Africa history made (Marejeo)

Africa history made (Marejeo)

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On the right is Francis D'Silva also nicknamed "Baba dogo" by Africans who lived around his expansive estate at Ruaraka. The area where his estate once stood is still called "Baba dogo"

D'Silva was a Goa from Majorda India who moved to Kenya and became a huge landowner. He was one of the Asians who managed to evade an Act that restricted the ownership of land in certain areas to only Whites.

He did this by befriending a European called Stanley Good in Ruaraka, an area populated by poor Europeans. Good was penniless and destitute when D'Silva took him and gave him a room in house.

Whenever a farm was put on sale, Good would wear his old military uniform and medals before being driven to town by D'Silva aka Baba Dogo to bargain and make the purchase.

In town D'Silva would give money to Good who would then enter the Land Office alone to convince the land officer that he was among the Europeans who had fought in India during the Great War and that it was only proper that he should buy the farm at a discount.

After buying the land , Good would then hand it to D'Silva aka Baba Dogo. Of course while the land belonged to Baba Dogo, all the title deeds were kept in Good's name. But Baba Dogo trusted him.

One day when Fitz asked Baba Dogo what he thought might happen if Good changed his mind and decided to take over all the property to which he had title, Dogo replied "no, no", adding that Stanley was a very good man, who would never do that to him.

After acquiring the land in Ruaraka , Baba Dogo put up around 30 bungalows for rental and surrounded the estate with so many mango trees. He then called it "Mango Farm ".
 
Muungano wa Nchi za Sahel (Alliance of Sahel States - AES), unaojumuisha Mali, Burkina Faso na Niger, umetangaza kuwa hatma ya askari 11 wa Nigeria waliozuiliwa nchini Burkina Faso itaamuliwa baada ya kumalizika kwa uchunguzi unaoendelea.

Waziri wa Usalama na Ulinzi wa Raia wa Mali, Daoud Aly Mohammedine, amethibitisha hii katika mahojiano na BBC, akisema uchunguzi unakaribia kumalizika na hatua inayofuata itachukuliwa hivi karibuni.

Tukio hilo lilianza Desemba 8, 2025, wakati ndege ya kijeshi ya Nigeria aina ya C-130, iliyokuwa ikisafirisha maafisa hao 11 (wakiwemo marubani wawili na maafisa tisa), ilipolazimika kutua Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, kwa madai ya shida ya kiufundi.

AES ilidai ndege hiyo ilikiuka anga ya Burkina Faso bila idhini, na ikailaani kama “kitendo kisichofaa” kinachokiuka uhuru wa nchi wanachama.

Muungano huo uliweka mifumo yake ya ulinzi wa anga katika hali ya juu, ukiidhinisha kupiga risasi ndege yoyote inayokiuka anga yao.

Upande wa Nigeria, Jeshi la Anga la Nigeria (NAF) lilisema kutua kulikuwa kwa ajili ya usalama baada ya shida ya kiufundi, na kulifanyika kulingana na kanuni za kimataifa za usafiri wa anga.

NAF ilithibitisha kuwa wafanyakazi walipata matibabu mazuri kutoka mamlaka ya Burkina Faso Ingawa baadhi ya ripoti za awali zilidai askari hao waliachiliwa haraka baada ya kuhojiwa, maelezo ya hivi karibuni kutoka AES yanaonyesha kuwa bado walikuwa wanazuiliwa hadi Desemba 12, na uchunguzi unaendelea.

Tukio hili linakuja wakati wa mvutano wa kikanda, hasa baada ya Nigeria kushiriki katika kuzuia jaribio la mapinduzi nchini Benin, na AES kujitenga na ECOWAS na kuimarisha uhusiano na Urusi.AES inaendelea kusisitiza uhuru wake na ulinzi wa mipaka, huku mazungumzo ya kidiplomasia yakitarajiwa kati ya Nigeria na nchi wanachama wa muungano huo.
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KUTANA NA "PHILA NDWANDWE" SHUJAA ALIYEUWAWA KIKATILI.

