Tom Mboya (in the middle with briefcase) flanked by international leaders //photo courtesy
At the epitome of Kenya’s post-independence political realignments, the East African Institute of Cultural Affairs stood as a foundation of intellectual discourse and African literary development.
Founded by the late Tom Mboya and steered by Professor Bethwell Ogot, the institute was projected as a platform for East Africans to analyze and solve their own socio-political and cultural issues. Within a few years, however, it found itself entangled in Cold War-era political intrigues, leading to its downfall.
Shortly after independence, Mboya, an influential trade unionist and Cabinet Minister, established the institute as a hub for fostering African scholarship.
He appointed Ogot, who at the time was a lecturer at the University of Nairobi to the position of a secretary general.
The institute quickly gained traction, organizing seminars, cultural events and publishing groundbreaking African literary works, including Song of Lawino, Songs of Ocol and Roots of Freedom by Bildad Kaggia.
Realizing the dominance of foreign publishers like Longman and Oxford University Press in Kenya’s education sector, Mboya played a major role in breaking the monopoly by facilitating the establishment of the East African Publishing House, which later became one of Africa’s premier publishers.
His engagement with donor organizations also led to the founding of the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, securing a £95,000 grant from the Public Welfare Foundation, headed by his American associate Robert Gabor.
By 1967, the institute was at its peak. However, this coincided with a political offensive against Mboya by the so-called “Gatundu Group” a faction within KANU aligned with President Jomo Kenyatta’s inner circle. Having played a key role in the ousting of Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga in 1966, Mboya was next in line as a political target. His influence in KANU and perceived foreign financial backing made him a marked man.
In July 1967, Busia North MP George Oduya, citing a British newspaper, claimed in Parliament that the institute was a conduit for CIA money funneled to Mboya through Gabor.
Mboya vehemently denied the allegations, dismissing them as politically motivated misinterpretations.
Although the controversy momentarily subsided, suspicion lingered in government circles. Tensions escalated in early 1968 when a delegation of the institute’s international sponsors including Gabor, Richard Garver, Heintz Putzrath, and Erno Kiraly were scheduled to meet President Kenyatta at State House. The meeting, coordinated by Ogot under Kenyatta’s instruction, was meant to reassure the government of the institute’s transparency.
A day before their arrival, Mboya personally informed Vice President Daniel arap Moi, then home affairs minister, in a bid to eliminate any suspicion regarding their presence.
However, upon landing in Nairobi, the four were declared persona non grata and deported without Mboya or Ogot’s knowledge. Ogot, who had gone to receive them at the airport, was blindsided.
“I was not allowed to see them, and in fact, I never saw them again. I later heard over the radio at one o’clock that they had been deported. I couldn’t believe my ears. If these people were a security risk, why had the president been doing business with them? Why was I not warned?” he later wrote in his memoirs.
The diplomatic fallout was immediate. The German Embassy attempted to intervene but Moi remained intransigent.
A classified letter from the British High Commissioner dated February 6, 1968, revealed that Moi dismissed the matter as a joke but was personally aggrieved for being denied a seat on the institute’s governing board.
The deportation marked the beginning of the end. Special Branch operatives placed the institute’s Koinange Street offices under surveillance, monitoring Mboya and Ogot’s activities.
With mounting government pressure and donor confidence eroding, the institute was forced to shut down. Some of its assets were donated to the University of Nairobi, while Ogot resigned from the secretary general position.
In a last-ditch effort to salvage the institute’s intellectual legacy, Mboya established the East African Cultural Trust, appointing Ogot to lead it.
However, the initiative was short-lived. Months later, on July 5, 1969, Mboya was assassinated, sending shockwaves across the nation.
Barely days after Mboya’s burial, Cabinet Minister Gikonyo Kiano summoned Ogot to his office, demanding that all assets belonging to Mboya’s foundation be handed over to the government. Enraged, Ogot rebuked him: “Do you people want to carry out daylight robbery after daylight murder?”
Kiano’s main target was the East African Publishing House, but Ogot resisted, arguing that the government already had the Jomo Kenyatta Foundation and held shares in the East African Literature Bureau. Frustrated, Kiano stormed out.
The political obliteration of the institute and the controversy surrounding its funding reflect the broader Cold War struggle for ideological influence in Africa.
Western intelligence agencies, particularly the CIA, sought to counter Soviet expansion by infiltrating publishing, journalism and education. USAID, for instance, strategically outmaneuvered the Soviet Union in modernizing Kenya Polytechnic, ensuring Western dominance in the education sector.
Ironically, while Kenyatta personally benefited from these Western networks, he viewed any association with them outside his control as a direct threat.
Mboya’s intellect, charisma and access to foreign funding made him a formidable opponent, one the Gatundu Group was determined to neutralize.
The collapse of the institute was not just the death of an institution but a significant blow to African intellectual independence.
Well researched historical piece!
Keep up the good work.