John Omundi

Flag of British Kenya (1921-1963)

Flag of Kenya (1963-present)

Republic of Kenya (1964-1969)

22nd (East Africa) Brigade Group (1941-1943)

25th (East African) Brigade (1943-1945)

28th (East African) Brigade (1945)

11th (East African) Division (1943-1945)

7th Indian Infantry Division (1945)

- Madagascar 1942

- Burma 1944-1945

Malayan Emergency

- Malay Peninsula 1951-1953

Mau Mau Uprising

- Kenya 1953-1960

Shifta War

- Northern Frontier 1963-1967

**John Motua Omundi** (July 18, 1918 - September 15, 2007) was a Kenyan King's African Rifles soldier who served in World War II, the Malayan Emergency, the Mau Mau Uprising, and the Shifta War.

## Early life and family

Omundi was born in 1918 in the town if Karatina in Nyeri County in British Colonial Kenya. His father was a member of the Kikuyu tribe and his mother half Kikuyu and half Luo, both Presbyterian Christians. His family, historically subsistence farmers, began to sell their crops (mostly onions and sweet potatoes) and grew relatively successful with their smallholding outside of Karatina.

In the 1930s, they were able to send John and his two older siblings to be educated in Nyeri, and John was able to learn English. At the age of 16, John returned to the family farm and worked until 1939, when he joined the King's African Rifles to provide extra money for his family.

## Military service

### World War II

Omundi enlisted at a private, being assigned to the 3rd Battalion, King's African Rifles, a Kenyan volunteer formation. After going through basic training, Omundi was sent to the Northern Brigade, responsible for the defense of the north of the country.

With the rise of the Italian Colonial Empire and its recent acquisitions in East Africa, British Commonwealth forces in Kenya were on high alert. Omundi's brigade was retitled the 1st East African Infantry Brigade and Omundi was promoted to Corporal. In case of war, the 1st Brigade was to be used to defend the city of Mombasa.

War was declared between the British and Italian empires on June 10, 1940, and the KAR units in Kenya prepared to go on the offensive. In July, the brigade joined the new 1st African Divsion. However, the counterattack into Italian East Africa would not take place for some time, and Corporal Omundi and the rest of the men were engaged in guarding against Italian attacks for the rest of the year. In November, the division was retitled the 11th African Division.

In January 1941, Operation Canvas began. The 11th Division attacked into Somaliland, pushing the Italians back to the Juba River. Corporal Omundi took part in the drive on Mogadishu, capturing the city in February and continuing towards the Ogaden Plateau. In March, with Italian Somaliland almost entirely in Allied hands, Omundi and the men of the 11th Division fought their way up the Imperial Road and broke through into northern Ethiopia, defeating a large Italian and colonial force at Jijiga. The East Africans took Harar soon after, and continued to push towards the capital of Addis Ababa. By early April, the city had been taken by the Commonwealth forces, and Italian resistance in East Africa was quickly crumbling. Corporal Omundi and his men were temporarily attached to the 12th African Division, and they began mopping up remaining Italian forces in Ethiopia.

In May, the Allied forces pursued the enemy to a mountain stronghold in the north of the country and laid siege in the Battle of Amba Alagi. Omundi and the 12th Division attacked as a part of the northeast pincer, forcing the Italians to capitulate in two weeks of fighting. After Amba Alagi had fallen, the East Africans continued, laying siege to the Italian garrison at Wolchefit. Resistance was tougher here, and the Allied forces were forced to launch multiple attacks throughout June, July, and August. Omundi was present for the surrender of this outpost, which occurred in September. The East Africans then moved on Culqualber, joining the ongoing siege. Omundi and his men took part in several attacks throughout October, with most being repelled until the final assault carried the position and ended the Battle of Culqualber. After this, there was only one remaining Italian stronghold in East Africa. Omundi and his men attacked, taking two crucial mountain passes surrounding the outpost. They pushed into the town in the Battle of Gondar, taking the Azozo Airfield and the Fasilides' Castle, fighting up until the Italian surrender at the end of November 1941.