Mwaka 1960 serikali ya kikaburu ya Afrika Kusini ilifanya mauaji ya halaiki kwa raia wasio na hatia waliokua wanaandamana kupinga udhalimu wa serikali hiyo kwa watu weusi. Mauaji hayo maarufu zaidi kama 'Sharpeville massacre' yalitokea March 20, katika mji wa Sharpville, ambao leo unajulikana kama Gauteng.

Baada ya mauaji hayo chama cha ANC kiliamua kubadili mbinu ya mapambano, kwa sababu njia zote za kudai haki kwa amani zilifeli. Njia ya mazungumzo, maandamano na migomo hazikufaa tena katika kudai haki.Serikali ya kikaburu ilizuia watu wasiseme, wasifanye mikutano ya kisiasa, wala maandamano. Hakukua na uhuru wa vyombo vya habari wala uhuru wa maoni.

Yeyote aliyetoa maoni yasiyoifurahisha serikali aliishia gerezani ama kupotezwa.

Walioandamana walipigwa risasi na kufa. Serikali haikujali.

Kwahiyo ANC wakaamua kubadili mbinu. Wakaunda kikundi cha kupigana msituni kiitwacho uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), neno la kizulu lililomaanisha 'mkuki wa taifa'.Haraka sana serikali ya kikaburu ikatangaza kuwa kikundi hicho ni cha kigaidi na ikakipiga marufuku.

Ikawakamata viongozi wa ANC akiwemo Nelson Mandela na Walter Sisulu na kuwasweka jela kwa tuhuma za kuanzisha kikundi cha kigaidi.

Walikamatwa usiku wa tarehe 11 July, mwaka 1961 huko Rivonia, shambani kwa Muisrael mmoja aitwaye Arthur Goldreich aliyekua akiwafadhili ANC kwa siri. Goldreich nae 'alisukumwa ndani' pamoja na kina Mandela.

Baada ya kukamatwa Mandela aliwaambia wafuasi wake wasikate tamaa, waendelee na mapambano.

Alitumia maneno ya kizulu 'Ngethemba ngoba kusasa' ambayo tafsiri yake kwa Kiswahili alimaanisha 'kesho kuna matumaini zaidi kuliko juzi au jana. Kwa lugha rahisi ni sawa na kusema 'KESHO NI NZURI KULIKO JANA'Kikundi cha MK kiliendeleza mapigano dhidi ya serikali dhalimu ya makaburu.

Mapigano hayo yalichukua muda mrefu sana. Wakati Mandela akisota gerezani, kikundi hicho chini ya uongozi wa Muzi Ngwenya kiliendeleza mapambano kikiweka ngome yake huko Swaziland.'Kili-recruit' na 'kutrain' vijana kwa ajili ya mapambano.

Mmojawapo ni mwanadada Phila Ndwandwe aliyejiunga na MK mwaka 1985.

Alikua miongoni mwa wanawake wachache waliokua wapiganaji katika kikundi hicho.

Alishiriki kupigana vita vya msituni kuondoa utawala dhalimu wa kikaburu. Aliamini jukumu la ukombozi halikua la wanaume peke yao, bali la kila mtu.Bahati mbaya mwaka 1988 Phila alikamatwa na askari wa kikaburu akiwa anamnyonyesha mwanae huko msituni. Alipigwa na kuteswa sana akilazimishwa atoe siri za kikundi cha MK lakini aligoma.

Kabla ya kukamatwa Phila alikua askari shupavu ambaye licha ya kuwa na mtoto mchanga hakuacha kupigana.

Alishika bunduki mkono mmoja huku mkono mwingine ukinyonyesha.Baada ya kumshikilia mateka kwa siku kadhaa, serikali ya kikaburu ilitangaza kuwa ilimwachia huru na kwamba eti alikimbilia Tanzania.

