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National Shrines in Homa Bay

Tom Mboya Mausoleum: A Hero Gone Too Soon

“1969 was a very hard year. Tom Mboya’s assassination from now onwards is transformed into permanent mourning – something like melancholia among his Luo people. It poisons political relations and some even observe, the economic fortunes of his kinsfolk. His death becomes an allegory of national trauma that had started with the ominous signs of authoritarianism, the shift from multiparty to a one-party state, the micro-management of national affairs by a small tribal gang and the cold-blood elimination of political opponents” Dust by Yvonne A. Owuor.

On that fateful day, 5th July, 1969, Thomas Mboya, Kenya’s Minister for Economic Planning and Development, was on a routine errand run in downtown Nairobi. It was a Saturday like any other for Mboya. And yet, that morning, The East African Standard had published his photo taken the previous day at the JKIA Airport when he arrived from a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was supposed to travel to the University of Sussex in UK for a conference, which was to begin on Monday. That afternoon Tom Mboya went to the Treasury car park and told his driver to go home. He drove himself to Chaani Pharmacy, owned by family friends Mr and Mrs Sehmi Chaani. The shop had closed for the weekend, but they opened for him.

After buying lotion for dry skin, he stayed at the counter chatting with Mrs Chaani. When he was ready to go, she opened the door. It was now 1:15 pm, and the streets were busy. Mboya stepped out. Two loud shots rose above the city noise. The minister fell. In poignant happenstance, renowned Kenyan photojournalist Mohamed Amin captured the events as they unfolded on video, including frantic efforts by doctors to resuscitate him. He lay lifeless as first responders rushed him to Nairobi Hospital in an ambulance, in what would be a futile effort to save him.

The confirmation of Tom Mboya’s death on the national broadcaster instantly send shock waves. The nation was plunged into woeful darkness, the air about it melancholic with a sense of deep depression – on a scale not witnessed before and since. If ever there was a day the nation felt like it was going to the dogs, this was explicit. Kenya was at a crossroads! Riots broke out in unison across Nairobi, score of comrades flocking the Nairobi Hospital en masse amid wails and cries. 

What was not in doubt was that Mboya’s elimination was a desperate move to silence a brilliant political maven whose abstruse ingenuity was unanswered. In his book “Tom Mboya” 2021, Bethwel Ogot narrates that Tom Mboya knew that there were plans to assassinate him and some of his close friends had attempted to persuade him to travel directly to Britain from Addis Ababa. But Mboya had told them that if some people in Kenya were determined to kill him, a few days in the UK would merely postpone the day of reckoning. He ruled out going to exile.

More drama followed a week later during Tom Mboya’s requiem mass at Holy Family Cathedral on April 12, when angry protestors clashed again with the police. Founding President Jomo Kenyatta’s motorcade was blocked from accessing the church compound as mourners used anything they could lay their hands on to pelt his bulletproof Mercedes. Tom Mboya’s killer would later be identified as Nahashon Isaac Njenga, who, on that fateful day, has quickly vanished amidst the confusion. Prison officials announced in December that year that the convicted assassin was secretly hanged. Officials refused to disclose the date or details.

As one of the most impeccable and charismatic leaders Kenya has yet been blessed with, Mboya was widely tipped to become Kenya’s second president, succeeding Jomo Kenyatta. Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya was first lionized in Kenyan chronicles as the vanguard of the negotiations for the Independence of Kenya at Lancaster House. Right off the bat after independence, Mboya became Kenyatta’s maverick kingmaker. His first task, of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s of the ‘new’ constitution in company of Charles Njonjo, was handled masterfully.

Henceforth, Mboya would bolster unwavering loyalty to Kenyatta, always top-scoring on pro-government agendas and tactfully thwarting untold attempts by opposition members to engender bootless policies. Indeed, Tom Mboya’s legal, political and diplomatic astuteness had, in equal parts, impressed and terrified. Moreover, his age, being many years younger than the high ranking government officials of the day, did not sit well with many, at a time when tribal politics was beginning to rear its ugly head. An eloquent statesman and enigmatic leader, he would also go down in history as the first Kenyan to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine – March 7, 1960, portrayed as a second to none political genius.

