Historic Schools in West Pokot
Chewoyet High School: Happenstance Court
From high-profile personalities involved, to its public attention, landmark legal battles, where it took place, and the quagmire of its jurisdiction, the infamous trial of the Kapenguria Six, that found its way to one of the rooms at Chewoyet High School as the present small courtroom filled to overflowing, indubitably shaped history of Kenya. Played out in remotest Kenya, closed to the public, over a year of fierce court battles, the case captured the world’s attention like no other in Kenya.
It was series of well calculated moves. On August 17, 1952, warrants were issued for the arrest of Jomo Kenyatta, president of the Kenya African Union, and five other officers of the KAU by Mr. F. Wilson, then District Commissioner of the remote West Suk District in the Rift Valley Province. The warrants were issued at Kapenguria, where Mr. Wilson had his headquarters. He was empowered to issue warrants as he had for the past year held a special appointment as a magistrate.
Later that day, three of the accused were brought to Kapenguria and placed under arrest and charged. The following day, the remaining three were brought to in and arrested and charged. The Kapenguria 6 – Bildad Kaggia, Kung’u Karumba, Fred Kubai, Paul Ngei, Achieng’ Oneko, Jomo Kenyatta – had been in detention, under Emergency power granted to the Attorney General, since the Emergency was declared the previous month. They had, soon after their arrest, been flown out and confined to nearby Kapenguria cells, at a remote area closed to the public.
Soon after arriving in Kenya the new governor, Sir Evelyn Baring, had declared a State of Emergency on October 20, 1952. Beginning on the same day, colonial security forces launched Operation Jock Scott in which a hundred African political leaders, including Kenyatta, his Kapenguria comrades, and eight thousand others were arrested to remove the leadership of what was now widely called Mau Mau.
The location of the trial, much contested, with many legal moves it to move it from here, was not happentance either. Kapenguria, in the current West Pokot County, 412 km northwest of Nairobi, was also considered remote as it was far removed from the other populated regions of the country. It also lacked amenities such as telephone and postal service, railway, hotels and the only road leading there was almost nonexistent. Kapenguria was a “closed” area and any one going in and out had to get a government pass, at a time when getting an “African Pass” to enter any town was difficult. It was a cull on public interest and participation.
Jomo Kenyatta, then 60, was the main focus of interest in the Kapenguria 6 trial. He was charged with managing an unlawful society from August 12, 1950 until October 21, 1952, when he was detained, and with being a member of an unlawful society. The society in question was the Mau Mau, which had been proscribed as dangerous to good governance in Kenya by an order issued on October 12, 1950.
The other defendants – Bildad Kaggia, Kung’u Karumba, Fred Kubai, Paul Ngei, Achieng’ Oneko – had been charged with assisting in management of an unlawful society, and with being members of an unlawful society. All six had been rounded up and arrested and remanded until November 24, 1962. Judge Ainsely Thacker arrived in Kapenguria on the August 24, 1952, driven to the courtroom amidst tight security, and the six accused formally pleaded not guilty. The case continued until December 3, 1952. The defendants were lodged in jail at Kapenguria, a mile away.
Trial began at Kapenguria on December 3, 1952 and continued for a total of 58 days until March 24. The lengthy proceedings were fervid, animated discussions with intense arguments, and not without interruptions and squabbles, none, perhaps, as intriguing as when a one Mr. Pritt – the defending lawyer – was punished for contempt of court because of his remarks. Presently, the courtroom in Kapenguria town was too small to house the Kapenguria 6, their lawyer, guards, national and international press, so a school room at an agricultural college, at the present day Chewoyet High School, two kilometres from the cells, was used.
Judgement on the Kapenguria 6 was delivered on April 8, 1952. Mr. Thacker found the six guilty as charged and sentenced each to seven years imprisonment at hard labour on each charge, the sentences to run concurrently. Appeals were lodged with the Supreme Court of Kenya on April 21, and a hearing for the appeals was set for July 1. In total a whopper 183 grounds were raised for all the defendants.
