Nathan Waliaula Munoko is 90 years old and remarkably mentally and physically healthy. Even though he can’t recall some specifics about his political career, he uses engaging tales to describe a number of pivotal events in his life and the country.
Munoko is quick and perceptive. For example, he takes care of business and personal affairs while driving himself about Nairobi.
Munoko was born on May 20, 1922, in Kolani, Sirisia, Bungoma District, into a polygamous family; his mother was relatively young when his father died in 1926 and she remarried. He says: “My life would have been bleak were it not for my father’s firm instructions to my elder brothers that I should not leave our home and that they take care of me.” Munoko served as the Minister for Works and the organizing secretary of the only political party, Kanu, for the longest period of his tenure in that capacity—he held that position for the longest period of time (18 years).
He praises his brothers for guardianship and care during his formative years. Fortunately for Munoko, his brothers valued education in those early years. As a child, he lived in the Quaker (Friends Church) communal setting, where he received religious and secular education at Chwele B School between 1932 and 1934.
He was enrolled as student number 122 at the Government African School in Kakamega in 1935. After defeating the guys who had dominated the sport, Munoko held the record in the inter-school half-mile marathon. Rugby was another sport he played. He attended the Maseno Church Missionary School in 1939 after moving from Kakamega, and in 1940 he passed the test for the Junior Secondary School Certificate.
Munoko enrolled as student number 628 at Alliance High School in 1941. He belonged to the renowned Baluhya Musical Club and served as a house prefect. In addition, he played volleyball and hockey and was on the football squad. Among his students were Charles Rubia and Robert Matano, both of whom went on to become independent politicians.
Munoko enrolled in a veterinary science diploma program at Makerere in 1943 after passing the ‘O’ Level Cambridge Overseas School Certificate examinations in 1942. However, the Veterinary School was relocated to Kabete, Kenya, in 1946 from Entebbe. As a result, in 1947, he graduated among the school’s inaugural students on the Kabete campus.
Munoko won the Governor of Uganda Award in 1944 as the greatest “all-around” student. Edward Mutesa, the future Kabaka of Buganda, was one of his playmates on the university’s First 11 soccer team. Munoko held the rank of corporal in the Makerere College Cadet Corps and was also a proficient marksman.
Munoko worked as a veterinary officer after Makerere and was assigned to Maseno in 1948 to oversee the Central Nyanza District. Later on, he was appointed Port Veterinary Officer of Mombasa. He was in charge of the cleanliness of the meat delivered in Mombasa and conducted inspections of the nearby slaughterhouses.
