Inside the troubled life of powerful Nakuru mayor, the late Mzee Kimunya Kamama

Mzee Kimunya Kamama is a name that needs no introduction for many of those who grew up in Nakuru in the early 80s, 90s.

On Thursday last week the former mayor of Nakuru Town passed away.

For those who may not know about his illustrious political career, well it all started during the Mau Mau revolution when the group was deeply engrossed in fierce battles with the whites in a bid to free the country from colonial rule.

During that period, they (Mau Mau freedom fighters) persevered through many trials as documented by John Gethanga who interviewed the veteran a while back.

He described the veteran as an illustrious chronicler and a man gifted with a very sharp memory.

“He told me that during that period there was a lot going on as they fought for independence but the most captivating episode was when he was arrested for administering oath to the Mau-Mau rebels in Nyeri in 1951 and was given 18 years in the Concentration Camp," Mr Gethanga said.

According to Gethanga, Mzee Kimunya recalled the occurrences in 1952 when he together with his inmates were ferried to the-then notorious Kodiaga Prison in Kisumu.

“At Kodiaga, we were exposed to people who had leprosy. The inhabitants of Nyanza used to dispose of frail lepers in rivers or just bury them before they could give up the ghost and sometimes the British warders would force the prisoners to excavate the bodies as part of the punishment and a means of demeaning the prisoners,” he said.

Fast forward to post independence Mzee Kimunya decided to join politics and in the 1980s he had become a powerhouse in the region.

At the time this did not fare well with the Moi regime and he was detained and tortured, this however, did not deter his political ambitions and upon his release he vied for the position of counselor for ward 2 (now Biashara Ward).

In the first ever multi-party elections in 1992, he managed to win the position and from here the other councilors decided to have him serve as the Mayor of Nakuru Town for a five-year period.

From this point one would think that the former mayor would have spent the rest of his days living comfortably after he bowed out of the political arena but this was not the case.

Until as recent as 2021 the former mayor resided at Kaloleni C in the County Government houses after he sold his house in Section 58 to be able to pay off debts he had accrued.  

In an interview with The Standard, the former mayor said that indeed there was a sharp contrast between him and those he joined politics with back in the day and even saying that many are like him not able to provide for their families.

Mzee Kimunya Kamama was among those who were given a piece of the 60,000 acres in Solio ranch by the founding father of this country the Late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta but he has not been able to claim the land despite being given allotment letters and paying the then required fee of Sh30,000.