Kwahiyo familia ya Phila iliamini binti yao yupo Tanzania, lakini ukweli ni kuwa alikua katika mateso makali sana akipigania uhai wake na mwanae huko Swaziland.

Askari katili wa kikaburu waliamuru mbwa wamuume, kisha wakamvua nguo zote na kumtandika mijeledi sehemu mbalimbali za mwili wake.

Mmoja wa askari aliyemtesa Phila alikuja kukiri na kuomba msamaha mwaka 1994, kwenye Tume ya Ukweli na Maridhiano baada ya utawala wa kikaburu kuangushwa. Askari huyo alisema kuwa walimuweka Phila katika chumba cha mateso akiwa uchi wa mnyama kwa siku 10.

Siku ya 6 ilimbidi Phila ajitengezee nguo ya ndani kwa kutumia mifuko ya plastiki iliyokua imezagaa kwenye chumba hicho.Walimuwekea makaa ya moto na kumlazimisha akanyage, na kuna wakati walimtoboa na misumari sehemu mbalimbali za mwili wake.

Baadae walimtoboa macho, na hivyo kushindwa kuona. Hata hivyo hakutoa siri za kikundi cha MK, licha ya mateso yote hayo.

Baada ya siku 10 za mateso makali walimkata maziwa ili asiweze tena kumnyonyesha mwanae. Kisha wakamfunga mikono na miguu na kumpiga risasi kichwani yeye na mwanae na kuwazika kwenye kaburi la pamoja.Baada ya Afrika Kusini kupata uhuru mwaka 1994, serkali ya ANC (black majority) iliandaa kumbukumbu ya mashujaa wake. Mmojawapo ni Phila Ndwandwe, mwanamke shupavu ambaye damu yake ilimwagilia ukombozi wa taifa hilo. Rais Nelson Mandela aliagiza mabaki ya mwili wa Phila yafukuliwe huko Swaziland, na kuletwa Afrika Kusini yazikwe kwa heshima.Tarehe 12 mwezi March, mwaka 1997 taifa zima la Afrika kusini liliungana katika ibada ya kuzika upya mabaki ya mwili wa Phila huko KwaZulu Natal, kwenye shamba la Elandkop walikozikwa mashujaa wengine.
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Hadithi ya Balihu imefungamana moja kwa moja na kipindi kigumu cha Ethiopia wakati wa Vita ya Pili ya Italo–Ethiopia (1935–1936), pale Italia ya kifashisti chini ya Benito Mussolini ilipoanzisha uvamizi wa kijeshi ili kutimiza ndoto ya kujenga “Dola mpya ya Roma” barani Afrika. Wakati huo, Ethiopia ilikuwa miongoni mwa mataifa machache ya Afrika yaliyobaki huru, na Mfalme Haile Selassie alikuwa ishara ya uhuru na heshima ya Mwafrika katika dunia iliyotawaliwa na ukoloni.
Balihu, mwenye urefu wa futi 7 na inchi 5, alikuwa askari wa Imperial Guard, jeshi maalumu lililokuwa na jukumu la kulinda mfalme na taasisi za dola ya kifalme. Urefu wake wa kipekee, nguvu na uwepo wake wa amri vilimfanya awe alama ya mamlaka na ujasiri. Kama drum major, alihusika na kuongoza mawasiliano ya kivita, kudhibiti mwendo wa vikosi na kuinua morali ya wanajeshi, hivyo kuwa mhimili wa nidhamu na hamasa katika gwaride na mapambano.

Italia ilipoivamia Ethiopia mnamo Oktoba 1935, ilitumia silaha za kisasa ikiwemo ndege za kivita, mizinga mizito na gesi ya sumu ya mustard dhidi ya jeshi la Ethiopia lililokuwa na silaha chache. Pamoja na tofauti kubwa ya teknolojia, Imperial Guard, wakiwemo mashujaa kama Balihu, walijitokeza mstari wa mbele wakiongozwa na uaminifu kwa mfalme wao, utetezi wa uhuru wa taifa na imani ya kiroho iliyowaunganisha Waethiopia wa makundi yote.

