Shakespeare’s famous quote, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts,” always comes to mind when speaking with James Charles Nakhwanga Osogo.
One sign of Osogo’s beautiful aging in his Nairobi home in Kilimani is his devoted granddaughter, who won’t leave her grandfather alone. It is obvious that the little child would eventually comprehend that his grandfather was a trailblazing political figure who made a significant contribution to the development of Kenya’s political landscape.
Osogo engaged in several political conflicts and occasionally risked his life in the most volatile situations in Kenyan history. For example, in 1975, when Josiah Mwangi Kariuki passed away, Osogo, the Health Minister, spearheaded the government’s attempt to suppress the findings of the Parliamentary Select Committee, which had found that Police Commissioner Bernard Hinga and General Services Unit Commandant Benjamin Gethi were responsible for the murder.
A motion was made by the MP for Busia South (now Bunyala) requesting that the House “…note and understand rather than accept the report.” The move to amend was denied. The lawmakers were so furious that they were unable to consider any ideas that might weaken the motion.
Osogo clarifies the reasons for his motion-moving today, saying, “I had no ulterior motives.” My only desire was to preserve the Mwangale report. What had actually transpired was that, in comparison to the report that Mwangale had delivered in parliament, the preliminary report—which I just so happened to see—included a lot more names (of those involved). The names of some extremely important politicians were in the original report, which seems to have led Mwangale to remove it, although some of us had already seen this particular report.
It needs to be seen whether this was due to his taking a pro-government stance during a period when anti-government sentiment prevailed in Parliament and elsewhere. Undoubtedly, throughout the aftermath of JM’s death, his political standing grew, with his appointment as the House’s Deputy Leader of Government Business serving as a significant career booster.
Osogo, the second child in a family of ten, was born in the little village of Bukani in the Bunyala area in 1932. His father was a local church official, therefore he was nurtured in a strict Catholic home. He does admit that his first dream as a youngster was to enrol in a seminary and become a priest, but this did not work out. However, he eventually found himself in St. Mary’s Yala School, the well-known Catholic church-sponsored establishment that cultivated many a gifted child during Kenya’s early years. That is correct—among his classmates was one Thomas Joseph Mboya.
Osogo had a dream of joining the military after graduation, especially the Royal Navy, but there weren’t many options in this field, so he jumped at the chance to work for the East African Railways, which was a significant employer at the time. This meant receiving training in Nairobi at the East African Railways and Harbours Institute, which is now known as the Kenya Railways Training Institute.
If Osogo’s political conscience had been pricked while at Yala, especially against the colonialists, then entering the Railway Institute confronted him with the ugly face of imperialism. He would see and take part in the riots that were instigated by fierce trade union leaders like Kung’u Karumba and Markhan Singh.
