Kenyatta and other members of Kapenguria six.
Odede had invited D.N Pritt to a ceremony in Desai Memorial Hall where he had him installed as a Luo elder and presented him with a three legged stool,a fly whisk and also enrobed him in a monkey skin.
Another reason why the colonialists had to find an excuse of arresting him was based on a conversation he had with Nairobi lawyer Peter Evans.
It was claimed by a Colonial Police informer that Odede had told Evans , Luos should not betray their Kikuyu brothers by accepting positions left behind by Kikuyu farm workers who were being expelled from European farms.
This colonialists interpreted this information to mean Odede was expressing his support for mau mau.
On the day of his arrest ,Odede was visiting the home of Chief Magak in the company of his friend Okaka Rabala to seek his support. .
When the Chief who was away in his office heard about the visit ,instead of driving to his home to inquire what the visitors were after ,he drove straight to the colonial District Commissioners officer at Kisii and informed him that mau mau agents were visiting his home.
The white D.C quickly loaded armed policemen in a lorry and drove to the home of Chief Magak where he had the two men arrested and taken to Kisii.
Ambrose Ofafa a Luo councillor who was opposed to mau mau and later murdered by them was so disturbed by Odede's arrest that he went straight to the Governor of Kenya to discuss about the matter .A letter he wrote to a friend in Nyanza after the visit read:
"I asked the governor whether or not it was his intention to put Mr Odede on public trial.To this he said that he was not likely to detain Mr Odede indefinitely but the matter depended wholly on witnesses .If the witnesses agreed to come forward and give evidence in open court then he would soon bring Odede to public trial.If witnesses refused to do so then he would have to wait a little longer."
Odede was later sent to Maralal where he was detained for seven years .
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga once said this about Odede:
"He was the one man in KAU who was prepared to criticize Jomo Kenyatta whenever he went wrong."
Source: facebook / history of Kenya
He had just taken over as the new president of KAU following the arrest of Jomo Kenyatta who held the position .
What antagonised the colonialist most against Odede was his act of honoring D.N Pritt Queen's Counsel ,a British lawyer who was representing Jomo Kenyatta and other members of Kapenguria six.
Odede had invited D.N Pritt to a ceremony in Desai Memorial Hall where he had him installed as a Luo elder and presented him with a three legged stool,a fly whisk and also enrobed him in a monkey skin.
Another reason why the colonialists had to find an excuse of arresting him was based on a conversation he had with Nairobi lawyer Peter Evans.
It was claimed by a Colonial Police informer that Odede had told Evans , Luos should not betray their Kikuyu brothers by accepting positions left behind by Kikuyu farm workers who were being expelled from European farms.
This colonialists interpreted this information to mean Odede was expressing his support for mau mau.
On the day of his arrest ,Odede was visiting the home of Chief Magak in the company of his friend Okaka Rabala to seek his support. .
When the Chief who was away in his office heard about the visit ,instead of driving to his home to inquire what the visitors were after ,he drove straight to the colonial District Commissioners officer at Kisii and informed him that mau mau agents were visiting his home.
The white D.C quickly loaded armed policemen in a lorry and drove to the home of Chief Magak where he had the two men arrested and taken to Kisii.
Ambrose Ofafa a Luo councillor who was opposed to mau mau and later murdered by them was so disturbed by Odede's arrest that he went straight to the Governor of Kenya to discuss about the matter .A letter he wrote to a friend in Nyanza after the visit read:
"I asked the governor whether or not it was his intention to put Mr Odede on public trial.To this he said that he was not likely to detain Mr Odede indefinitely but the matter depended wholly on witnesses .If the witnesses agreed to come forward and give evidence in open court then he would soon bring Odede to public trial.If witnesses refused to do so then he would have to wait a little longer."
Odede was later sent to Maralal where he was detained for seven years .
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga once said this about Odede:
"He was the one man in KAU who was prepared to criticize Jomo Kenyatta whenever he went wrong."
Source: facebook / history of Kenya
Walter Odede was a freedom fighter and a member of LegCo who was arrested and detained on suspicion of being a mau mau after he was snitched on by Chief Gideon Magak of Kasipul in 1953.