On 11th July, 1969, Tom Mboya was buried at his father’s farm on Rusinga Island. Since, thousands upon thousands of both local and international visitors have visited his final resting place to pay homage to one of Kenya’s beloved heros – gone too soon. Here, deep in western Kenya, hidden down a back street in the northeast area of the island, at Kasawanga village, the bullet-shaped mausoleum is symbolic of Tom Mboya’s unjust and ill timed death. It might seem like a rather depressing trip, but it’s not all doom and gloom – for some people it is a way they can pay tribute to Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya and that moment in history.

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Shrines – big and small – hold significant religious, historical, or political import and serve as symbols of identity, remembrance, and reverence. These sites also play important roles in preserving Kenya’s collective memory, fostering unity, and promoting patriotism: Places of reflection and commemoration for sacrifices and achievements made by past generations, and honored for future prosperity.

Index of National Shrines in Kenya



Baringo County - Kolloa Cross Shrine, Homa Bay County - Tom Mboya Mausoleum, Kakamega County - The Muliro Gardens, Kericho County - Gurdwara Sahib, Kericho Wagon Works, Tulwap Kipsigis Hill, Kiambu County - Travellers Chapel, Scott Watson Memorial Church, Kilifi County - Mekatilili wa Menza Shrine, Ronald Ngala Mausoleum, Kitui County - Museve Shrine, Mombasa County - The Swaminarayan Indian Temple, Johann Krapf Memorial Shrine, Nairobi County - Resurrection Garden, Jomo Kenyatta Mausoleum, Mashujaa Monument, City Park, Uhuru Gardens, Nakuru County - Marian Shrine, Nandi County - Mberere Holy Springs, Kabiyet Shrine, Nyeri County - African Bible on the Ground Shrine, Dedan Kimathi Trench, The Mau Mau Post Office, Irene Nyaatha Shrine, Meru County - Kaaga War Memorial, Muranga County - Wangu Wa Makeri Shrine, Mukurwe Wa Nyagathanga Shrine, Tana River County - Mau Mau Hola Memorial Monument, Uasin Gishu County - Alexander Kipsang Muge Mausoleum, Wajir County - Wagalla Memorial Monument, Vihiga County - Chabuga Mausoleum

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outlook

Located in the western Kenya, bordering Lake Victoria, Homa Bay County is known for its scenic landscapes, extensive lakeshore, and vibrant community life. It also offers a rich blend of cultural and historical attractions. Touring Homa Bay County allows you to immerse yourself in a part of Kenya’s natural beauty, cultural diversity, and immersive historical heritage that rarely gets under the limelight.

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A Guide to Homa Bay County



A Summa Digest of Homa Bay

About Homa Bay Way Back When

48 Destinations in Homa Bay County, arranged as one would visit these - southeast, north then west - with aid of narratives, strip maps and distance chart:

Sondu Miriu Hydro Station, Old Kendu Bay Town, Olmak Beah Resort, Kendu Adventist Gendia, Lake Simbi Nyaima, Ondago Swamp National Sanctuary, Kisindi Lodge and Spa, Homa Hills, Abundu Hot Springs, Bala Lawi Hot Springs, Kanjera Prehistoric Site, Kanam Prehistoric Site, Asego and Kasarua Hills, Homa Bay Town, Asumbi Catholic Church, Asumbi Resort, Kodera Forest, Ruri Hills, Soklo Kipenji, BJs Ranch, Mbita Point, Victoria Sands Lodge, Gembe Hills, Mbita Ferry, Rusinga Island, Rusinga Island Lodge, Tom Mboya Mausoleum, White Stone Beach Resort, Rusinga Island Festival, Ngodhe Island, Kasawanga Village, Mfangano Island, Mfangano Island Lodge, Mawanga Rock Art, Kwitone Rock Art, Abasuba Peace Museum, Siambi Resort, Takawiri Island, Ringiti Island, Mbasa Islands, Gwassi Hills, Lambwe Valley, Ruma National Park, KWS Obiri Guest House, Kanyamwa Escarpment, Nyamugondho Shrine, Gor Mahia Shrine

Know More About Homa Bay County: Its Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including a distance chart, Airports, Climate & National Monuments

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