On June 23, through a Gazette notice, Mr. Thacker’s position as acting magistrate to Rift Valley Province was changed to that of Resident Magistrate. It was one of many strange decisions that led some to believe that the government had no case in Kapenguria. That it was was flawed on the ground of jurisdiction. The matter of justice also weighed heavy. On August 17, Mr. Pritt, the defendant lawyer, filed another appeal at the Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa on the grounds of jurisdiction. Ultimately though, the appeal was not allowed. Mr. Pritt’s next move was to appeal the case to the Privy Council of England. That did not materialize.
Unsurprisingly, Pritt’s visiting pass was later cancelled in May 1953 and he was deported to UK. After the trial, the six were taken to prison in Lokitaung, near Lodwar, to serve their sentence. At the time they were being moved to Lodwar, Mr Oneko had won an appeal but he was separated from the rest and detained in Manyani Prison, near Voi, 310 kilometres east of Nairobi. In April 1961, Kenyatta was moved to Maralal while the other four detainees remained in Lodwar. In Maralal, Kenyatta stayed in a bigger three-bedroomed house, enjoyed more freedom but was still under house arrest and therefore closely watched. He was released to his house in Gatundu, Kiambu, just outside Nairobi, on August 14, 1961.
Fast forward to 2000, and only 3 of the Kapenguria 6 were alive. These were Achieng’ Oneko, Paul Ngei and Bildad Kaggia who at this time, sadly, were wallowing in poverty. Their former comrades in arms Jomo Kenyatta & Fred Kubai had died while Kung’u Karumba “disappeared” during a business trip to Uganda.
Inside Chewoyet High School, and outside the classroom, nothing sets apart the room that served as the courtroom and adjacent rooms, except the metallic plaque capturing the historic moment. Above of the door of the aging classrooms to the left of the main entrance, used as the courtroom, a memento panel reads: April 8, 1953, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, first president of the republic of Kenya and his five colleagues, Bildad Kaggia, Kung’u Karumba, Fred Kubai, Paul Masaku Ngei and Ramogi Achieng’ Oneko were convicted after a stage managed trial by the British Colonial Government for leading a persistence fight for Kenya’s independence.
On reaching Makutano-Kapenguria Junction it would be of interest to take a quick tour of Chewoyet High School as well as Kapenguria cells, to better appreciate this chapter of Kenya’s history. Chewoyet High School is situated 4.6 km from the Lutheran Church Bendera off A1 Road. Chewoyet High School is also notable as one of two premier government high schools in the North Rift Region in company with Kapsabet High School in Nandi County. Originally known as Rift Valley Junior School, Chewoyet High School, was set up as an agricultural college in the 1940’s.
Touring West Pokot County in Kenya offers a chance to explore a region known for its iconic, rugged landscapes, vibrant cultures, and rich traditions. Located in the extreme northwest part of the country, bordering Uganda, West Pokot County is primary inhabited by the Pokot community, known for their pastoralist lifestyle.
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Explore Destinations Nearby Chewoyet High School
A Guide to West Pokot County
A Summa Digest of West Pokot
About West Pokot Way Back When
32 Destinations in West Pokot County, arranged as one would visit these - south to northeast - with the aid of narratives, images, strip maps and distance chart:
Kaisagat Viewpoint, Barnley's Guest House, Kapkoris Hill Viewpoint, Dini ya Roho Church, Mount Murpus, Chewoyet High School, Kapenguria Museum, Kapenguria Town, Chelanga Gardens, Tartar Falls, Kacheliba, Holy Cross Church Kacheliba, Alale Gold Mines, Suam River Beach, Kamatira Forest, Lounon Village, Cherangani Hills, Marich Pass, Marich Pass Center, Kang'alan Escarpment, Kolloa Cross Monument, Weiwei Irrigation Scheme, Tamkal Valley, Mount Koh, Sekerr Range, Mount Mtelo View Lodge, Nasolot National Reserve, Turkwel Dam, Turkwel Gorge, State Lodge, Riting
Know More About West Pokot County: Geography, Land-Use, Highlights, Population, Roads - including a distance chart, Airports, Climate & National Monuments
What’s The Air Like In W. Pokot?
West Pokot has significant variations in temperature with the lower lands experiencing temperatures of up to 33oC, and highlands experiencing modest temperatures of 15oC.
What’s The Lay Of The Land In C.24?
West Pokot County is marked by a variety of topographic features – dry plains in the north, a hatful of ranges and hills in the mid, and in the south east Cherangani Hills.