Despite his poor education, the Late Kibwezi MP, Kalembe Ndile has done something that Kenyan politicians seldom do: he has written books.
Kalembe Ndile: My Squatters, My Struggles, My Dream is a book authored by journalist Peter Thatiah to familiarize readers with the politician’s struggle as a squatter.
The book describes how Kalembe’s parents moved to western Uganda, where his father worked at the Kilembe Copper Mines. Kalembe received his name from the mines.
When they returned to Kenya, he couldn’t stop bragging about that “amazing” spot in Uganda. As a result, the name was changed to Kalembe since Kilembe was judged to be too large for his modest stature at the time.
After the ruthless Amin dictatorship expelled the Ndile family from Uganda, they were forced to return to Kibwezi in Eastern Kenya, where they lived in filth and landlessness.
Young Kalembe found himself unable to gain an education as a result of his squatting lifestyle. According to the book, he had to burn charcoal to pay his Emali Secondary School fees.
Kalembe developed a strong urge to fight for the rights of fellow squatters, who happen to be the majority in the Kibwezi constituency, as a result of his upbringing in such deplorable conditions. And what better way to express this than in an elected position, he reasoned.
In the 1997 General Elections, he ran for and won the Nguumo Civic Ward. The same year, he was elected chairman of Makueni County Council.
His tenure as a councilor was characterized by his involvement in struggles against land grabbing with well-heeled and well-connected persons in the former Kanu Government, which gained him many enemies, including stays in police jail. At one point, Parliament spent a significant amount of time debating his ordeals at the hands of his tormentors.
Nonetheless, such setbacks did not quench his passionate desire to fight for squatters’ rights. And they repaid him by voting for him in the 2002 General Elections, when he was chosen as the Kibwezi MP.
The book does not shy away from his well-publicized incident with ODM-K presidential candidate Kalonzo Musyoka, which occurred after he was evicted from a cultural celebration in Mwingi district. According to Kalembe’s book, such episode led to Kalonzo’s declining fortunes.
Despite his hilarious run ins with politicians and questions over his qualifications, Kalembe will be remembered for his brave squabbles with land grabbers, and a typical Kenyan leader who rose from Rags to Riches.
