Statecraft & Independence
Landmark
Josiah Mwangi Kariuki
1929 – 1975
Said Kenya had become ten millionaires and ten million beggars
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Why they are here
A socialist MP under Kenyatta who said out loud that independence had produced "ten millionaires and ten million beggars". He was assassinated in March 1975, and the killing was never properly answered for.
Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, known universally as JM, was born on 21 March 1929 and held office from independence in 1963 until his death.
He was the most prominent voice arguing that independence had enriched a few and left the many behind — his line about a country of ten millionaires and ten million beggars is still quoted in Kenya. He was assassinated in March 1975, in a killing widely attributed to senior figures in the security establishment, and news of his death brought protests onto the streets of Nairobi.
He was the most prominent voice arguing that independence had enriched a few and left the many behind — his line about a country of ten millionaires and ten million beggars is still quoted in Kenya. He was assassinated in March 1975, in a killing widely attributed to senior figures in the security establishment, and news of his death brought protests onto the streets of Nairobi.
- Wikipedia — Josiah Mwangi Kariuki
- Daily Nation — How JM Kariuki's assassination shaped the Jomo Kenyatta regime and succession
- Encyclopedia.com — Kariuki, J. M.
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