The Immortals: The 7 most radical politicians the Kenyan parliament has ever seen

These ‘seven bearded sisters,’ as former Attorney General Charles Njonjo nicknamed them in 1981, were the most radical politicians Kenyan parliament had ever seen. Njonjo borrowed the term from British author, Anthony Sampson’s 1975 book, The Seven Sister: The Great Oil Companies and the World they Shaped, about oil cartels that fought governments.

Njonjo’s ‘bearded sisters’ marked the ‘golden age’ of radical politics, notes Prof Maurice Amutabi in his 2010 Retrospection Paper, as “they rejected the politics of patronage...they gave life to an otherwise dead parliament, and they paid a price for it” as the real back benchers in a one-party state.

Here are the original ‘bearded sisters’ in Koigi wa Wamwere’s 2002 book, I Refuse to Die: My Journey for Freedom:

Koigi wa Wamwere: Then the fiery MP for Nakuru North (today Subukia) was detained and spent 13 years in jail in between stints in exile fighting the first two regimes on the platform of land reforms. He was appointed assistant minister for information in the Kibaki government after the 2002 general elections. Koigi’s radical fire was gone and so did his seat in the 2007 elections.

Onyango Midika: The Nyando (now Muhoroni) MP from 1979 was against corruption and excesses of the ruling elite. He was sent to the coolers even after he offered to repay sugar union quid he was accused of misappropriating, thus losing his seat. He won it in 1983, but was muted with a cabinet post.

James Orengo: Was Ugenya MP at 29 in 1980, but three years later, his rebellious stand saw him take off to exile in Tanzania after jumping bail and ducking arrest on accusations of false mileage claims, as well as associating with the ‘wrong people,’ read Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. He was Minister for Lands in the Kibaki government , but no longer the old hardcore rabble rouser.

Abuya Abuya: He was Kitutu East MP from 1979 to 1988 when a mhesh pocketed Sh8,500 monthly salary, but recently claims in sections of the media that he was never paid his pension. As a ‘bearded sister,’ Abuya was pro-poor, while Njonjo was pro-elite.

Lawrence Sifuna: Was the ‘lorry’ hair style sporting recalcitrant Bumula MP.

Dr Chibule wa Tsuma: Kaloleni MP and one-time presidential hopeful was a left winger who attacked Njonjo’s pro-Western stand.

Mwashengu wa Mwachofi: Nicknamed ‘Karl Marx’ by Njonjo, the one-term lawmaker became Wundayi MP without spending a penny to campaign in 1979!