NAIROBI REMAND PRISON

Chapter II

NAIROBI REMAND PRISON

JUNE 1982

MONDAY 7: The Black Maria arrived at Nairobi Remand Prison at 3:30 p.m. The guards unchained me and ordered me to squat on the veranda. My incarceration began with a brutal search and seizure. Shoelaces, toothbrush, toothpaste, pocket-knife, belt and anything else the guard thought was dangerous was taken from me. Writing paper, notebook, personal letters, watch, money, a small photograph of my wife, identity cards, a pen - all these were taken.

"Are you sure you don 't have a weapon or some more money in one of your pockets?" the guard asked politely.

"Yes, I am sure." I replied.

After the search I was taken to another guard to register my valuable articles. I was then taken to another guard where I was handed two old, torn blankets, infested with lice, fleas, and bedbugs. The blankets smelled strongly of urine and shit. From there, I was taken to meet the officer on duty, Mr. Muraya, who gave me a long lecture on prison regulations. Finally, I was escorted to the next checkpoint.

"Take off your clothes, including your underwear and shoes and give them to that askari (prison guard) over there, then come back here, " the guard ordered.

I hesitated . . . I thought the guard was pulling my leg.

Professor, did you hear what I just said?" the guard screamed.

Reluctantly, I obeyed the order. He examined my ears, armpits, nostrils, genitals and then he commanded, "Turn around and bend over with your legs apart . . . Damn-it, bend over more ... and if you fart, I will skin you alive." He parted the lips of my buttocks and examined my anus.

'Clean, " he said and pushed me out of the way. "Next man, " he shouted.

I had to stand there naked for more than 30 minutes while my clothes were bean examined. The whole drama was the most degrading and humiliating experience of my life. The guard, however, seemed to enjoy it. After I put on my clothes and shoes I was escorted by two guards to E-Block where insane inmates hardened criminals and political prisoners are kept. Wang'ondu wa Kariuki, a political prisoner, welcomed me and gave me some writing paper, a pen and a copy of the Daily Nation.

I was in cell number nine. It was a small room - 8 feet long, 6 feet wide, 12 feet high with a small barred window near the ceiling. The electric light was on. The floor was dirty and damp. No bed, no mattress, no regular toilet, no shower, no soap no towel, no running water. The toilet was a bucket caked with human excrement. Lice and bedbugs were crawling everywhere. Hundreds of mosquitoes were on the ceiling. The walls were covered with political statements, names of people, dates and obscenities. Some of the statements were scratched by Mau Mau prisoners of war:

"We are Mau Mau Freedom Fighters; we shall never retreat or surrender. . . This is our country."

Wiyathi! Wiyathi!
Wiyathi bururi wa Kirinyaga.
Kenya ni bururi wa andu airu.

Freedom! Freedom!
Freedom in country of Kirinyaga
Kenya is black people's country.

F. M. Kimathi... General Kago...
General Stanley Mathenge ni itugi cia
ruuriri (are the pillars of the nation).

Statements against Moi and Njonjo:

"Moi and Njonjo are thieves. They steal from the poor. . . apart from that they have made our country their personal property..."

KANU chini!
Moi chini!
Njonjo chini!
Nyayo chini!

Down with KANU!
Down with Moi!
Down with Njonjo!
Down with Nyayo!

"I was brought here for stealing a loaf of bread. I will steal again when they release me. I cannot die from starvation when Moi and his cohorts have stolen everything from us. "

There was a statement on prison brutality. It was written in blood:

"Prison guards are dogs. Today they beat me after I refused to stand at attention when the prison officer was passing. I am bleeding all over. l hate them! I hate them!"

TUESDAY 8: I was called to the reception officer this morning, finger-printed, photographed, and assigned prisoner number 539/82, like a common criminal. I was aIso asked to give the names of persons who would take my body and inherit my property in case I die in prison. The treatment was not bad. The guards were not hostile. In fact, some of them hate the KANU regime like I do. Nonetheless, I have a serious problem: without a belt, my trousers hang loose, I have to hold them with one hand as I walk. My shoes are untied, it is difficult to walk in them, and my clothes are full of vermin. I feel completely demoralized.

This afternoon, I met my wife for the first time since I was arrested on June 3. Her visit reinforced my patriotism and courage. She informed me that two more university academics Kamoji Wachiira and Al-Amin Mazrui were picked up by the Special Branch police yesterday for questioning. They are still with the police.

WEDNESDAY 9: Kenyatta University opens today. My students will miss me. One day I am sure they will denounce those who are responsible for my arrest and imprisonment, and write the final chapter of the Mau Mau Movement.

I went to the main office this afternoon to meet the Prison Commandant, but I was not able to see him. "He is too busy," I was told. While I was there, my brother Waititu, cousin Wagatare and Mumbi came to visit me. They had brought me some lunch, but the prison authorities denied me the right to have it. After they left, Rose Kavili, my former history student, came for a visit. We had a long talk. She wept bitterly when it was the time to part. Her tears of anger should be stored for the next stage of our struggle for democracy.

