1982 Kenyan coup attempt
1982 Kenyan coup d'état attempt | |||||||
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Part of the Cold War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Government of Kenya Supported by: Tanzania Uganda United Kingdom |
Rebels Supported by: North Korea Soviet Union Cuba East Germany [1] | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Daniel arap Moi Jackson Mulinge Mahamoud Mohamed |
Hezekiah Ochuka Pancras Oteyo Okumu Bramwel Injeni Njereman | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
129 [2] |
History of Kenya |
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Kenya portal |
The 1982 Kenyan coup d'état attempt was a failed attempt to overthrow
The coup was strategically planned to coincide with the war games taking place in Lodwar, a remote town in Kenya, when most of the army units and the senior leadership were away from Nairobi.[7] This meant that the senior-most officers present at the time were Lieutenant General John Sawe (the Army Commander and Deputy Chief of the General Staff), Major General Mahamoud Mohamed (Sawe's deputy), Brigadier Bernard Kiilu (Chief of Operations at Defence Headquarters), and Major Humphrey Njoroge (a staff officer in charge of training at Army Headquarters).[8] At a meeting of the four, it was agreed that Mohamed would take charge of the operation to suppress the coup. He then assembled a team of about 30 officers from First Kenya Rifles Battalion and Kahawa barracks. The team stormed the broadcasting station and killed or captured the rebel soldiers inside. Leonard Mbotela , a broadcaster who had earlier been captured by Ochuka[9] to announce the coup went on air to report that the rebels had been defeated and Moi was back in power.[6] With the help of the General Service Unit (GSU) and later the regular police, Mohamed gained control of Nairobi, causing the Air Force rebels to flee.
Hezekiah Ochuka, whose rank of Senior Private Grade-I was the second lowest rank in the Kenyan military, claimed to rule Kenya for about six hours, before fleeing to
The plan
Ochuka had become obsessed with becoming the President of Kenya at one time in his lifetime[9] (he had the words "The next president of Kenya" carved on his desk), and this led him to quickly accept a proposal by Obuon and Oteyo to overthrow Moi's government. He recruited some of the soldiers at his base at Embakasi, including those who ranked higher than he.[9]
There was a heated debate amongst the plotters about who would become the chairman of the "People Redemption's Council" (PRC) that would assume power after the coup. For his part, Obuon claimed that he had recruited the largest number of soldiers into the plan, and so warranted the chairmanship. Obuon also added the fact that he had served as the chairman of the airmen's mess. Ochuka threatened in return that all the soldiers he had recruited to the plot would quit if he was not selected as the PRC's chairman. Obuon and Ochuka had a heated debate that almost broke into a fight over the chairmanship, until Oteyo intervened. Oteyo advised Obuon to leave the chairmanship to Ochuka, whom they could then kill once the coup had succeeded.
In late July 1982, Ochuka held a secret meeting at football grounds near Umoja estate, at which details of how the coup was to be executed were discussed. Ochuka told the attendees that he had the support of Uganda, Tanzania, and Sudan, who would send their soldiers to the borders to counter any opposition. He went further to allege that he had the blessings of the Soviet Union, which would send a ship to the Kenyan coast to guard against any external interference.[9]
Details of the impending coup were known by senior military officials.[8] James Kanyotu, the Directorate of the Kenya Security Intelligence had infiltrated the military and was also aware of the coup plot.[11][12] After the opening ceremonies of the Nyeri ASK Show on Friday, 30 July, Kanyotu asked President Moi to give him permission to arrest the officers who were planning the coup. However, President Moi was not willing to involve the police in military matters. He preferred the matter to be dealt with internally by the military on Monday, 2 August. However, the coup happened on Sunday, 1 August before any action could be taken.[8]
Why the coup failed
Oteyo said that the coup failed because most of the soldiers did not execute their parts of the plan, as they were drinking and looting instead of going to arrest the president and his ministers. The coup leader, Ochuka, had gone to fetch a radio presenter, Leonard Mambo Mbotela.[9] The plotters' poor organisation left the rebels unprepared for a counter-attack. They failed to capture or kill any of the political leaders they had targeted and did not seize the army headquarters.[13] The air force rebels also lacked support from within the army, leaving them with no armor or heavy arms to take and hold key installations.[14]
Aftermath
The coup left more than 100 soldiers and perhaps 200 civilians dead, including several non-Kenyans.[12][2]
After the failed coup, the organizers were arrested and tried by
During the trials, the name of Oginga Odinga was mentioned several times as having financed the organizers, and he was put under house arrest. His son Raila Odinga, together with other university lecturers, were sent to detention after being charged for treason.[15]
After the coup attempt, the entire Kenya Air Force was disbanded. The coup attempt was also a direct cause for the snap 1983 general election. In response to alleged campus involvement in the failed coup, the Kenyan government accused external communist sources of secretly funding the coup attempt.[16]
References
- ^ Jim Bailey; Garth Bundeh. Kenya: The National Epic. East African Publishers; 1993 - p. 269.
- ^ a b Mitchell, Charles (5 August 1982). "Kenya president says 129 killed in coup attempt". UPI. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ Cowell, Allan (29 August 1982). "LEADER OF KENYAN COUP ATTEMPT SAID TO HAVE BEEN A PRIVATE". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Military sentences coup plotter to death". UPI. 24 November 1982. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d Gachuhi, Roy (11 December 2009). "How heroic trio of fighter pilots scuttled mission to bomb State House and GSU". nation.co.ke. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
- ^ a b Ngotho, Kamau (29 July 2002). "The day the devil came down". Daily Nation.
- ^ "PRESIDENT OF KENYA ANNOUNCES CRUSHING OF ATTEMPTED COUP". The New York Times. 2 August 1982. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ a b c Gachuhi, Roy (20 July 2010). "Untold story: Night meeting that saved Moi presidency". Daily Nation. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Jim Bailey; Garth Bundeh. Kenya: The National Epic. East African Publishers; 1993 [cited 1 August 2012]. GGKEY:EKUEFUF9WH9. p. 269.
- ^ "Intrigues that led to collapse of power plot". 2 August 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
- ^ "James Kanyotu: The most elusive dreaded spy chief who warned Moi of 1982 coup plot". Standard Digital Edition (SDE). Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ a b Mutunga, Kamau (31 July 2012). "Moment of bravado that changed Kenya". Daily Nation. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
- ^ Horsby, Charles (20 May 2012). "How attempted takeover of Moi Goverment [sic] by rebels flopped". Standard Digital. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
- ^ Ross, Jay (9 August 1982). "How Kenya's Rebels Botched Their Coup". The Washington Post. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
- ISBN 978-1-870345-51-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8133-8202-9.
Further reading
- "145 Were Killed in Kenyan Uprising". NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company. 11 August 1982. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
- "Kenya Disbands its Air Force after Coup Bid". NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company. 22 August 1982. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
- Diangá, James (2002). Kenya 1982: The Attempted Coup: The Consequence of a One-Party Dictatorship. London: Pen Press. ISBN 1-904018-20-3.