With the end of the campaign, Corporal Omundi and the men returned to Kenya, where the 11th African Division was promptly dissolved. Omundi and his men were transferred out of the defunct unit and placed in the 22nd East African Brigade Group, where the KAR troops remained to garrison Nairobi. In March 1942, the East Africans were alerted to the possibility of a new mission, and the 22nd Brigade stepped up its training and combat exercises, with Omundi promoted to Sergeant. In May, the Allied forces landed at Diego-Suarez in Vichy French-held Madagascar, and the 22nd Brigade was given the order to deploy to the island for the ground campaign in the Battle of Madagascar. The brigade landed in June, and began preparing for the fight inland. In September 1942, Operation Stream Line Jane began, with the KAR soldiers taking part in the Line operation. They landed at Majunga on the island's west coast, capturing the port and the town. Pushing inland, Sergeant Omundi and the East Africans fought through French and colonial defenses to capture the capital of Tananarive, later taking Ambalavao without much resistance. At Moramanga they linked up with other Commonwealth forces advancing from the other side. After this, resistance mostly ceased, but French troops still maintained a presence in the area. In October, Omundi and his men ambushed a Vichy force in the Andramanalina Valley on the Mangarahara River, eventually taking Fianarantosa and later Ihosy. The campaign for the island eventually ended in November.

The 22nd Brigade remained in Madagascar for about a month before returning home to Kenya. Garrison duties in Nairobi took place for the rest of the year, but in February 1943 Sergeant Omundi was transferred to the newly-formed 11th East African Division and placed in the 25th East African Brigade. In July, the division was sent to Ceylon, in order to train for their upcoming deployment to the ongoing campaign in Burma. The 11th Division continued training for jungle warfare, during which time Omundi was promoted to Warrant Officer Class 2. In June 1944, the division left Ceylon for Burma, where they would join the fight against the Japanese, who had recently been repelled in their failed invasion of India. Landing in Asia, the 11th Division moved to Tamu, where it set up its base of operations and prepared to go on the offensive. In August, the divsion attacked, with Warrant Officer Omundi and his men pursuing the Japanese down the Kabaw Valley, fighting several engagements along the way. In November, he took part in the capture of Kalewa, driving the Japanese out of the port. By the end of the month, the East Africans had crossed the Chindwin River, and in December, the division linked up with Allied forces at the town of Kalemyo on the Myittha River. In January 1945, the 11th Division was to be withdrawn to India, but Warrant Officer Omundi was seconded to the 28th East African Brigade, then operating in Burma with the 7th Indian Infantry Division.

The 7th Division's new mission was to advance down the Gangaw Valley and cross the Irrawaddy River. The Commonwealth forces initiated multiple landings on a wide front, and Omundi and the 28th Brigade crossed the river in February as a part of the Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay. Against heavy resistance from the Japanese and Indian National Army forces, Omundi led his men in a feint attack on Yenangyaung, distracting the Japanese and allowing the Allies to seize their objectives. Throughout March, the East Africans beat back successive Japanese counterattacks at Nyaungu, their foothold over the Irrawaddy River. After being forced to call off their attacks, the 7th Division resumed the offensive and attacked again, with Omundi and his men helping to drive the Japanese and INA from their positions on and around Mount Popa. They took part in the capture of the port of Mingyan shortly after. By April 1945, the Commonwealth forces were preparing for the drive on Rangoon, the capital of Burma. Throughout the month, Omundi and the rest of the 7th Division pushed the Japanese down the Irrawaddy River Valley, facilitating the capture of Rangoon and entering the city in May. Continuing the advance, the 7th Division reached the Sittang River in June. That same month, Omundi was promoted to Lieutenant and given official command of his platoon, one of the very few black officers in his brigade. Backed into a corner, the Japanese launched a massive breakout attempt over the river in July. In the Battle of the Sittang Bend, Lieutenant Omundi and his men defeated several determined attacks, inflicting heavy casualties. In August, the Commonwealth troops resumed the offensive, liberating much of Burma and driving the Japanese into the Tenasserim Hills. Though the Empire of Japan officially surrendered to the Allies on August 15, 1945, scattered fighting continued and Omundi's unit continued to face resistance from Japanese troops even as they advanced into Thailand in September. By the middle of that month, combat had mostly ceased as the East Africans were engaged in disarming Japanese forces and liberating Allied prisoners of war. In November 1945, Lieutenant Omundi returned to Kenya, having seen several years of action in three campaigns against three different enemies.

