Durrani:
Pinto was Mau Mau
Pinto was arrested and detained in
April 1954. Among the Grounds for his Detention Order were:
That he had knowledge of illegal
arms traffic.
That he had assisted Mau Mau in
drafting documents and arranged for the printing of membership cards of the
‘African Liberation Army.
That he had given assistance to
the non –militant wing of the Mau Mau in planning its subversive campaign.
There is no actual evidence of
Pinto having taken the oath of loyalty to the cause of the Mau Mau, however,
Durrani argues that there is consumate anecdotal evidence that Pinto worked
with the Mau Mau Central Committee and therefore was an intrinsic part of the
organisation.
Pio Pinto was largely responsible for having prevented the wrath
of the Mau Mau from being vented on the Indian community. Had he not been able
to enter the secret conclaves of the freedom fighters unnoticed, and had he not won the
trust of leaders such as Stanley Mathenge, Jomo Kenyatta, Senior Chief Koinange
and Tom Mboya for his sound and clear advice, thousands of Indians may well
have been murdered and their property looted.
“Pio Gama Pinto and I were in one kundi
(Mau Mau cell). Issac GW gave me the Mau Mau oath in 1946. My sister and
mother knew Pinto. Pinto’s work was to kuunganisha makabila [bring
together different nationalities], establish links with like-minded people who
shared goals.”
Other evidence may be needed to
confirm this, but the facts indicate that Pinto was an active supporter of the
movement. He could not have been involved in the formation of the Mau Mau War
Council in Nairobi nor in the procurement of arms had he not been part of the
central leadership of Mau Mau. His involvement ranged from supplying weapons to
the fighters, to providing medical and other care to fighters and their
families, to organising legal aid to those condemned by the colonial system to
jail terms, to researching and writing documents, letters for the struggle, as
well as gathering international support for the liberation struggle.
The progressive, anti-imperialist
elements in the South Asian community, men like Pio Gama Pinto, Jaswant Bharaj
and others, played a very important role in supplying KFLA with firearms,
intelligence information, fund, medicine and helped the movement to produce
revolutionary literature. Pinto in particular established contacts with the
illegal South Asian gun-traders who secretly sold firearms and ammunition to
KFLA.
“Pio’s work under the Central Committee of
Mau Mau was especially important during the Emergency. The Committee needed
money, food and arms for the fighters. Most of the leaders were in
prison…Despite these difficult conditions, money was collected from supporters…
These were carefully collected in sacks and taken to certain trusted persons.
Pio was one of these. He would then take the money to wherever he was directed
by the Central Committee.
“Pio’s work in support of the freedom
fighters grew as the struggle became more intense. The Emergency meant that for
many Kenyans, there was military there was military rule in the country…Pio now
had to help the freedom fighters in the forests of Mount Kenya and the
Aberdares.”
He also had to look after their
families and the families of those who had been killed. He continued to gather
food, equipment and medicine for the soldiers in the forests, as well as for
families left behind.
“Pinto joined other brave patriots in the
work of transporting weapons and other necessities to the Mau Mau freedom
fighters in their hideouts. Pinto became an important person in the struggle
not only because of his clear ideological grasp of the situation and his total
commitment to the liberation struggle but also because he linked different
aspects of the struggle and ensured that all worked together to strengthen the
overall anti-imperialist struggle.”
“The imperialist manipulation of
Kenya’s politics provided the momentum that ultimately led to the assassination
of Pio Gama Pinto. Thus, the responsibility of his death lies not only with the
Government of Kenya but also with the British Government whose policy and
actions supported the Western-orientated Government. It is doubtful if the
moderates would ever have come to power without the Western support. While
Britain was actively engaged in the internal politics of Kenya before and after
independence, as shown in the MacDonald Papers, the US government and CIA
supported moderate leaders like Tom Mboya who were used to create a pro-Western
trade union movement to replace the militant one set up and supported by Makhan
Singh, Fred Kubai, Bildad Kaggia, Pio Gama Pinto and others.”
According to Durrani, Pinto’s concern
about the lot of ordinary people was that we must try and build a society where
differences in wealth should not penalise the poor. He, therefore, wanted to
see development in all parts of our country, especially those areas that had
experienced very little development under British rule. He further wanted to
see the establishment of rent control in urban areas as a way of protecting the
tenants from being exploited by landlords. He also advocated the establishment
of free health service and free education as a method of assisting the less
privileged people in our community. And finally, Pio was opposed to the
practice whereby a few individuals in privileged positions were to amass
excessive wealth at the expense of the masses. He believed that people in such
positions should do more for the masses and that such public service would be a
reward in itself.
Comments