Living Memories with Al Kags

The day that Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne in 1952, a young Kenyan boy tried to kill her in the most unusual way. She died, never having known this.

This is Living Memories, stories of Ordinary People who lived in Extraordinary colonial times in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. This is an audio version of my book, originally published in 2009.

Udi Waithaka tells the story of how his aunt got her vengeance after a horrible experience at the hands of the colonial administration. That saga was how a decision was made to send him to school.

Hussein Warutere, a rickshaw runner in the 1930s,  tells the story of how he used a whites-only toilet and earned himself 13 years in colonial prison.

What Queen Elizabeth II never knew until the day she died, is that a young Kenyan boy tried to kill her on the evening of the 5th of February 1952 in an unusual way.  Today, we listen to Said Olaga Ong’wen as he confesses to having made an attempt on the young princess’s life. 

Today, we listen to Sifa Zaida Ahmadi’s story, narrated by one of Kenya’s top actresses, Brenda Wairimu, who starred in such great films as Subira and Disconnect - catch both on Netflix. 

Life in the 1930s, 40s and 50s were about choices - whether to join the Mau Mau or whether to go to mission school and get the "White Man's Education." This is Udi Waithaka's story and how he went to school. This story is narrated by Kuiyu, the acclaimed singer songwriter. Catch his work in your favorite music medium, including on Spotify!This episode  is supported by Semabox at Baraza.

One time in the 1940s, Hussein Warutere (made a mistake in the episode, spot it if you can) needed a loo really badly. He used to drive a rickshaw, essentially a Mkokoteni or handcart with a seat on it, which was the uber of those days. A strapping young man then, Hussein would grab the handlebar of the rickshaw and literally run across town with his passenger. What would you do if you did that work (or any work) and needed a toilet? Today, you’d just find the nearest toilet door and run in and do your business, yeah? In the 1940s, it wasn’t that easy.

Welcome to Living Memories, the podcast by Al Kags. This are a collection of stories told to me by Kenyans who were young adults in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Once a week, we release a true story about an ordinary person who lived in the extraordinary colonial era in Kenya. We hope it inspires you to reach out to a mzee or a mama in your family or community, listen to their stories and we hope you write them down. If you do, and you want us to read them here, send me an email on hello@alkags.me.