Deep Behind Enemy Lines, page 17
The upcoming ratification and celebration of independence at the end of a year, when the nation became a Republic, would be the greatest event in Kenya’s history. The actual ceremony had taken place on 12th December 1963 before 250,000 people in the Uhuru Independence Stadium, Nairobi. The British flag was lowered, and Prince Philip presented Prime Minister Jomo Kenyatta with the Instruments of Independence.
Bill and Josh were relaxing in comfortable chairs in the mess lounge chatting about the momentous events and change to Kenya’s future. The details had dominated the media for weeks with speculation about what it would mean politically to the interests of the tribes of the country, and whether Kenya’s future would be improved. They had their doubts, if any of the other African countries’ independence was anything to go by.
They went and changed into mufti, and at 1130 hours Josh called the guardroom and asked for the duty driver to take them into Nairobi for their day on the town, starting at the New Stanley Hotel. When they arrived, Josh instructed the driver to meet them back there at exactly 1645 hours to return them to camp.
‘Yes, Staff,’ confirmed the driver.
‘Thanks.’
‘OK, bar first, I think! Get a couple of beers and wait for Alan. He won’t be late if I know him, he’s a copper after all,’ grinned Josh.
On the dot at 1230 hours Chief Inspector Alan Jones walked in. He was about six feet in height with pure white hair, deep blue eyes, was slightly overweight and well tanned. Bill noticed he had a slight limp as he approached them. Josh got to his feet and extended a hand.
‘Hi, Alan. Good to see you again. Thanks for joining us. How are you?’
‘Hello, Josh, haven’t seen you for a while. I’m just fine, thanks for asking, but the old leg still plays up a bit, you know.’ Alan’s accent sounded distinctly northeast England. A Geordie no less!
Turning to Bill, who’d risen from his seat, Josh introduced them.
‘Alan, this is my colleague Bill Scraggs, a fairly new member of our unit. Bill meet Alan Jones.’
Alan extended his hand. ‘Hello, Bill, pleased to meet you.’
‘You too, Alan. Josh has told me a lot of interesting stuff about you.’
‘Ouch! All bad I suspect.’
‘Not at all. It sounds like you’ve quite an intriguing history.’
‘What’s your poison, Alan?’ Josh asked.
‘Gin and tonic thanks. I’m off duty.’ Josh ordered the drinks; Tuskers for him and Bill alongside Alan’s G & T.
‘Let’s move to a quiet cubicle in the corner over there, the drinks are on the way.’ Josh ushered them across the room. Being the lunch period, it was very busy and noisy.
When their drinks arrived, and they were comfortably seated, Alan turned to Bill. ‘Is this your first time in Kenya?’
‘Yes, and what a beautiful country it is, at least as much of it as I’ve seen so far. The wildlife is amazing, the scenery quite spectacular and Nairobi looks to be a very busy and vibrant city,’ Bill enthused.
‘It’s climate is well worth living in, but the future will tell its own tale. I understand you’ve already been involved in a couple of successful operations in the NFD since you’ve been here. In at the deep end, eh? Quite a fast introduction to Kenya. It’s amazing, you know, the military uniform you boys wear and the way you operate reminds me of Wingate’s Chindits during World War Two, which I’ve read a great deal about,’ said Alan.
‘Yes, very similar I guess, although I think the SAS are a nearer comparison to the Chindits, albeit our training is analogous. However, the SAS are, as you know, an independent special military force, whereas we’re seconded to the UKFO as a global wireless reconnaissance force without a mandate to seek and destroy. I must say, though, it went well for us in the NFD operations even though we weren’t up the sharp end, so to speak. Nevertheless, a good job jobbed wouldn’t you agree, Josh?’ asked Bill.
‘Oh, yes, most definitely,’ Josh replied, trying to sound modest.
‘So, you were both involved?’
‘Yes, but in different locations.’
‘I have to say the River Tana and its surrounding area is a very beautiful part of Kenya. It would’ve been nice to just do the tourist thing, though,’ commented Bill.
‘Oh, I agree with that.’
