Britain fetes Kenyan second World War veterans

On Saturday, a few minutes to 4pm, the clouds looked set to unleash showers and complicate a ceremony that had been organised to celebrate World War 2 (WW2) veterans. But when the four war heroes disembarked from their bus, even the skies cleared to witness the feting.

One of them, 108-year-old Muthee Mbui Njogu, stopped by the cameras and mentioned his service number, N5290, allocated to him in the war. He then ambled past, his stride no longer brisk and his gait different from what it was back then, some eight decades ago.

At the residence of United Kingdom Defence Advisor Brigadier Ronnie Westerman, in Nairobi, these veterans were re-awarded medals they had earned fighting for Britain in the mid-century war.

Seventeen of the World War 2 veterans should have been present at the event on Saturday but only six are alive. Of the six, only four could make it to receive their medals. The dead were represented by their widows and some by their sons, daughters and grandchildren.

These war heroes, who had been shipped to different regions by the colonial government to fight alongside British soldiers, had been awarded these medals after the war. However, when local forces clashed with the British in the fight for Kenya's independence, these veterans quickly and discreetly, discarded their medals. They did not want to be labelled traitors or collaborators.

"We need to hear their stories before we forget them, before we diminish the conflicts of our past," said UK Deputy High Commissioner Josephine Gauld as she issued the medals.

"We are delighted at your service and those of your fathers and your forefathers."

These war heroes from Tharaka Nithi County requested, through Kenya Defence Forces Old Comrades Association (DEFOCA), to have their medals re-presented as many of them enter their twilight years.

The request was made around 2013, says Brigadier Westerman, but the plans began in earnest four years ago.

On this afternoon, privates M'Rucha Mbuna (113 years old), Muthee Mbui Njogu (108), Frederick Mwongera (102) and Eusebio Mbiuki Baikunyua (102) proudly donned medals that reminded them of days they bubbled with youthfulness. Privates Mutithi Kiambati (bedridden and represented by his wife) and Samuel Mburia Nthigai (who was represented by his grandson) are alive but could not appear for the medal re-presentation. The ages are according to documents provided by the researchers.

When the medal was given to the war veteran himself, the Deputy High Commissioner pinned it on the recipient's left breast. When the recipient was a relative, it was embedded on their right breast.

Fourteen of these men received the 1939-45 Star, the Africa Star, the Burma Star, the Defence Medal and the 1939-45 War Medal. Three got the 1939-45 Star, the Burma Star and the 1939-45 War Medal.

Satisfied that they have jumped one big hurdle, their chairman, Desderio Willis Mbaka, who retired from the Kenya Air Force in 2004 and has been behind much of the lobbying, is immediately leaving the reins of leadership to Lloyd Gitari, also a retiree from the Air Force. Mr Mbaka has been at the helm of DEFOCA during the period the plans to re-award these war veterans were cooking.

While the veterans beamed at the benevolence of the British government, some of them still remembered the painful moments they underwent during the war. While they do not seem to have regrets about the war itself- the heroism gives them immense pride- they remembered how times were back in the days when they travelled long distances to battle for the colonialists and how they felt shortchanged upon returning home.

In 1944, they were ferried to Burma in "overcrowded cabins below deck (facing) rough seas and miserable conditions", The Guardian documented in an article in 2019 in which Mr Mbiuki was interviewed.

And when he came back to Kenya, his service payment, called war gratuity, was diminished- the private earned three and a half shillings for each month that he had fought for Britain while a white soldier of the same rank would get Sh10, The Guardian wrote. British policy "ruled that his ethnicity and colonial origins should earn him less than his white counterparts".

While receiving their medals, the war veterans asked if they could receive some form of financial aid- or compensation.

Mzee Mbui said that he is a hungry, satisfied man.

"The medals are good and they are a wonderful memory for us and for our children and their children. But I am afraid when I get home, there is little to eat and that may steal the joy of having this medal. We would need money also to help us see out our years decently and to help our families too," he said.

Edward Ndeke Kiriungi, whose father was among the veterans honoured, lauded the war heroes, saying they were the reason there was peaceful co-existence between "us and the white people", eliciting laughter when he expressed his excitement at finally shaking "a white man's hand" courtesy of his late father's exploits.

However, he noted that his kin still live in deplorable conditions, nondescript structures not befitting the stature of men and women who sacrificed everything they had to fight for the British.

"It would be good to honour our parents who fought in these wars with decent shelters and resources so that their sacrifices are seen to have borne fruit," he said.

"If a monument were also built and their names inscribed on it, it would be easier to tell their stories to generations, and a better way to honour them."

Japhet Mbaye, 70, is the son of Mr Mwongera. He is the elderly man's primary caretaker. Mr Mwongera's wife died in 2000. Mr Mbaye is happy to have medals with which to remember the legacy of his father. As the veterans' lives ebb away, he feels the medals are more or less the children's.

As he takes over as the champion of these heroes, many of whom are fading off as they cross the 100-year mark in age, retired officer Mr Gitari says he will be tasked with traversing the county to ensure the wellbeing of the men, and of their families, and to support them throughout the remainder of their lives.

"I will then report to DEFOCA, which brings together retired officers (who have subscribed to membership) and those who fought in WW2 so they can be considered for aid if need be. Assistance to the veterans of war is offered by the British government," he says.

Mr Robert Wilde Evans (at Spink of London), UK High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott and Samuel Mattock (Embassy of the Order of Malta) were some of the key contributors to the achievement of this feat.