Baada ya kuanguka kwa Addis Ababa mwaka 1936, Italia ilianzisha mateso makali dhidi ya waliotekwa, hasa maafisa wa Imperial Guard waliotazamwa kama uti wa mgongo wa upinzani. Balihu alikamatwa na hatimaye kunyongwa, ikiwa ni sehemu ya juhudi za kuvunja roho ya ukombozi na kuwatisha waliobaki.

Kifo chake hakikuwa tu kupotea kwa mtu mashuhuri, bali ushahidi wa gharama kubwa ya ukoloni na ujasiri wa waliokataa kunyenyekea. Ethiopia ilipokombolewa mwaka 1941, Balihu alibaki kwenye kumbukumbu za taifa kama mfano wa heshima, ujasiri na msimamo thabiti dhidi ya dhulma ya kikoloni.
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A rare photo of “Field Marshal” Dedan Kimathi
Name : Dedan Kimathi:
Clan : Ambui
Tribe : Kikuyu
Born : 1920
DESCRIPTION
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Height: 5’ 9”
Build: Thickset
Complexion: Medium light.
IDENTIFICATION MARKS
Third (Ring) Finger left Hand Lower, two joints missing.
1” scar on cheek bone
HABITS
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A tireless walker normally believed to carry a 450 D/B sporting rifle.
Wears both Police and Army Askari uniforms.
Alternates between being bearded and clean shaven.
Is always accompanied by a personal bodyguard of between 10 and 20, well armed , and dressed in items of police clothing.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
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Education : Primary School ,Ihururu Govt African School Kagumo.Speaks and writes English.
Employment: Before 1949 ,worked on various farms in Ol Kalou area usually as milk clerk.
1949: Teacher at Karunaini
Primary
1950: Teacher at Ngenkera
Estate.
1951:Clerk South Tetu Diary
1951:Clerk Shell Company
Thomson’s Falls.
ANTICOLONIAL ACTIVITIES.
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Originally appointed KAU secretary at Thomson’s falls by Mzee Jomo Kenyatta personally on one of his visits in 1951.He took to the forest in Dec 1952.
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Misri Bado Kuna watu weusi(wazawa) ila media haziwapi nafasi, huwakuti kwenye wizara, bunge, Wala team za mipira. Wametengwa wakati wao ndio wazawa wajenzi wa piramid
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In June 1973, members of the Ogiek community who lived on the fringes of a land block at the edge of the Mau were assured by President Jomo Kenyatta that they could move into the Mau Forest and continue their traditional activities without fear of eviction.

At the same time, the land they had previously occupied, which had belonged to a departing white settler, was handed over by Kenyatta to the central Kenya members of the Nakuru District Ex-Freedom Fighters Organisation (NDEFFO) during a ceremony held in Molo on June 27, 1973.

It was during this event that President Kenyatta formally presented the Langwenda Farm to the NDEFFO group.

However, the Ogiek who settled inside the Mau Forest were never issued with formal land ownership documents.

Over the years, they have repeatedly been evicted during government forest protection and anti-encroachment operations, with authorities at times failing to distinguish between indigenous Ogiek residents and later settlers, resulting in the destruction of Ogiek homes and settlements.

Everytime evictions at Mau Forest occur, the Ogiek suffer a lot while huge ranches, tea farms and other settlements around the Mau remain untouched.
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Govan Mbeki was a leader of the SACP and the ANC, he’s known by his nickname "Oom Gov".
He is the biological father of Thabo Mbeki and Moeketsi Mbeki.