‘OK, gents. Are we ready to order lunch?’ asked Josh, beckoning to the nearest waiter.
‘I’ll make the order for us in the local language,’ Alan offered.
‘Jambo bwana.’
‘Jambo rafiki, nataka chakula moto mingi Tafadhli,’ said Alan.
‘Ndiyo.’
‘Tatu nyamang’ombe nataka tatu Tusker’s beridi sana.’
‘Ndiyao bwana asantesana,’ and the waiter went off to get the food and drinks.
‘You’ve a good command of the local lingo Alan. What did you order?’ asked Bill.
‘Three very hot beef curries and three very cold Tuskers. After almost twenty years it’s essential to speak Swahili, especially in my job. There are too many different tribal dialects and languages to learn; you’d need to be an expert linguist to speak them all.’
‘Josh tells me you spent active time during the Mau Mau Emergency. Seems you’ve had a long and interesting career. So, when did you actually come to Kenya and join Special Branch?’
‘I was with CID in the UK, Newcastle to be exact. In 1950 I got the opportunity to join the Kenya Police Force as an expat officer. After transferring here, the Mau Mau Emergency commenced in 1952. I don’t know how much you know about all that, but Jomo Kenyatta was responsible for setting up the terrorist group. There were two notable heads of the Mau Mau; Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi and General China, both from the Kikuyu tribe.
As far as the Mau Mau and the Kikuyus were concerned, Dedan Kimathi was Ngai, or God, and he lived in Malaika; which translated means their heaven with the angels. The problem was basically around independence issues, like the expulsion of Kikuyu tenants from settler farms, the loss of land to white settlers, poverty and the lack of true political representation for Africans, all of which provided the impetus for the revolt.’
‘I see,’ said Bill. ‘Interesting.’
‘During the eight-year uprising, thirty-two white settlers and about two hundred British police and army personnel were killed. Over 1,800 African civilians were slaughtered, and some put the number of Mau Mau rebels annihilated at a much higher figure. The uprising was directed primarily against British colonial forces and the white settler community, but much of the violence took place between rebel and loyalist Africans. Thus, the uprising often had the appearance of a civil war with atrocities on both sides. Although Jomo Kenyatta was the main representative of his country and its requested rights, after numerous visits to the UK lobbying the Government and also time studying at university, he was eventually arrested, found guilty of inciting terrorism and incarcerated for around seven years.’
‘Interesting, thanks. What about the hands in the sack saga that Josh mentioned to me?’
Alan nodded and sat back in his chair. ‘It was to do with an action that took place in the Aberdare Forest, involving a team of our officers who were on covert search and ambush duties. Quite simply, it was a case of practicality. On the night of the incident during the Mau Mau Emergency, four of my colleagues were working undercover on this covert, camouflaged search and ambush detail, as I mentioned. When they were lying in wait in the early hours one morning an armed band of about ten Africans wandered by, smoking and quietly talking. My colleagues opened fire and during the incident that followed all the suspect terrorists were killed.
The problem they had now was how to identify those they’d shot. It was just practically not viable, to carry the bodies to their vehicle, it being parked more than a mile away along the steep slopes of the forest. There would’ve been no room for the bodies anyway. So, sensibly, it was decided to amputate one hand of each man, place them in a sack and take them back to Kenya Police Headquarters at Kirk Road in Nairobi, which was more than a hundred miles away, for finger printing and identification. It was the expedient option, pure and simple, and nothing whatsoever to do with barbarism of which they were later accused.
The ten bodies were buried in shallow loam graves at the incident site. Back at Kirk Road fingerprint testing identified them as one of the more notorious Mau Mau gangs in the area. However, it so happened that the British MP, Barbara Castle, was due to make an official visit to Nairobi regarding the emergency. Unfortunately, she got wind of the saga through the local Nairobi media. She was completely outraged and considered it to be a case of pure savagery not appreciating it was in the line of duty and defence of our expat settlers and farmers, their families and children.
