The Man Who Betrayed Kapenguria Six: The Story of Rawson Macharia

A file Image of Kapenguria Six traitor Rawson Mbugua
A file Image of Kapenguria Six traitor Rawson Mbugua
FILE

The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies, but from the people, you would least expect.

This was the state of affairs during the clamour for independence in the early 1950s as Kenyan nationalists pressed harder to have colonialists leave the country.

The Mau Mau movement, which resisted the British domination in Kenya, had just been proscribed by the colonial government, with members being hunted by soldiers from their homes and hideouts.

To quell the tension that was gaining momentum with the group's formation, the newly appointed governor of the Kenya colony, Sir Evelyn Baring, declared a state of emergency in 1952 while targeting top leaders opposed to his government who were not necessarily members of Mau Mau.

A file image of the Kapenguria Six
A file image of the Kapenguria Six
File
Africa 24

The short-term cause for the declaration, however, was the brutal elimination of a prominent Kenyan Chief, Waruhiu wa Kung'u.

Chief Waruhiu was eliminated for collaborating with the colonial government and acting as a spy, among other allegations levelled against him by African freedom activists. The Mau Mau lobby group was accused of the heinous act.

The state of emergency culminated in the apprehension of Jomo Kenyatta, Bildad Kaggia, Kung'u Karumba, Achieng' Oneko and Fred Kubai, who, upon arraignment in the then wastelands of Kapenguria, came to be known as the Kapenguria Six. The six were apprehended in connection with Mau Mau activities, with their trial transferred to Kapenguria to minimize public agitation that was heightening in Nairobi.

However, the arraignment faced a new hurdle as the government could not produce witnesses to testify against the six detainees. It is for this reason that Baring embarked on a plot to fix Kenyatta and the five by linking them to the Mau Mau group.

The colonial government's first step was to bring former Chief Justice, Ransley Samuel Thacker, to the judicial corridors as a First Class Magistrate to purposely preside over the case. Secondly, the government recruited a local Kikuyu shopkeeper, Rawson Macharia, to certify allegations coached by the British authorities.

Thacker had served as the Chief Justice for colonial Kenya from 1938 until his retirement in 1950. His dramatic comeback to the bench was advised by hefty retirement perks promised by the colonial government if he ruled the case in its favour.

In an unbelievable unfolding of events, Rawson Macharia told Justice Ransley Thacker that Kenyatta had recruited him into Mau Mau and administered an oath of secrecy to him. Macharia said that Kenyatta stripped him naked and forced him to drink human blood from his hands.

Macharia, having done exactly as he had been told, Judge Thacker ruled that the evidence provided was adequate to convict Kenyatta and his people for propagating civil unrest, sentencing them to seven years in jail with hard labour.

The case had attracted international attention and was attended by several foreign attorneys defending Kenyatta, including the 26-year-old Achhroo Ram Kapila of Indian descent.

In a grave ruling that sent chills across the world while conveying a message of disillusionment to freedom activists in Kenya, Thacker found the Kapenguria six guilty of mobilizing people to break the law.

"You have successfully plunged many Africans back to a state which shows little humanity. You have persuaded them in secret to execute, burn and commit atrocities that will take many years to forget. You have let loose upon this land a flood of misery and unhappiness affecting the daily lives of the races in it, including your own people," he ruled.

It was now time to go behind bars and serve the atrocious jail term for the Kapenguria six. Nevertheless, the push for independence was never halted.

Money, land and all goodies awarded to the only witness who was needed to send the Kapenguria Six to jail were not enough. In 1958, Rawson Macharia, mentally anguished and haunted by his lies, resolved to spill the beans.

Through a sworn affidavit, Macharia admitted that the British colonial government had reached and coached him and six others to testify against the nationalists. He said that the colonialists offered him a trip to Europe, a scholarship to study a 2-year administration course at Exeter University in England, security for his family when he was away and a promise for a job when he jetted back after the study.

The government admitted rewarding Macharia but denied claims that they paid him to lie but to testify alone. The affidavit prompted the government to open proceedings against Macharia for lying, sentencing him to 18 months in jail.

The release from jail for a man who fixed the country's first Prime Minister and the President saw him live a lonely and low-profile life, always avoiding public attention and shying off from the media.

Rawson Macharia passed away on December 5, 2008, after being knocked by a motorcycle while crossing Thika Road.

A file image of Sir Evelyn Baring, the governor of the Kenya colony who ordered the arrest of the Kapenguria six
A file image of Sir Evelyn Baring, the governor of the British Kenya colony between 1952 and 1959.
FILE
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