I am one of those Goans who lived through the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya. I lived in the Capital ,Nairobi. These were very scary times and I distinctly remember people going to sleep with Police whistles under their pillows.Many people were attacked by gangs of Mau Mau terrorists who robbed people of the entire contents of their houses. A friend of the Family one L.G. Pereira who worked in the East African Railways & Harbours and lived in the railway quarters where I lived with my Aunt, had some guns and he and some of his sons used to carry them for fear of being attacked by the Mau Mau Terrorists. Although initially the rebellion was not consider as a freedom movement, on the arrest and detention of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, a Kikuyu, who was an up and coming politician and later Kenya's first President by association turned into a freedom movement.
My Aunt owned a Grocery store called The Kenya Oriental General Store on Juja Road (now Muranga Road) which she operated for a number of years. The store was burglarized numerous times even though there were security Guards ( Askari's). One could not blame these guards because they carried on guns but only Pangas( Machetes) and were outnumbered by the Mau Mau who carried guns some home made using Bicycle parts as barrels and came in gangs.I clearly remember one incident which occurred one night when, after closing the shop, we were on our way home carrying the days takings, when we were waylaid by a gang of Mau Mau who beat my aunt and went away with the bag containing the proceeds.After this, my aunt sold the shop as this incident frightened her very much as it nearly cost her her life. Home invasions by gangs of Mau Mau terrorists was a common occurrence and steel gates and large shackled padlocks were a common site.People organized Security Groups which patrolled the areas around their houses and were armed, but these were however largely ineffective. I remember Dr Fitz DeSouza who was a brilliant lawyer and together with A. R. Kapila and a British lawyer defended Kenyatta at his trial. I also remember Pio de Gama Pinto another prominent Goan who was also a freedom fighter and who was a member of the Kenya parliament and was subsequently assassinated. A cousin of mine, Mr. Chrispine De Souza who was a district clerk in Thika was also attacked and was slashed by a panga ( machete) on the back of the neck and whose home was polished of all his worldly belongings and narrowly escaped death. When I say scary, I mean scary and the Indian Community including the Goan community bore the brunt of the attacks. The white people had Home Guards ( armed) and were relatively more secure besides having trained 'Mbwa Kali' (guard dogs) and armed askaris (Watchmen). Those were the days and things never ever returned to normal thereafter. After independence, gangs of robbers terrorized and looted shops, they broke into and ransacked houses and even in broad daylight, one could be attacked and robbed of ones valet, watch, and other valuables. Jewelry was scarcely worn or kept at home. Most people kept their jewelry in their Safety deposit boxes at the Banks taking it out on rare occasions and then making sure it was returned to the safety Deposit Box as quickly as possible. I lived in a semi detached house in Nairobi West after independence in a middleclass neighborhood where a number of Africans owned houses. It was not uncommon for the robbers to break into the homes of the African occupants as well and polish them clean. We had two dogs and a steel Gate which separated the downstairs from the bedrooms besides being ringed by a 7 foot compound wall with a steel gate. At bedtime,we used to lock the exterior gate and lock The interior steel gate with two huge padlocks with hardened shackles, it was like a prison. A house two doors from us had its front door bashed in with a huge rock and was invaded by over 10 people. The occupants were terrified as the invaders had guns and pangas and even if one had a gun, how can one contend with a hoard rushing in. I was attacked once at around 6:30 pm while shopping at a place called Ngara. The two attackers had simis ( Swords) One placed the sword on my shoulders while the other one took off my watch and ransacked my pockets taking my wallet. Another time, around Divali, a colleague had brought some Divali sweets and parked her car in my driveway so I had to park out on the street. After she had left, I went to bring my car into the compound and lock the exterior gate, I was attached by 4 people right in front of my door. one had a gun and another had a simi (Sword) They ransacked my pockets, took my car key, started the car and drove it away. I was very lucky as previously they had shot dead an Ismaili person who had refused to hand over the keys to his car.My daughter called the police (999) they said they could not come as they had no police car and asked me to come and file a report at the police station. Just see the irony. I have just been robbed of my car how am I to go to the Police station? I can recount many other stories but I think my personal experiences will suffice Africa is a wild place. I was born there and lived there for 42 years and still have nostalgic memories of the place. It is a land blessed with permanent summers fertile soil rich in minerals, abounding in wild life. If only security, politics, corruption and greed and tribalism were favorable, these nations could be paradise. Manuel ( Eddie) Tavares.