When thabo Mbeki rose to power, Govan Mbeki said THABO MBEKI “IS UNFIT TO LEAD THE ANC”.
He questioned questioned Thabo Mbeki's relations with apartheid spy Craig Williamson and he further warned his comrades that Thabo Mbeki must never be allowed to rise to a position of power.

Govan Mbeki was a South African politician, writer, long-term political prisoner. He was imprisoned together with his close friends such as Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Raymond Mhlaba.
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**We thought we knew the starting point. The ground shifted. **The Omo One fossils, unearthed in the late 1960s in Ethiopia’s Omo Kibish Formation, have long been central to the story of Homo sapiens.

The remains include a partial skull and limb bones displaying clear modern human traits. For decades, their age was estimated at roughly 195,000 years.

New dating methods focused on volcanic ash layers above and below the fossils have revised that figure to approximately 233,000 years. The adjustment pushes confirmed Homo sapiens tens of thousands of years deeper into the past.

The location matters. East Africa has long been considered a key region in human evolution. This new date strengthens that position while aligning more closely with other early finds, including Jebel Irhoud in Morocco.

The bones did not change.

Our timeline did.

The question now is not only when our species appeared, but how widely it was already spread when it did.
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Katika majira ya miaka ya 1960, wanaume wawili waliokuwa wakiongoza mapambano ya harakati za kupigania uhuru wa watu Weusi pande tofauti za Atlantiki walikutana huko Atlanta. Mmoja alikuwa ni Kenneth Kaunda, mzalendo aliyeachiliwa kutoka jela ya kikoloni na akawa mstari wa mbele katika harakati za kudai uhuru katika eneo la Rhodesia Kaskazini yaani Zambia ya leo. Mwingine alikuwa ni Martin Luther King Jr., yule kijana Mbaptisti ambaye kampeni yake ya kupinga vurugu ilikuwa ikipinga ubaguzi wa rangi kote Amerika.

Wakati huo, Rhodesia Kaskazini ilikuwa sehemu ya Shirikisho la Nyasaland, muundo wa kikoloni wa Uingereza uliotawaliwa kisiasa na kiuchumi na walowezi wa kizungu. Wazalendo wa Kiafrika kama Kaunda waliona shirikisho hilo kama chombo cha kuimarisha utawala wa wazungu wachache katika bara la Afrika ya Kati. Mkakati wa Kaunda ulijikita zaidi katika kuhamasisha uungwaji mkono mkubwa wa kisiasa huku akifuata upinzani usio na vurugu, ulioathiriwa kwa sehemu na mafundisho ya Mahatma Gandhi.

Wakati mapambano ya kudai uhuru yakishika kasi, Kaunda alitafuta washirika wa kimataifa na mwongozo wa kiakili. Hili lilimfanya atembelee nchini Marekani mwaka 1960, safari iliyoandaliwa kwa sehemu na Kamati ya Marekani ya Afrika, shirika linalozingatia haki za kiraia ambalo liliunganisha wazalendo wa Kiafrika na wanaharakati na watunga sera wa Marekani. Katika ziara hiyo, Kaunda alitembelea miji ikiwemo Washington, D.C. na Atlanta, ambako alikutana na Martin Luther King Jr.

Huko Atlanta, viongozi hao wawili walionekana pamoja katika Kanisa la Ebenezer Baptist Church, kutaniko la nyumbani kwa King, ambapo walifanya mkutano na waandishi wa habari wakichunguza uhusiano kati ya vuguvugu la ukombozi wa Kiafrika na mapambano ya Waamerika wa Kiafrika. Wanaume wote wawili waliwakilisha mienendo iliyokita mizizi katika falsafa ile ile ya kimaadili upinzani usio na ukatili wa Gandhi. Wasomi wamebainisha kuwa Kaunda alikuwa miongoni mwa viongozi wa Kiafrika wenye sauti kubwa wanaotetea kanuni za Gandhi wakati wa wimbi la uhuru wa bara hilo. Kwa King, mkutano huo ulisisitiza kwamba vuguvugu la Haki za Kiraia nchini Marekani lilikuwa sehemu ya mapambano mapana ya kimataifa dhidi ya ukandamizaji wa rangi. Kama alivyosema katika hotuba za awali juu ya uhuru wa Afrika, uhuru wa Waafrika waliotawaliwa na ukoloni na ukombozi wa Waamerika wenye asili ya Afrika vilikuwa vita vilivyoingiliana katika mtandao wa kuheshimiana".

