ADONGO OGONY RESPONDS TO MANGANGA OF "Kenya Heroes Documentation Project"

Ndugu Manganga

My name is Adongo Ogony

I came upon an e-mail you wrote and posted on some websites. I found your words below very hurtful to Kenyan patriots who risked their lives, comfort and the safety of their families, whose histories you are allegedly documenting. These are the words I have questions about

"Mr. Miguna, you are asking how you exaggerated.

The answer is simple. You never went to prison. For your information, Nyayo House was never a prison. If you were just picked up for questioning and caned for 14 days, you are free to call yourself a "questionee" if you were caned, a caneee", but not a "detainee" in Kenyan political parlance."

May I ask you a simple question; were you ever at Nyayo House? If so for how long? Do you really know what happened at Nyayo House? Do you know people like Stephen Karanja literally died there and were taken to Kenyatta Hospital at the point of death? What should we call somebody like that according to your vocabulary and hierarchy of victims of state repression? Was Karanja a "deathee" or a "murderee" of Nyayo House? Could you help me with that please, because I think his family who is still persuing his case may want to know that.

I find it alarming that someone with such a reactionary attitude towards victims and survivors of state repression is actually documenting our history.

I personally would be ashamed and embarrassed to appear in your great book. I don't think any of us went to battle hoping that one day somebody will list our names in a piece of paper as some form of honour, particularly someone with your attitude.

In 1982 for example Kenyan students including myself were held in police cells for two to three months without trial. Our only crime was being student leaders and having spoken out about one party dictatorship. 95% of the over 70 students were not even involved in any politics at all. We were held with no access to a lawyer, no communication with our families, most of whom were told we died while trying to overthrow the government.

After our ordeal in the police which involved being transferred from one cell to the next every other day and sleeping on cold floors, eating filthy crap for food, not to mention the torture sessions at Turkoman Carpet House, the disguised Nairobi Special Branch headquarters we were arraigned in court and charged with various offenses. Then we were off to Nairobi Industrial Area Remand prison where we were held in 24 hour lock up with those charged with capital offenses. Until then I had never seen a more horrifying place. I was to come there almost four years later on my way to Kamiti medium. But that is another story.

In March 1983, seven months after our arrest 68 students including myself were released on orders of President Moi who claimed he had pardoned us. I guess we are like those "accused murderers" who were acquitted and who must not register in your holy book. Where do these students register in your project? Do they even get to be in the footnote or miscellaneous?

Are you aware that some people were taken from their homes straight to Naivasha Maximum Security Prison which was then used as a police cell. You are aware that is what happened to Wafula Buke, not when he was a student leader but later. Are those fellas going to grace your book?

Where did this idea of hierarchy of suffering come from? What purpose is it supposed to serve? Who is sponsoring your book? Are you talking to Kenyan ex-political prisoners? Are people like me who don't want to be in your book allowed to talk to you and your sponsors?

You are free to engage in your wars with someone like Miguna who is well known to me and to whom I will copy this e-mail, but please don't belittle the efforts however small you deem them, of Kenyans who have been victimized by state repression. I would rather go back to Nyayo House ten times and spend the rest of my life there than try to justify my experience to any one on this planet.

Thank you.

I eagerly await your reply.

Adongo Ogony.