President Jomo Kenyatta Used Minister Joseph Murumbi to Spy on Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga

Kenya's founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta used his most trusted Minister Joseph Murumbi to spy on then Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.

Murumbi revealed in his book A Path Not Taken: The Story of Joseph Murumbi that Mzee Kenyatta ordered him to accompany and spy on Odinga during diplomatic trips to Beijing and Moscow.

While in Moscow, Odinga was given VIP treatment and the privilege to attend the May Day Rally where he shared a dais with the Premier of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev and Ahmed Ben Bella who was the first president of Algeria.

[caption caption="President Jomo Kenyatta and Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga."][/caption]

Murumbi reported back to the CIA detectives that Odinga’s movements were suspect revealing that the Vice President would disappear for two days even though they shared the same hotel.

According to the then Minister, Kenyatta's trust issues with Odinga arose after the America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) alleged that Odinga was involved in the 1964 Zanzibar revolution and the massacres that followed.

Though Odinga professed his complete innocence over the allegations, the CIA believed that while serving as Minister of Home Affairs, he gave refuge to Field Marshal John Okello, who led the coup.

It was said that Odinga also equipped the War Lord with money and a car.

[caption caption="Joseph Murumbi (left) and Vice-President Oginga Odinga (centre) in Soviet Russia, Courtesy"][/caption]

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