Nor was it to be compared to the atrocities of mutilation, rape, torture and murder of innocent white families the Mau Mau were engaged in. The gang got what they deserved!’
Alan’s demeanour had become heated and enraged during the telling and he took a long pull on his G & T, quickly calming down when the waiter arrived with the food. They took the interruption as a good time to break and eat lunch during which Bill was thinking about the harrowing scenes Alan must have had to endure, and how that period in Kenya’s history had been some of the darkest days to date.
Bill’s face turned from pink to red and his forehead was beaded with perspiration, but he gamely ploughed on through the plate of curry. It was certainly a scorcher; and definitely going to take time for his taste buds to adjust to this intensity of spiced food. For a short time, during the meal, the conversation touched on the implications of Kenya’s independence and, over coffee, Bill voiced his concern regarding the ramifications of what Alan’s team was clearly heading towards, not the least of which was their possible termination in the colonial police service, as well as other disciplinary action and penalties.
Alan nodded. ‘I feel so very sorry for, and quite bitter in defence of, some of my brave contemporaries whose careers were destroyed by that malicious Castle woman, particularly since they were carrying out very difficult and dangerous police activities. I was much younger then, and fortunately one of the lucky ones to have escaped the decisions of Castle and the British Cabinet, as well as the bad media coverage that prevailed at the time. The result of the controversy was the officers held responsible were dismissed with the loss of time-served pension.
And then the whole affair rapidly became yesterday’s news because an election was looming in the UK, giving the media more important fish to fry and character assassinations to work on. Ironically, one of the most senior members of the Nairobi Police at the time, Ian Henderson, later wrote a book about the Mau Mau period, and in 1954 received the George Medal and Bar for his endeavours as a British citizen known for his role in resolving the crisis. He’d been accused of complicity in the torture of prisoners during that period of protracted social unrest, although it was never proved.’
‘Given the difficult circumstances, I do believe I would have done exactly the same thing. It made good operational sense,’ Bill said.
‘One of the positive outcomes was the live capture of Field Marshall Dedan Kimathi and General China soon after, both of whom eventually went on trial in Nairobi. Of course, as we all now know, after his release and return to Kenyan politics Jomo Kenyatta became Prime Minister and is to be inaugurated as President of the country. I think we would term that as very ironic poetic justice.’
‘We both saw that in the newspaper. It was a very illuminating read,’ replied Bill.
‘Yes. Now, that’s quite enough of my history. How about your recent operational successes in the NFD?’
Bill explained the intricacies of Operations Night Hawk and Nutcracker. Alan was clearly impressed.
‘It sounds good for our forces and in the best interests of the Kenyan Government. I guess the search for al Gurreh continues?’
‘Yes, relentlessly,’ replied Josh.
The confidential nature of Operation Sea Eagle, which was still to be undertaken, was not to be discussed even with the Chief Inspector of Special Branch. At that moment Bill was, with some trepidation, thinking about the details of it and what was to happen during the forthcoming action at Nyali Beach.
The three men continued their conversation on general matters concerning security in Kenya, and specifically Nairobi. At 1500 hours Alan declared he had to leave their get-together, as he needed to meet his wife to finish some shopping chores. They all stood, shook hands and said farewell. Josh and Bill said it had been really great to meet up with him, and thanked him for his time.
‘Thanks for lunch, guys. It’s been good to chat with you too,’ Alan said, and left the hotel.
They picked up the tab, paid and headed off to the front of the hotel. ‘I think we can take an hour before meeting our driver to walk you around the town centre and explain a little more about Nairobi. Our meeting with Alan, whilst thoroughly interesting, took a little longer than I anticipated, so we’ll have to do the Norfolk Hotel and the Jacaranda another time.’
‘Fine by me,’ Bill agreed walking down the road.
As they strolled along Josh continued. ‘Incidentally, Alan was the lead police investigator in several historic Islamic bombings in Nairobi and Mombasa, some of which you may have heard about.’
‘Yes, I did read about a few incidents. Quite tragic,’ replied Bill.
Bill was amazed and impressed how busy and thriving this beautiful town was. The aromas of the flora and general humanity assaulted his senses.