### Postwar

After the war, Lieutenant Omundi decided to remain in the King's African Rifles, sending most of his pay home to his family and using his few vacations to work on the family farm. For two years he served in the Nairobi garrison, and in 1947 he was posted to his old unit, the 3rd Battalion, KAR, stationed in Nanyuki. His routine in peacetime military service continued uninterrupted until 1951, when the battalion was called to serve on the Malay peninsula.

### Malayan Emergency

The state of emergency in Malaya had been ongoing since 1948, and the Communist-oriented Malayan National Liberation Army had been waging an insurgency with the help of much of the Chinese population of Malaya. With Commonwealth forces struggling against the rebels, they turned to troops specially trained in jungle warfare, such as the KAR. Lieutenant Omundi's 3rd Battalion left Kenya in 1951 and travelled to Malaya, where they were engaged in fighting the MNLA in the state of Pahang. The African troops saw much success, as they began to isolate the insurgents from their support base and kill or capture large numbers of them. By 1952, Omundi and his men began to forcibly move the Chinese population to the new village of Triang, effectively disabling them from lending their support to the guerrillas. Later in the year, the battalion moved to the city of Kuantan and began to conduct operations there. By 1953, 3 KAR had done its duty in Malaya and, as there were more pressing matters at home, returned to Kenya.

### Mau Mau Uprising

Wheras the Mau Mau revolutionary group had begun a campaign against the British colonial authorities in Kenya several years prior, the government declared a state of emergency in September 1952. When Omundi heard of this, he was deployed in Malaya at the time and requested transfer back home to help resolve the crisis. However, this was denied and he stayed in Malaya until 1953.

In central Kenya, the Mau Mau fighters had fled to the forested areas and were routinely attacking loyalist and settler communities. Lieutenant Omundi and his men deployed to defend these communites as well as engage in offensive operations against the Mau Mau in their forest strongholds. Omundi's unit saw repeated success as they eliminated many individual Mau Mau cells throughout 1953 and early 1954. In April 1954, the KAR was directed to the capital of Nairobi to go after the rebels' support base. In Operation Anvil, Omundi and his men cordoned off the city and began a block-by-block sweep, detaining suspected Mau Mau fighters and sympathizers. The operation continued until May, and the colonial authorities were able to deprive the Mau Mau of their urban support base and force them into the countryside, where they were much weaker. Throughout 1955, Omundi's unit engaged in operations against the Mau Mau in the forests, sending prisoners and suspected rebels to the camps in the brutal "Pipeline" system. They also took part in the "villigization" program, forcingly deporting Kenyan civilians to new settlements. By late 1956, the rebellion was all but defeated, due to the extreme counterinsurgency tactics employed by the British authorities. Also during this year, Omundi was promoted to captain.

The state of emergency went on until 1960, but operations against the rebels became less and less frequent and Captain Omundi and his men mostly remained in their base camps.

### Independence

In the wake of the Mau Mau rebellion, Kenya had been preparing for independence from the British Empire. With the government's transition, the army was to become independent too. The Kenyan battalions of the King's African Rifles were redesignated the Kenya Rifles, and there were several scuffles in the early days of independence between black troops and white officers. Captain Omundi encouraged the dismissal of the white officers and the elevation of more black soldiers, while also discouraging the troops from mutinying, as many other battalions did. The whites were evicted from their positions by 1964, and Omundi was promoted to Major. Also in 1964, after a year as a Commonwealth dominion, the Republic of Kenya was proclaimed.