When I went back to the block, I had a long talk with Wang'ondu. He told me that he would hurt any guard who tries to mess around with him. I like Wangtondu's courage, but I think we have to act like political prisoners and not thugs. We have to realize that not all of the guards are our enemies. A few of the guards that I have spoken to seem to understand the contradictions that exist between the university and the state. One of them told me: "Professor, we understand what is happening in our country. The government is for the rich and it hates anyone who does not sing its tune. I fear that the attack on the university is the beginning of the repression and it will be intensified as opposition to the regime grows."

THURSDAY 10: Food is a serious problem here. We eat three times a day. They feed us boiled, tasteless food without fat and it is not enough. We are always hungry.

Breakfast is cold sugarless porridge full of sand, cockroaches and flies.
Lunch is half-cooked cold ugali (maize meal) with yellow, dirty sukuma wiki (collard greens).
Supper is half-cooked cold ugali and rotten beans full of worms and stones.

Even a pig would refuse to eat this crap.

There is no running water in the prison. We don't take baths or wash our clothes. Toilets look like open sewers. To reach one, an inmate must wade through maggots, urine and shit. Lack of water and basic hygienic facilities causes serious diseases like cholera. But the prison authorities do not seem to worry about the potential health problems. One prison officer told me the other day: "Really, we don't care if all of you guys die... you are pains in the arse, the government is tired of you." I looked at the man for a minute, and then walked away, boiling with rage.

This afternoon, I had a long, serious talk with Wang'ondu. He has been waging verbal and physical battles with the guards constantly, and I am not very happy about it. I think that as political prisoners, our main task in prison is to politicize the prison staff in order to make them do some political work for us. I agree with Wang'ondu that we should not allow the guards to brutalize us, and that we should be firm when dealing with the prison authorities. While being steadfast to our convictions we must also come to realize the discipline and restraint that must be exercised as part of the responsibilities of a political prisoner.

FRIDAY 11: I could not sleep last night - lice, bedbugs and mosquitoes attacked me. I tossed and turned all night long. Rats and mice are plentiful and they make my life miserable by biting and harassing me psychologically. There is no escaped, I don't know what to do.

Afternoon: My wife came for a visit. She brought the following statement I had asked her to prepare:

I was home alone when six plainclothes policemen came. They wanted to see you, but I told them you were at your office correcting papers for your students and that you were coming back soon. They said they would wait, while acting restless, they told me that since you were coming back, they would like to look at your books. I asked what kind of books they would like to see, and they said all of them. I insisted on knowing why they wanted to look at your books and they said that they were looking for seditious publications. I was adamant that they could not search the house without a warrant, but I was not able to bar them from entering the house. They pushed me aside and walked in. I followed them to the study room. They were amazed to see so many books. They started searching the room immediately. It seemed as though they were searching for a bomb. They searched the room for four hours and confiscated 29 academic files, 23 books, newspaper cuttings and a typewriter. I made them list all items that they took and sign for them. That way they could not say that they found any seditious papers in our house. When they were leaving, Mr. Wanjau, the of officer in charge of the operation, asked me to tell you to report to the CID headquarters immediately.

I am writing the whole story to our lawyers, I will send you a complete text of statement.

Maina, we feel strong because you are our strength. NO matter what happens we will stand behind you. Wiyumiririe muno na umenye ati ihui twi ciana cia Iregi (be strong and remember that we are the Children of Iregi).

SATURDAY 12: The guards came to our block around 5:30 a.m. and ransacked our cells. They beat one of the insane inmates severely because they found urine and shit on his cell floor. Since there are no toilets in the cells and the guards in charge of the block did not provide him with a sanitary bucket, what did they expect him to do? Those who were caught with any contraband articles such as cigarettes, marijuana and razor blades were also beaten and then thrown into a hole with a penal diet - a slice of hard, cold ugali and a mug of cold, contaminated water. This act of terrorism really shocked me. If we are not yet convicted, why should we be treated so harshly and brutally? Constitutionally, we are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Afternoon: I received the following secret message from Mumbi:

Mutunga and Mkangi were picked up yesterday by the Special Branch police. Edward Oyugi is still at large; they are looking forhim. The university community is so terrorized; there is fear everywhere. Stay strong. We love you.

SUNDAY 13: We did not get our breakfast and lunch today. They told us that there was no water in the prison. Our first meal of the day was brought at 6 p.m. They are killing us slowly - oh, Mother Kenya!

MONDAY 14: The prison authorities informed Wang'ondu and I that we are prohibited from meeting or talking with one another from now on. We demanded to know why they imposed this cruel regulation on us, and why they treat us differently from other prisoners in the block. The answer we were given was short and direct:

"The order has come from above. "

Wang'ondu asked the prison officer:

"When you say the order has come from above do you mean it has come from Moi himself ?"

"Wang'ondu," the officer shot back, "you have a big mouth and that is why they brought you here. "

"Guard," the officer ordered, "return these prisoners to their cells. They are not allowed to talk with each other as long as they are in this prison. If they don't obey the order, bring them back to this office, we will teach them a lesson. "

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