‘This is stunning,’ commented Bill.
‘Yes, isn’t it just! Bear in mind it’s Saturday, but it isn’t very much quieter during the week.
As they approached the front door of the New Stanley Hotel they saw the duty driver who had just arrived in the Land Rover, and they climbed in.
‘I trust you enjoyed the conducted tour of Nairobi, mate,’ Josh said.
‘Highly informative and very interesting. There’s another string to your bow, not only logistics planner but now a tour guide. I hope you aren’t expecting a tip. You’ll have no trouble getting gainful employment after the army!’
He laughed, getting a mental image of Josh in a peaked cap up stairs of an open-topped tour bus.
They arrived back at the mess thirty minutes later. ‘I’m just going to change into my trunks and collect a towel, Bill. I’ll see you by the pool. Baada ya muda mfupi.’
‘Yep! See you in ten,’ Bill confirmed.
After spending an hour relaxing by the pool and enjoying the warmth of the sun, they had a quiet evening in the mess.
‘We’re going to have a very busy and active week starting tomorrow. How do you feel about it,’ asked Josh.
‘Well, it’s going to bring the men up to peak fitness again and I’m looking forward to it. Like the Kenya and Kilimanjaro exercises, it’ll serve us well for future insurgency operations and then, of course, there’s my shindig in Mombasa,’ he said with a sarcastic grin. ‘It’s also an opportunity for me to see the Rift Valley again. I’m really looking forward to that,’ replied Bill.
‘Before we leave tomorrow, we’ll need to speak to Major French about tasking the Beaver for the supplies-drop on Wednesday, and hopefully get to see Ken Noakes who’s been authorised as pilot. I haven’t been able to speak to Ken about it yet, but I’m sure he’s keen to accommodate us,’ said Josh mentally ticking his to-do list.
‘We also need to have the men rousted at 0500 hours to get the trucks loaded up with all the equipment, together with the few weapons should we come across any hostile wildlife, bearing in mind everything has got to be carried by the men. We should march in clean fatigues to reduce weight. Agreed?’
‘Yes. The duty NCO needs to be reminded.’
‘Of course,’ Josh agreed and they headed off for a relatively early night.
Chapter 34
Next morning, Bill and Josh were dressed in clean fatigues ready for the off.
Having roll-called the teams in the conference billet they marched the men to the stores to load the trucks. The major was standing watching the activity and giving words of encouragement. He made a point of asking if they had the radios, emphasising they be kept on the person just in the event of an emergency, adding that he’d have one on permanent standby on his desk and person at all times, night and day. Josh patted his breast pocket to reassure him. When the equipment was loaded, including six 7.62 mm SLR Rifles and four 9 mm H2S revolver side arms, together with an ample supply of spare ammunition for each weapon, the order was given for everyone to get on board.
The first stop would be Nakuru Town where everything was offloaded. Each man had been issued with a Rucksack Bergen. Two men were to carry the two-man pup tents leaving the others to carry everything else for even weight distribution during the coming days. When everyone was ready they split into marching teams and set off for the Rift Valley floor to their first stop in the Naivasha region. The pup tents were erected, firewood gathered and campfires lit. Apart from warmth, campfires acted as a crucial deterrent near game tracks to ward off prowling animals. Bush latrines were dug, compo rations opened and the evening meal prepared. Bill and Josh would share a pup tent.
Reveille was called next morning the men washed and cleaned up, breakfast was dispensed with and the pup tents dismantled. They set off on a circuitous route that would eventually end at Mount Kipipiri Forest Reserve. On this next stretch of the route they were heading for Karagita. This part was considered easy since the terrain was not too rugged, with tea breaks and a lunch stop en route notwithstanding, they made good time, reaching their destination by mid-afternoon. The scenery in the valley was stunning and the wildlife, including elephant, Cape buffalo, wildebeest, gazelle and giraffe, was plentiful. The Great Rift Valley was one of the world’s natural geological wonders, and not one of them could fail to be impressed with its splendour.
