Inside Jaramogi’s mausoleum: A deep journey into Kenya’s history

ODM leader Raila Odinga, Muhoho Kenyatta, Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju and Rev David Kodia at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga’s grave. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

It is an iconic place located deep in Bondo, Siaya County, in Kang’o Ka Jaramogi. From the outside, one can easily dismiss it as another ordinary building. 

But there is more than meets the eye at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Mausoleum, a place that has extremely valuable information that tells the history of Kenya.

So dear is the mausoleum to Opposition chief Raila Odinga that he personally takes all his important visitors on a guided tour in the place.

A tour of the mausoleum lasts more than one hour as Raila explains in detail the pictures that captured key moments in Kenya’s history.

The mausoleum is rarely opened to the public because of the wealth of information stored in it.

On February 18, the Jaramogi family and their visitors will mark the 25th anniversary of Oginga Odinga in the mausoleum.

Its curator Samuel Aduol says the place ever busy as visitors from across the globe come to get a feel of Kenya’s history.

“We have welcomed several presidents and former presidents including Daniel Moi, Mwai Kibaki, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and a host of ambassadors,” Aduol says.

Recently, during his tour of Nyanza, President Uhuru Kenyatta was taken on a guided tour of the mausoleum by Raila.  

The president’s visit marked an important point in the bumpy relationship between the two families whose interactions date as far back as 1952.

This was the second time Uhuru was visiting Kang’o Ka Jaramogi. He first visited when he was the Finance minister in the Grand Coalition government after conducting a funds drive at the nearby Nyamira Girls Secondary School.

Last weekend, his brother Muhoho Kenyatta, Raphael Tuju and a group of church leaders laid a wreath at Jaramogi’s tomb.

Again, it was a jubilant Raila who took them on a tour inside the mausoleum, explaining to them the life and times of Jaramogi and Kenya’s journey through the years.

According to Raila, the mausoleum which was opened on January 20, 1995 by former Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo, has been updated with the pictures and artifacts of other key events that have taken place in Kenya since the pre-colonial times.

During the tour, Muhoho picked himself out in one of the pictures taken during the political period preceding the 2002 elections.

Oginga’s grave

At the entrance of the huge building is Jaramogi’s grave which has a sculpture of a lion on top of it.

His famous quote, “Freedom has a price” is neatly inscribed on the wall to signify the road to freedom Jaramogi advocated for.

A stroll inside the main building adjacent to where the grave is reveals a collection of pictures placed in categories alongside other regalia, including eight different caps that Jaramogi wore and his walking sticks.

At one end, there are pictures of some former African leaders, including Emperor Haile Sellasie, Kwame Nkurma, Nelson Mandela and others.

Then there is the famous Kanu shield with the wordings “Nyayo” which elicit memories of the 1980s. The mausoleum also has the names of several colonial governors who watched over the Kenyan British Colony before the country attained independence.

Apart from the pictures, there is a section with the portraits of all the chief justices, deputy presidents and prime ministers who have served the country since 1963.

Assassinated political leaders, among them Pio Gama Pinto, Dedan Kimathi and JM Kariuki, have also been celebrated with their portraits prominently displayed. 

Raila spends a lot of time with his visitors at this section, recounting the various events surrounding these leaders’ contributions to Kenya’s history.

“There are plans to add more artifacts and sculptures of wild animals to the mausoleum,” the ODM leader said last week as he took Muhoho and Tuju on a tour of the building.

One of the most iconic artefacts that make the mausoleum a special repository of Kenya’s history is the 1901 picture of Florence Preston, the wife of a Railways engineer.

Student’s paradise

The picture was taken on December 20, 1901 and it shows the place where the 931-kilometer Kenya-Uganda railway touched Lake Victoria. This, perhaps, is the moment the lakeside trading post was named Port Florence.

The picture tells the story of the beginning of  Kisumu, which  has  grown  from  a  small  centre to a leading economic hub in Western Kenya.

The mausoleum also has a library section where some of the famous books that tell the history of the country are kept.

One of the books that are prominently dispalyed here is Jaramogi’s Not Yet Uhuru, which has a wealth of information about the struggle for independence and the years after Kenya attained self rule.

In the book, Jaramogi writes candidly about his excitement when he first met Mzee Kenyatta.

“It was in 1952 that Kenyatta came to Kisumu again. Achieng’ Oneko introduced me to him and for several hours before the Kisumu public meeting, we had close talks at the Maseno Store,” writes Jaramogi in his book.

He quotes Kenyatta as having told him: “We must get to know one another. The Kikuyu must get to know the Luo thoroughly.”

Aduol told Sunday Standard that the mausoleum is a favourite for students interested in Kenya’s history. “We are hoping to start charging a small fee. It is a rich place full of information that also highlights cultural transformation,” Aduol says.