### Shifta War

With Kenyan independence, the new government refused to give up its North Eastern Province, an ethnically Somali area on the border with Somalia. The Northern Frontier District Liberation Movement, backed by Somalia, began an insurgency against the Kenyan authorities in 1963 by assassinating government officials. Kenya thus declared a state of emergency and mobilized the army. Omundi was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and placed in command of the 3rd Battalion, Kenya Rifles. Over a period of four years, Omundi coordinated efforts to track down and eliminate the NFDLM guerrillas operating in the area, including the villagization techniques used by the British in the last war. At the same time, Omundi and his men stood ready in case of a war with the Soviet-backed Somali Republic, whose army was rapidly expanding. The counterinsurgency campaign intensified in 1967 as the prospect of a real war became likely. However, in October of that year, a peace settlement was reached and the NFDLM ceased its activity. Lieutenant Colonel Omundi and 3 KR remained in the region until 1969, ensuring security in the district was not compromised.

In November 1969, after returning to 3 KR's base in the town of Lanet, Nukaru County, Lieutenant Colonel John Omundi resigned from the Kenya Army.

## Personal life

In 1949, John Omundi married Catherine Murugi Nyambura, who lived in Nanyuki where Omundi was stationed. She was 25 years old at the time. They had two children, Daniel Ngare and Beatrice Jata.

After resigning from service, Omundi got a job teaching at the University of Nairobi's satellite campus in Nyeri. In 1972, he travelled to the United Kingdom, spending a month in London and one in Edinburgh. Upon returning, he taught until 1992, and then retired. He led a mostly quiet life in Nyeri afterwards, while his two children went off to work in big businesses, Daniel in Nairobi and Beatrice in London.

In 2006, Omundi had a major stroke which left him hospitalized. On September 15, 2007, he died of a second stroke in the hospital. He was buried on the church grounds of the Ngangarithi Presbyterian Church in Nyeri, in a ceremony which included former army comrades, fellow teachers, church officials, and local politicians. In 2016, Daniel Omundi published a biography of his father, entitled *Soldier of Kenya*.

### Views

Though he joined the King's African Rifles for the extra money it brought his then-struggling family, he was encouraged to fight in World War II by the fear of an invasion of Kenya by the Italian Empire. He became conscious of what the war was being fought for, and thought of himself as a proud citizen of the British Empire who deserved the same rights and privileges as all the empire's subjects.

Though not politically conscious early on in his life, Omundi began to support independence in the late 1940s, though not a part of any specific movement. In 1952, when the Mau Mau rebellion broke out, he found himself with torn loyalties, one side being a citizen and soldier of the British Empire with a civic duty to serve, and the other side being a native Kenyan and a Kikuyu whose people had been taken advantage of and were discriminated against by the white settler community. As he had many friends and relatives, including some former army comrades, who supported and fought with the Mau Mau, he considered turning in his commission and protesting the suppression of the rebellion. It was only when he learned of the Lari Massacre in 1953 that he remained resolutely on the government side. In later years, however, he recalled with shame that he facilitated so many atrocities committed by the colonial government. He remained morally conflicted in regards to his part in that war until his death, and this was described in detail in his son's biography.

He was known by his children as a caring father who instilled in them the values of civic responsibility and Christian charity. He was also very far removed from African tribal traditions and held a more western lifestyle than his rural relatives, for example speaking English and Swahili almost exclusively instead of the Kikuyu and Dholuo languages his parents had spoken.

Omundi was a believer in democracy, disapproving of the 1982 government transition to a one-party state and championing the return to democratic principles in the 1990s. He strongly condemned the army's brutality against ethnic Somalis in the Garissa and Wagalla massacres of the 1980s in the Northern Frontier District. In his last years, Omundi agreed that "...Kenya's future [was] bright."

## Equipment

As a soldier in British service in East Africa, Madagascar, Burma, Malaya, and Kenya, Omundi used the Lee-Enfield Mk III bolt-action rifle, the Webley Mk.VI revolver, and the Mills Bomb M36 fragmentation grenade. In the 1960s during the war in the Northern Frontier, he used the FN FAL semi-automatic rifle.