Born around 1910 – 1912 in Kimilili, Bungoma District, Masinde wa Nameme okhwa Mwasame was initiated into the Machego age-set. At the time, the Kenya-Uganda railway was passing through Ababukusu land. He began to practice football at a young age, eventually starting out as a footballer and captaining a football team from Kimilili. He also played for the Kenyan national team in the Gossage Cup[1] against Uganda in 1930.
Careeredit
By the early 1940s, he had risen to the rank of a junior elder within his community in Kimilili area, and become increasingly anti-colonial. In 1944, he led a number of localised defiance campaigns against the colonial authorities, and was imprisoned many times as a result. At one time he was put in Mathare Mental Hospital, and on another occasion he was detained in Lamu.
Detention, old age, and deathedit
Upon Kenya's independence, Masinde was detained by the government of Jomo Kenyatta for almost 15 years. He was accused of fomenting religious hatred. He was released by the government of Daniel arap Moi in 1978, however, Moi also arrested him following his clashes with traffic policemen in Webuye and Kitale. Elija Masinde remained defiant and continually questioned post independence Kenya's government, especially on the issue of land distribution and citizen rights. He died in 1987, considered a neglected freedom fighter.
Before his death, Masinde said that one of his relatives had bewitched him. He also described to his elder son where he wanted to be buried: he wanted a huge sycamore tree uprooted to make way for his grave. The family decided to bury him elsewhere, though, but the spot they chose for his grave turned out to be someone else's hidden grave. They took this to be an omen and proceeded to bury him in the spot where the sycamore tree had been.
He left a widow, Sarah Nanyama Masinde. She was still alive in November 2007 and was then reportedly 105 years old.[2]
^Daily Nation, 29 June 2008: SOCCER: When Elijah Masinde sneaked from team camp 29 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^Daily Nation, 12 November 2007: Masinde family supports Raila [permanent dead link]
Makila, F. E. (1978) An Outline History of Babukusu of Western Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya Literature Bureau.
Alembi, Ezekiel. (2000) Elijah Masinde: Rebel with a cause. Nairobi, Kenya: Sasa Sema Publications Ltd.
January 01, 1970
elijah, masinde, 1911, 1987, bukusu, activist, contents, early, life, career, detention, death, also, referencesearly, life, editborn, around, 1910, 1912, kimilili, bungoma, district, masinde, nameme, okhwa, mwasame, initiated, into, machego, time, kenya, ugan. Elijah Masinde c 1911 1987 was a Bukusu activist Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Detention old age and death 4 See also 5 ReferencesEarly life editBorn around 1910 1912 in Kimilili Bungoma District Masinde wa Nameme okhwa Mwasame was initiated into the Machego age set At the time the Kenya Uganda railway was passing through Ababukusu land He began to practice football at a young age eventually starting out as a footballer and captaining a football team from Kimilili He also played for the Kenyan national team in the Gossage Cup 1 against Uganda in 1930 Career editBy the early 1940s he had risen to the rank of a junior elder within his community in Kimilili area and become increasingly anti colonial In 1944 he led a number of localised defiance campaigns against the colonial authorities and was imprisoned many times as a result At one time he was put in Mathare Mental Hospital and on another occasion he was detained in Lamu Detention old age and death editUpon Kenya s independence Masinde was detained by the government of Jomo Kenyatta for almost 15 years He was accused of fomenting religious hatred He was released by the government of Daniel arap Moi in 1978 however Moi also arrested him following his clashes with traffic policemen in Webuye and Kitale Elija Masinde remained defiant and continually questioned post independence Kenya s government especially on the issue of land distribution and citizen rights He died in 1987 considered a neglected freedom fighter Before his death Masinde said that one of his relatives had bewitched him He also described to his elder son where he wanted to be buried he wanted a huge sycamore tree uprooted to make way for his grave The family decided to bury him elsewhere though but the spot they chose for his grave turned out to be someone else s hidden grave They took this to be an omen and proceeded to bury him in the spot where the sycamore tree had been He left a widow Sarah Nanyama Masinde She was still alive in November 2007 and was then reportedly 105 years old 2 See also editDini Ya MsambwaReferences edit Daily Nation 29 June 2008 SOCCER When Elijah Masinde sneaked from team camp Archived 29 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine Daily Nation 12 November 2007 Masinde family supports Raila permanent dead link Makila F E 1978 An Outline History of Babukusu of Western Kenya Nairobi Kenya Kenya Literature Bureau Alembi Ezekiel 2000 Elijah Masinde Rebel with a cause Nairobi Kenya Sasa Sema Publications Ltd Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elijah Masinde amp oldid 1218189786, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