Majadiliano kati ya Kaunda na King yalilenga katika mikakati ya kivitendo ya kusambaratisha mifumo ya utawala wa ubaguzi wa rangi. Nchini Marekani, king alikuwa akiheshimu mbinu kama vile kususia, maandamano makubwa, na uasi wa raia ili kupinga sheria za ubaguzi. Kwa wazalendo wa Kiafrika kama vile Kaunda, mapambano yalikuwa tofauti utawala wa kikoloni haukutoa ulinzi wowote wa kisheria au njia nyingine, na upinzani ulilazimika kukabiliana na mifumo ya kijamii na kisiasa inayowanyima Waafrika uwakilishi.

Bado, Kaunda aliona utovu wa nidhamu, uliopangwa kama njia ya kuondoa mamlaka ya kikoloni na kuvutia uungwaji mkono wa kimataifa. Matukio ya King huko Montgomery na kote Amerika Kusini yalitoa somo kuhusu jinsi maandamano ya maadili yanaweza kuvuruga mifumo isiyo ya haki huku ikidumisha uaminifu kwenye jukwaa la dunia. Kwa upande wake, Kaunda alishiriki katika hali halisi ya uhuru wa Afrika ya kikoloni, ambapo ubaguzi wa rangi uliingizwa sio tu kijamii lakini pia kimuundo. Mkutano wao ukawa sehemu ya mazungumzo mapana zaidi ya Bahari ya Atlantiki iliyounganisha wanaharakati wa haki za kiraia na wanaharakati wa Kiafrika, pamoja na watu kama Kwame Nkrumah, Tom Mboya, na W. E. B. Du Bois.

Ushawishi wa vuguvugu za haki za kiraia za Marekani ulidhihirika katika matendo ya Kaunda baada ya kurejea Rhodesia ya Kaskazini. Mnamo Julai mwaka 1961, alizindua kampeni ya Cha-cha-cha, vuguvugu za nchi nzima za uasi wa raia kwa lengo la kudhoofisha utawala wa kikoloni kupitia migomo, kususia, maandamano, na vitendo vichache vya hujuma. Ingawa baadhi ya vipengele vilikuwa vya kijeshi, lengo kuu la kampeni hiyo lilikuwa ni kuonyesha kutowezekana kwa kudumisha udhibiti wa wakoloni katika kukabiliana na upinzani mkubwa wa Waafrika.

Shinikizo hili lilisaidia kuleta mazungumzo ya kikatiba ambayo hatimaye yalisambaratisha shirikisho na kutengeneza njia ya uhuru. Mnamo Oktoba 24, 1964, Rhodesia Kaskazini ilikuja rasmi kuwa Zambia, huku Kenneth Kaunda akiwa rais wake wa kwanza. Mkutano wa mwaka 1960 kati ya Kaunda na king kwa hivyo mkutano unasimama kama kielelezo cha kihistoria cha mwelekeo wa ulimwengu wa mapambano ya katikati ya karne ya ishirini kwa uhuru wa watu Weusi. Viongozi wa Kiafrika walipata msukumo kutoka kwenye mamlaka ya kimaadili na ubunifu wa kimkakati wa vuguvugu za Haki za Kiraia za Marekani, ulikuwa ni wakati ambao wanaharakati wa Kiafrika waliona kuondolewa kwa ukoloni kwa haraka kwa Afrika kama dhibitisho kwamba ukandamizaji wa rangi unaweza kupingwa kwa mafanikio.
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