|
Thomas Joseph Odhiambo "Tom" Mboya (15 August 1930 – 5 July 1969) was a prominent Kenyan trade unionist, educationist, Pan Africanist, author, freedom fighter, Cabinet Minister and one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya.〔Kenya Human Rights Commission, ("An evening with Tom Mboya" )〕 He spearheaded the negotiations for Independence at the Lancaster House Conferences〔David Goldsworthy, ''Tom Mboya The Man Kenya wanted to Forget'', Heinnemann, 1982 at Page 191 to 195〕 and was instrumental in the formation of Kenya's independence party, KANU, which he served as its first Secretary General.〔Bethwell A. Ogot, William Ochieng, ''Decolonization and Independence in Kenya: 1940 – 1963'', East African Publishers, 1995, Page 65〕 He laid the foundation for Kenya's capitalist and mixed economy policies at the height of the Cold War and set up several of the country's key labour institutions.〔 Mboya's intelligence, charm, leadership and oratory skills won him admiration from all over the world.〔 He gave speeches, debates and interviews across the world in favour of Kenya’s independence from British colonial rule and spoke at several rallies in favour of the civil rights movement in the United States.〔http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/thecounties/article/2000170551/president-uhuru-kenyatta-praises-tom-mboya-at-state-banquet〕 In 1958, at the age of 28, Mboya was elected Conference Chairman at the All-African Peoples' Conference convened by Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.〔http://www.tommboya.org/index.php/about/biography〕 He helped build the Trade Union Movement in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and across Africa, at one time, serving as the Africa Representative to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU). In May 1959, Mboya called a conference in Lagos, Nigeria to form the first All-Africa ICFTU labour organisation.〔http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000094635/tom-mboya-kwame-nkrumah-row-jolts-trade-union-movement〕 He worked with then Senator John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr to create education opportunities for African students which resulted in African Airlifts of the 1950s - 60s. One of the beneficiaries of this airlift was Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai. In 1960, he became the first Kenyan to grace the cover of ''Time'' Magazine.〔http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19600307,00.html〕 Tom Mboya was born in KilimaMbogo in Central Kenya to Leonardus Ndiege and Marcella Awour, who were low income sisal farmers. He was educated at Catholic Mission Schools and sat for Cambridge School Certificate in 1946 at Holy Ghost College (later Mangu High School). He attended Royal Sanitary Institute's Medical Training School for Sanitary Inspectors at Nairobi, qualifying as an inspector in 1950.〔 While still working as a trade union official, Tom Mboya enrolled for a Matriculation Exemption Certificate with the Efficiency Correspondence College of South Africa, majoring in Economics.〔 In 1955 he went to Ruskin College, Oxford to study Industrial Management.〔David Goldsworthy, ''Tom Mboya The Man Kenya wanted to Forget'', Heinnemann, 1982 at Page 34〕 Mboya started his trade union activities when he was employed by the Nairobi City Council as a sanitary inspector in 1951.〔 He was elected the chairman of the African Staff Association which he transformed into a trade union, The Kenya Local Government Workers Union.〔 The colonial government refused to recognize the union and Mboya sued for recognition and won. In 1953, when the independence party, Kenya African Union (KAU) leaders including Jomo Kenyatta were arrested during the Mau Mau War for Independence, they requested the young leader to take Mboya to take up leadership of KAU. However, KAU was banned and Mboya turned to using the trade unions as a platform to fight for independence as well. This led the colonial government to almost ban the Kenya Federation of Labour (KFL), the then umbrella body for trade unions in Kenya (where he had been elected Secretary General) after he gave speeches in London and Washington against British atrocities in Kenya and he organized several strikes seeking better working conditions for African workers.〔 He reached out to other labour leaders across the world, more so in the ICFTU, including A. Philip Randolph with whom he was close, and raised funds to build a headquarters for the KFL. When the colonial government opened up the Legislative Assembly to Africans in 1956, Tom Mboya was elected to represent Nairobi in the body.〔Bethwell A. Ogot, William Ochieng, Decolonization and Independence in Kenya: 1940 – 1963, East African Publishers, 1995, Page 58〕 He was elected secretary of the African Caucus (Called African Elected Members Organization - AEMO) and continued a campaign for independence and freedom for Jomo Kenyatta and other leaders.〔 He used his incredible diplomacy skills to get support for the independence movement from foreign countries. In 1961, Jomo Kenyatta was released and together with Oginga Odinga and Mboya, they formed the Kenya African National Union which negotiated independence for Kenya. Mboya was instrumental in the talks and designed the flag for the new republic.〔 In Independent Kenya, Mboya was first Cabinet Minister for Labour. He created the National Social Security Fund, Kenya’ social security scheme and set up an Industrial Court.〔 He was later moved to the Economic Planning Ministry where together with Mwai Kibaki then Finance Minister, they issued Sessional Paper 10, which defined Kenya’s form of economic policies. His development plans at the Ministry were credited as being responsible for Kenya's development rate of 7% which was sustained during his tenure as the Planning Minister.〔 Tom married Pamela Mboya (nee Odede) in 1960 is a colourful wedding at St. Peters Clavers Church, Nairobi.〔David Goldsworthy, ''Tom Mboya The Man Kenya wanted to Forget'', Heinnemann, 1982 at Page 191〕 They had five children: Maureen Odero; Nairobi First Lady Dr. Susan Mboya; Luke Mboya; Peter Mboya; Patrick Mboya. Ambassador Pamela Mboya would later have another child, Tom Mboya, Jr. Mboya was gunned down in a 1969 on Government Road (now Moi Avenue) as he was leaving a chemist by Nahashon Njoroge in what was suspected to be a political assassination. Moi Avenue now hosts a statute of Mboya and the nearby busy Victoria Street was renamed Tom Mboya Street in his honour. His assassination led to riots in the major cities of Kenya and he was buried in an emotional ceremony at his Rusinga Island Ancestral Home. In a eulogy by President Jomo Kenyatta at Mboya’s requiem mass, "Kenya's independence would have been seriously compromised were it not for the courage and steadfastness of Tom Mboya."〔 ==Biography== Thomas Odhiambo Mboya was born on 15 August 1930 in Kilima Mbogo, near Thika town in what was called the White Highlands of Kenya.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.tommboya.com/default.asp?pg=2 )〕〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tom Mboya」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|