PART 1: Remembering Chetambe War – Lumboka To Chetambe, Resisting Nabongo Mumia, The Legend Of Wakoli The Freedom Fighter and Chetambe Ifile The Great Tachoni Warrior

In this first part of the Mulembe Nation series that honors the memory of the gallant shujaas of Chetambe, I attempt to detail the chronology of the war of Chetambe. Read on to learn of the triggers of the battles. What lead to the battle of Mukhweya? What about the battle of Lumboka I and Lumboka II? How did it all culminate the Chetambe war of 1895? In this part of the series, I will also be honoring two Mulembe heroes: The indefatigable warriors Wakoli the son of Mukisu the freedom fighter, and Chetambe Ifile the Tachoni leader warrior.

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To set the stage for this part of the series, some context. We lay the bed for a riveting story by drawing a portrait of the tensions between the Bukusu and the revered throne of Nabongo Mumia.

BUKUSU RESISTANCE TO THE RULE OF NABONGO MUMIA

By the time of the March/May 1985 arrival of Charles William Hobley, the ruler-ruled relationship between Nabongo and the Bukusu had much deteriorated. Through strategic alliances with Swahili merchants and Arab slave traders Nabongo Mumia’s might had increased. Hobley’s arrival cemented relations between Nabongo’s throne and the British. This British-Nabongo alliance could only mean the worst for the Bukusu.

Especially because Hobley was on a mission ‘to subdue’ the Bukusu. Hobley’s arrival at Nabongo Mumia’s headquarters of what was then known as North Nyanza, ushered the upgrade of the colonial desk there to a full blown British administration station.

Unfortunately for the Bukusu, a powerful Nabongo meant continuation of abductions of their kin. The abducted kin were then traded to Arabs to be sold on as slaves. Further, the desire by Bukusus to emancipate themselves grew as solidification of Nabongo’s rule by outside powers resulted in punitive laws being rammed down Bukusu throats. One such law, that my research identifies as being directly responsible for the flare up of tensions, legislated on gun ownership.

This law or directive must have been in response at British suspicions that the Bukusu might have been planning a resistance. Possibly through intelligence, the British had gotten wind of a looming Masaba threat to Nabongo’s throne. Thus, having invested so much collaborating with Nabongo Mumia, capitulation of the throne would have been tragic to British strategic aims.

In response to this threat, the British, in particular a certain Mr. Spire in charge of the then temporary colonial post at Mumias, designated guns as government property. Having designated the guns as such, the owners – the government – demanded them back. Initially, this disarmament process was fronted as a voluntary exercise.

The Game Of Guns

I am at pains to explain the exact circumstances. But through craft and political guile, and in spite of the new law, Bukusus continued to accumulate a considerable stockpile of firepower. On one hand, wealthy Bukusu elites like Wakoli the warrior son of Mukisu had bought guns from the Swahili ostensibly on a wiling buyer- willing seller basis. However, the load of their stockpile came from clever machinations of these Bukusu elite in concert with tribal Chiefs and Headmen.

Through offering of gifts, including heads of cattle for every gun received, the Bukusu were playing the game of Nabongo, only better. Other than the reported four-five heads of cattle, other dubious tactics helped further Bukusu goals. One clever ploy by freedom fighter Wakoli Okhwa Mukisu was to supply the Swahili commanders and Sudanese mercenaries under the Nabongo-British hierarchy with much needed Bukusu warmth.

Of Bukusu Warmth and The Chetambe War: Stomachs and Loins Denied

To date, the Bukusu have a reputation of being particularly a warm people. But the ‘warmth’ I speak of here supplied in plenty by the strategic genius Wakoli Okhwa Mukisu goes beyond the warm smiles, hospitality and laughing hearts that Bukusus are known for today.

In typical westernized military psyche, the British had placed restrictions to the amounts of necessary ‘warmth’ that their soldiers needed. Considering the outcome, its laughable to realize that these restrictions on ‘warmth’ had been instilled as an attempt at ensuring discipline of their forces.

Ending the vagueness, I talk of the hearty warmth of hot food in the stomach. I also talk of the warmth of a female bottom pressed against the well fed stomach of a red blooded African warrior. This last ‘warmth’ is particularly known to help with the digestion. In the high anxiety environment of war, indigestion from butterflies can be a bummer.

Disarmament

As a result of Wakoli’s actions Nabongo’s ranks suffered dissertation of men and their rifles. The mercenaries, to type, switched sides. And not only that. It happened at such an alarming rate. Coupled with raids on Nabongos troops passing through Bukusu land, Mr. Spire and co saw it wise to change their disarmament strategy. More force, or threat of force, became their new modus operandi.

And so it came to pass that Mr. Spire dispatched twenty-five Sudanese soldiers. These mercenaries came from a garrison stationed in the village of Chief Majanja. They worked under a Swahili commander/negotiator named Namisi. And their brief was to head to Olukhoba lwa Lumboka to demand for guns belonging to their master.

With that move by Mr. Spire, the wheels of history were set in motion. By the time these wheels came to a stop sometime in 1898, death and destruction had taken root in Bukusu land. Hundreds of lives were lost. Property of an obviously wealthy (as they could match Nabongo in buying men and guns) Bukusu had been destroyed. Most importantly a people’s way of life had been rudely disrupted. For not only were they displaced but also defiled. Without doubt, wiped from the face of the earth they also were.

Lumboka To Chetambe, The Legends Of Freedom Fighters Wakoli Okhwa Mukisu and Chetambe Ifile

What follows is the story of the battle of Lumboka I in Part 1A. I will also tell the battle of Mukhweya in Part 1B. The battle of Lumboka II is in Part 1C. Then there’s the story of the War of Chetambe in Part 1D. As promised, we’ll also meet Wakoli the freedom fighter in Part 1B. Then there is also the incredible story of Chetambe Ifile the Tachoni leader warrior in Part 1D.

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Series Navigation

PART 1A: Remembering Chetambe War – The First Battle Of Lumboka >>