Only two Coast politicians have so far vied for the presidency of the Republic of Kenya. The first one is the Hon. Dr. Chibule wa Tsuma and the other one is Prof. Katama Mkangi.
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Hon. Dr. Chibule wa Tsuma
Compelling tale of Dr Anderson Chibule wa Tsuma, the first Coast politician to have given a shot at the presidency. During the race for the country’s presidency in the 1992 multi-party elections, the name of one man who would have been described as insignificant was on the list.
The man was Dr Anderson Chibule wa Tsuma. Although he came fifth in the race, garnering a paltry 16,000 votes, he made history as the first Coast politician to have given a shot at the presidency. But that was not Chibule’s first first. He had been among the first crop of doctors to study surgery, not only in the Coast but in Kenya, having attended the same school with some prominent personalities in Kenya today. Chief Justice Evans Gicheru was a year his junior at Alliance High School while two judges, Richard Kwach and Benjamin Kubo, were his classmates.
Those who followed politics at the time when Chibule was the Member of Parliament for Kilifi South constituency remember a combative, maverick politician who took on his adversaries head on. "When you are truly serving your people no one comes your way. You do not fear anyone," says the seemingly soft-spoken man who, however, talks tough when discussing politics. One thing he would be remembered for generations to come was his opposition to the banning of palm wine (mnazi) tapping, long before the late minister Karisa Maitha took up the war. His opposition to the crusade to ban palm wine tapping was so vehement he got himself into trouble with the former President Moi. He recalls that in January 1980 he organised a delegation to State House to protest against the government stand on the issue. "Although the President declined to see us and ordered that we leave immediately, we had made our point," he says. By so doing he was replaying his mentor's brand of politics; the late Coast political kingpin Ronald Ngala ignited his leadership ambition. In fact it was Ngala who recruited him into politics.
From the time he was a student at Alliance in the early 1960s, and at Makerere University, he identified himself with the political camps of the time and burned with desire to become an MP. Chibule was first elected chairman of the students’ hall of residence in 1965 as a second year student. The following year he was elected chairman of the Kenyan Students’ Union at the university and later as chairman of the National Union of Kenya Students comprising students in the East African universities. "That was when I identified myself with Ngala’s camp of the Kenya African Democratic Union (Kadu)," he says. It was not surprising, therefore, that before Chibule had completed his studies, Ngala adopted him as one of his political sons. Ngala was a visionary and he groomed us to take the mantle of leadership of the coastal people. Such was Ngala’s influence on Chibule that he convinced the then young politician to vie for the Kisauni seat in the 1969 general elections, before he could complete his education.
But he lost to Salim Abdalla Mwarua.After Ngala's assassination, Chibule considered himself as the best suited to inherit his seat, and decided to contest in the by-election. But again he lost to the late Maurice Mboja.
It was not until the 1979 elections that Chibule got into Parliament, retaining the then Kilifi South seat until 1988. During his tenure as MP, he identified himself with the cause of the coastal people, thus becoming a household name.By personally being involved in the fight for my people to be allowed to tap palm wine without interference, I put myself at loggerheads with the former President, he says.
And so come the 1988 general elections, he was targeted as one of the people to go. Mr Moi took it upon himself to ensure that I did not make it back to Parliament. Through the election of Mathias Keah as the MP for Kaloleni (then newly-created) in the infamous Mlolongo elections of 1988, the former President had driven the last nail into Chibule’s political coffin. Before the man talks about multi-party politics which saw him vie for the presidency on a Kenya National Congress party ticket, the surgeon in Chibule comes to live. Perhaps it is because he turned to medicine as a consolation after his defeat. Looking at the portraits of some of the pioneers in the medical history - among them John Hunter (1728 - 1793) who is the father of modern surgery - that hang from the walls of his tiny office, he says, though without regrets: If I did not get myself into politics, I would perhaps have been very successful in medical practice.It is after a look at these medical luminaries that the simple man with a humble background talks about his entry into medical practice after graduating from Makerere University with a degree in surgery in 1970 and later a post-graduate from the same institution in 1974.
Yet he owes his education to a District Commissioner’s decree. When the DC ordered that all children be taken to school in 1950, my father had no option but to send me to school. I was too young to tap wine like my elder brothers and cousins were doing, he says. In between politics, Chibule practised medicine, working at the Coast General Hospital and later setting up his first clinic in 1975. While MP he could carry out operations at the hospital on voluntary basis.Despite the humble surroundings he operates from (his Shomberani Clinic consists of a reception, his office and another room with three beds which acts as the ward), Chibule hopes to transform his practice soon.His clinic is, however, a stark contrast with other consultant surgeons' who pride themselves with posh and ornate offices. There are relatively few clients visiting.This is what has taken me through life, putting bread on the table for my family and since I moved to this new premises a year ago, I can see light at the end of the tunnel, he says, adding that his current premises is much better than his two former locations at Mwembe Kuku and Koja flats.But he does not forget to mention that he has not given up hope on politics. Once a politician, always one, he enthuses.
There is a lot that has gone wrong since I disappeared from the political scene.Although at the age of 62 many people would expect Chibule to be contemplating retirement, the man exhibits unusual enthusiasm and renewed energy. He says the Coast Province boasts immeasurable resources that could immensely benefit the local people.He says that the palm tree is the most valuable asset in the area. We can create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the coconut industry. We should take the palm tree seriously, he says.About his political career, he repeats: Once a politician always one ... I will only retire when I am unable to move. It is only a matter of time. I have been trying to sort myself out and I believe in I am now ready, waiting for 2007.Chibule is married to two wives with 10 children, five boys and five girls. Son Laban is a doctor based in the US while three daughters are married and pursuing their careers.Evelin is a manager with the Kenya Ports Authority; Frida a computer technician while Margaret is pursuing a teaching course at Shanzu Teachers’ Training College.
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Sources: COAST EXPRESS
Story by: Gitonga Marete
Originally published , March 25, 2005
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