He had just taken over as the new president of KAU following the arrest of Jomo Kenyatta who held the position .
What antagonised the colonialist most against Odede was his act of honoring D.N Pritt Queen's Counsel ,a British lawyer who was representing Jomo Kenyatta and other members of Kapenguria six.
Odede had invited D.N Pritt to a ceremony in Desai Memorial Hall where he had him installed as a Luo elder and presented him with a three legged stool,a fly whisk and also enrobed him in a monkey skin.
Another reason why the colonialists had to find an excuse of arresting him was based on a conversation he had with Nairobi lawyer Peter Evans.
It was claimed by a Colonial Police informer that Odede had told Evans , Luos should not betray their Kikuyu brothers by accepting positions left behind by Kikuyu farm workers who were being expelled from European farms.
This colonialists interpreted this information to mean Odede was expressing his support for mau mau.
On the day of his arrest ,Odede was visiting the home of Chief Magak in the company of his friend Okaka Rabala to seek his support. .
When the Chief who was away in his office heard about the visit ,instead of driving to his home to inquire what the visitors were after ,he drove straight to the colonial District Commissioners officer at Kisii and informed him that mau mau agents were visiting his home.
The white D.C quickly loaded armed policemen in a lorry and drove to the home of Chief Magak where he had the two men arrested and taken to Kisii.
Ambrose Ofafa a Luo councillor who was opposed to mau mau and later murdered by them was so disturbed by Odede's arrest that he went straight to the Governor of Kenya to discuss about the matter .A letter he wrote to a friend in Nyanza after the visit read:
"I asked the governor whether or not it was his intention to put Mr Odede on public trial.To this he said that he was not likely to detain Mr Odede indefinitely but the matter depended wholly on witnesses .If the witnesses agreed to come forward and give evidence in open court then he would soon bring Odede to public trial.If witnesses refused to do so then he would have to wait a little longer."
Odede was later sent to Maralal where he was detained for seven years .
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga once said this about Odede:
"He was the one man in KAU who was prepared to criticize Jomo Kenyatta whenever he went wrong."
Source: facebook / history of Kenya
He had just taken over as the new president of KAU following the arrest of Jomo Kenyatta who held the position .
What antagonised the colonialist most against Odede was his act of honoring D.N Pritt Queen's Counsel ,a British lawyer who was representing Jomo Kenyatta and other members of Kapenguria six.
Odede had invited D.N Pritt to a ceremony in Desai Memorial Hall where he had him installed as a Luo elder and presented him with a three legged stool,a fly whisk and also enrobed him in a monkey skin.
Another reason why the colonialists had to find an excuse of arresting him was based on a conversation he had with Nairobi lawyer Peter Evans.
It was claimed by a Colonial Police informer that Odede had told Evans , Luos should not betray their Kikuyu brothers by accepting positions left behind by Kikuyu farm workers who were being expelled from European farms.
This colonialists interpreted this information to mean Odede was expressing his support for mau mau.
On the day of his arrest ,Odede was visiting the home of Chief Magak in the company of his friend Okaka Rabala to seek his support. .
When the Chief who was away in his office heard about the visit ,instead of driving to his home to inquire what the visitors were after ,he drove straight to the colonial District Commissioners officer at Kisii and informed him that mau mau agents were visiting his home.
The white D.C quickly loaded armed policemen in a lorry and drove to the home of Chief Magak where he had the two men arrested and taken to Kisii.
Ambrose Ofafa a Luo councillor who was opposed to mau mau and later murdered by them was so disturbed by Odede's arrest that he went straight to the Governor of Kenya to discuss about the matter .A letter he wrote to a friend in Nyanza after the visit read:
"I asked the governor whether or not it was his intention to put Mr Odede on public trial.To this he said that he was not likely to detain Mr Odede indefinitely but the matter depended wholly on witnesses .If the witnesses agreed to come forward and give evidence in open court then he would soon bring Odede to public trial.If witnesses refused to do so then he would have to wait a little longer."
Odede was later sent to Maralal where he was detained for seven years .
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga once said this about Odede:
"He was the one man in KAU who was prepared to criticize Jomo Kenyatta whenever he went wrong."
Source: facebook / history of Kenya
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