Where was our ‘king’ buried? Samburus ask British colonialists

By Alex Kiprotich

KENYA: Hailed by tourism and cultural enthusiasts as Kenya’s butterfly tribe due to their glamorous regalia and vibrant culture, the Samburu people occupy the vast arid and highland regions of Samburu County in the Rift Valley.

For a community that observes a fierce subscription to cultural practices that define much of their lifestyle, their quest for independence—like most Kenyan communities that resisted the tyrannical British rule—was not a smooth ride.

Eight decades down the line, the Samburu have been struggling to seek answers to the disappearance of their king Laibon Bari Kaldojan Ole-aduma (Leaduma), who led them to resist the British colonial administration.

Perhaps, most affected is the larger Leaduma family, which still lives in Samburu County and whose generations directly descended from the freedom fighter.

Leaduma’s name has spanned various generations in the history of the Samburu, besides featuring in legendary tales of heroism, folklore and sayings. He was a traditional prophet among the Samburu besides being the chief decision maker before the colonial administration came calling.

Far and wide, the British colonial administration feared and viewed him as a unique being that possessed the powers of the mystic that could make the government not to work.

Even with no picture to identify his grandfather, 50-year-old Anthony Leaduma has since 1985 been struggling to trace the grave of the Laibon Leaduma and, above all, seek justice for his unlawful deportation and possible execution by the British.

Vivid memories

Anthony has since obtained court file exchanges and other legal correspondences related to the trial and arrests of his freedom fighter grandfather.

Our journey to trace descendants of the Laibon takes us to the remote village of Ngopeliani, located on the eastern edge of the serene Lorukoti plains, on the western side of the low lying Lorroki plateau in Samburu Central District.

We trace the only surviving sons of the late Laibon – Lopeei Leaduma, 90, and his brother, 87-year-old Ledipen Leaduma. The two have vivid memories of the events that led to the arrest and eventual forceful deportation of their father in Logorate village, Samburu Central District.

On the ill-fated morning of December 3, 1933, a heavy contingent of the First Kings African Riffles — then a very powerful wing of the Kenyan British colonial government security forces — sent by the Rift Valley provincial commissioner descended on the home of the Laibon Leaduma.

A chronological sheet of events signed by the then colonial commissioner of police detailing Leaduma’s time of arrest to his eventual deportation in possession of The Standard on Sunday showed that he was arrested in a dawn raid. He was then charged under the witchcraft ordinance, as it was considered that no information would be forthcoming while he was still at large in the reserve.

The genesis of this arrest dated back to the murder of one British rancher, Theodore Powys. Leaduma was largely implicated as the chief suspect in the killing.

In 1931, the British had tried to arrest the Samburu Laibon after the death of Powys, but their mission failed under unknown and mysterious circumstances.

“On the day of his arrest, the British reigned in their aggressive assault on the Laibon’s village in Logorate, terrorising homes and confiscating all his tools of trade,” recalls the junior Ledipen Leaduma.

Leaduma was then taken to the Barsaloi detention centre in Samburu district and handed over to the then commissioner of the Northern Frontier Province.  The commissioner took him to Isiolo and then sent him to Meru on December 15, 1933.

The news of Leaduma’s arrest spread like wildfire in the entire Samburu country. The Samburu by now had no other tribal king and leader to lead their resistance against British occupation.

Major hindrance

All livestock belonging to the Samburu were seized on the day Leaduma was arrested, perhaps to weaken the community’s economic functioning which was solely reliant on pastoralism.

Ledipen remembers himself crying and running after his father, telling the askaris to leave him alone. The villagers watched in shock as the king of the Samburu was led away.

An inquest on the death of Powys revealed that he was killed by a lion and not by Leaduma, as concluded in a court ruling in Rumuruti.

But the Laikipia Ranchers Association, an influential group of colonial settler farmers back then, was so aggrieved by the court’s decision that Leaduma was innocent. They strongly appealed against his release on grounds that he was a major hindrance to their vast economic interests and general security. This saw the Laibon transferred to Nakuru and Naivasha for further detention.

The legal tussles involving the Laibon caught the attention of the then colonial governor of the Kenyan Protectorate, Joseph Aloysius Byrne, as Leaduma was largely seen as “dangerous to peace and order”.

Byrne issued a deportation letter against Laibon Leaduma on November 1934, ordering that he be deported to Kwale on the Kenyan coast. The British perceived Kwale as an ideal place that would permanently delink the Laibon from his native Samburu where he conducted his resistance activities against their rule.

Besides, Kwale was regarded as the farthest point from Samburu.

“…The said Laibon Ole-oduma shall forthwith be re-conveyed to Kwale and there detained during my pleasure in accordance with the terms of my said order dated the 15 February 1934. Given under my hand and the official seal of the colony at Nairobi this day of November 1934,” the deportation letter written by Byrne read in part.

Since then, no one knows the whether the Laibon Leaduma was executed or imprisoned for life. The question continues to linger in the minds of the larger Leaduma family, the Samburu people and many other Kenyans who have had a keen history of this little known freedom fighter.

National heroes

A cautionary saying has even emerged in the Samburu language which warns people “not to find oneself in Leaduma’s troubles.”

This saying is directly connected to the history of Leaduma. It virtually translates to warning someone to be cautious and avoid possible danger.

It depicts the grave situation that the Laibon was involved in and the fears his arrest instilled to those who saw it.

 Leaduma’s contribution to the fight for freedom was, however, less documented.

John Bulyaar, the chief curator at the Kenyatta House Museum in Maralal town, Samburu County says the Oledume Road in Nairobi’s Kilimani is one of the landmarks identified with the late freedom fighter.

He says many freedom fighters in several parts of northern Kenya have not been recognised as national heroes.

The British conquered the Samburu region following the eventual deportation of the Laibon Leaduma.

They had vast interests in ranching and crop farming as many parts of Samburu favoured their agricultural undertakings.