Dholuo folklore tells of a man called Ramogi who migrated and settled in Kenya from the land of the Nubi. He is believed to be the father of the Luo community. This is why anyone christened Ramogi is believed to be a very important figure and a pioneer in the community. This is exactly what Ramogi Achieng Oneko was.
Early Life
Oneko was born in 1920 in Tieng’a village in Uyoma, Bondo. He was a man of many talents, something he discovered while at Maseno Mission School. He performed well in class, was an eloquent speaker, a respected prefect, and a star athlete. All these qualities, paired with his elegant style and gait, earned him the nickname Nyakech which means antelope, an animal revered by the Luo for its gracefulness. It is also during his time at Maseno that he began to learn about the liberation struggle from one of his schoolmasters: Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
Upon completing school, Achieng Oneko co-founded the Luo Thrift and Trading Corporation (LUTATCO) in 1945 to create employment for Africans and challenge the norm of depending on Europeans and Asians for handouts. Through this corporation, he opened a supermarket in Maseno (Maseno Stores), posho mills in marketplaces around Nyanza, and even purchased some real estate. This would increase the sense of security, pride and independence among the Luo community, something that would not have happened were it not for Oneko’s smarts.
Writing for Freedom
Nairobi was a burgeoning municipality in the 1940s and the hub of political and writing activism. Oneko relocated to the capital to better aid in the liberation struggle. In 1947, he co-founded the Ramogi Press, a printing shop aimed at giving Kenyans the ability to write, produce and distribute their news. Another aim was to present a range of multi-ethnic voices from around the country; Ramogi Press achieved this by printing different newspapers in different Kenyan languages. One of their publications was called Ramogi. It was founded and edited by Oneko to serve as a mouthpiece for the Luo community.
Like many businesses ran by novices, Ramogi Press had serious finance issues in its early years. The production costs of the numerous papers took a toll on the printing shop and Oneko was forced to resort to the continuous cycle of borrowing of money to stay afloat. Oneko soon realized that advertising was a good way to generate revenue for the press, so he increased the advertising space on Ramogi and opened it up to Europeans and Asians as well. The money made from these advertisers helped the publication and the whole business stay afloat, which gave a chance to other African writers to continue publishing their works and agitate for independence. The publication was used massively by the Kenya African Union (KAU), the political party agitating for independence, to gather support from Nyanza. Oneko was entrusted with the job of gaining regional support for KAU. In 1949, Ramogi Press was relocated to Kisumu to be closer to its initial target audience: the Luo community. Three years later, Oneko had earned his stripes and was chosen as the secretary general of KAU.
Oneko’s new leadership role saw him chosen as part of a delegation sent to London in 1951. During this overseas trip, he presented a paper to the League of Nations (today’s United Nations) agitating for the return of stolen ancestral lands. When he returned, he got more entrenched in KAU work as he began attending meetings and rallies organized to champion the liberation cause. The success of these meetings led to an increase in Mau Mau attacks, and in 1952, a state of emergency was declared in Kenya.
The Kapenguria Six
Numerous writers and editors, Oneko included, were arrested after their publications were declared ‘violently subversive, irresponsible, and seditious.’ He was tried alongside five others freedom fighters for his links to the Mau Mau. They were accused of aiding in the management of Mau Mau and forcing civilians to take an oath that would bind the people to act in loyalty to the movement.
Oneko was arraigned in court in proceedings that took place between December 1952 and April 1953. He was lined up alongside Jomo Kenyatta, Bildad Kaggia, Paul Ngei, Fred Kubai and Kungu Karumba. The court was in Kapenguria in the northwest region of the country, a place that the colonial officers believed was too far for them to be rescued by the Mau Mau. The place was deserted and had very few amenities with few Africans even being allowed in and out of the area. After the sham trial, the six were found guilty and sentenced to seven years with hard labour. They were quickly whisked off to Lokitaung to begin their jail terms.
Oneko appealed the court’s ruling and won on the defense that the Mau Mau meetings that took place between October 20, 1950 and October 20, 1952 were largely held in Kikuyu, a language he did not understand. He was acquitted on 15th January, 1954 but the colonial government continued detaining him on the fears that he was still a dangerous weapon in the Mau Mau arsenal owing to his publication, Ramogi. He was separated from the other detainees and transferred to Manyani Prison near Voi, where he stayed until the end of his sentence in 1961.
He remained in the political landscape of post-independence Kenya as he served as the first minister for Information, Broadcasting and Tourism.
Oneko would go on to live a quiet life in his home in Rarieda sub-county in Siaya county where he died of heart-attack in 2007 at the age of 87. He was the last of the Kapenguria Six to pass on, and we remember him today for his contribution to our jamhuri.