Eric Edward Khasakhala

Khasakhala was educated at Church Missionary Society (CMS) mission schools and sat for a Cambridge School Certificate at Maseno High School; the oldest formal education school in Kenya, established in 1906 by the CMS Missionaries as a school for the children of African chiefs.

He was schooled at Ebwali intermediate then joined Maseno Junior School then Maseno Secondary School (Present day Maseno High School).

In concordance with the Nyore Luhya people of Bunyore—Bantu Kavirondo—traditions, Khasakhala, the firstborn male child, was groomed to succeed his father at an early age; whereby he horned his interpersonal, inter-psychic, and public speaking skills, he also developed an effective inter-relational acumen that served him well throughout his political career.

Eric Edward Khasakhala, known as "Omwana wa Kwendo" (26 March 1926 – 14 July 2000) was a Kenyan politician, educationist, Pan Africanist, independence activist, Cabinet Minister and one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya.

He was a participant of the delegation at the negotiations for Independence at the Lancaster House Conferences; he was instrumental in the formation of Kenya's Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) party, which he served as one of the party officers.

The KADU advocated for the federalist post independent Kenya.

Khasakhala was a political protégé of Esau Khamati Oriedo who indoctrinated him into politics and the early trade union movement, that led to formation of Kenya African Union (KAU)—the first truly all-inclusive pan-ethnic Kenyan political movement.

Unlike his mentor, Khasakhala embodied a non- provocative amicable political style, which endeared him to foe and comrade, alike.

Moreover, akin to his mentor, he embraced reconciliatory strategies and pan-ethnic Kenyanism.

These are qualities which he acquired in part due to his formative years when he assisted his father who was a preacher and as a member of the aboriginal Ebwali village council of elders.

These qualities earned him the recognition of the colonial governor, Sir Patrick Renisson; which occurred during Khasakhala's tenure as the headmaster of Ebwali African Government Primary school.

Afterwards, he was transferred to Lunza Secondary School at Butere in Kisa where he served in the dual capacity as both teacher and headmaster; thus, becoming one of the first native African headmasters of a secondary school in colonial East Africa.

During his tenure as the headmaster of Lunza Secondary School, the school witnessed extensively improved all-round academic outcomes.

Preceding his vacating from an academic vocation, Khasakhala had become one of the most successful academicians, at the early educational level, in the colonial Kenya; a feat of great accomplishment du jour.

Eric Edward Khasakhala was born at Ebwali village in the British Colony and Protectorate of Kenya in Western Kenya, to Zakayo "Daktari" Kwendo and Damary Oyando on 26 March 1926.

His father was an illustrious local preacher, and the first medical doctor and a clinical officer in Bunyore; hence the nickname of "Daktari" (Kiswahili term for physician).

His parents were the Luhya (Bantu Kavirondo) people of Bunyore; a gerontocratic acephalous society with a representative system of governance and collegial leadership structure composed of mainly a council of elders, theirs was a collegial system of Barraza to which his grandfather had been a member.

Thus, Khasakhala's formative years were spent as an apprentice of his father—often assisted him with his various preaching and doctoring initiatives; it's also quite likely that Khasakhala, as the eldest son, was at his father's side the Barraza sessions.

This might account for his amicable reconciliatory political style since the Nyore council of elders were key instruments of resolving conflicts among the populaces of their boroughs, as well as any inter-clan disputes.

After his father succumbed to illness and died on 13 July 1955, Khasakhala at age 29 became a political protégé of Esau Khamati Oriedo who indoctrinated him into politics and the early trade union movement.

Before immersing in politics, Khasakhala was an ardently successful educationist—teacher and later promoted to become one of the African principals of a secondary school.

Indeed, remained educationist at heart.

Antecedently, he vehemently—he postcolonial Kenya—advocated for a robust education infrastructure throughout life.

Needless add that his first cabinet appointment was Assistant Minister of Education, charged with crafting Kenya's first postcolonial educational system during the Kenyatta regime.

He started his successful political career in 1957, when he was elected secretary of North Nyanza District Congress.

He was an ardent champion of literacy and early education in Kenya; and was very much at home serving as an Assistant Minister for Education in the early 1960s in Jomo Kenyatta's cabinet.

During his tenure as an Assistant Minister for Education he spearheaded the restructuring of the early education system infrastructure in embryonic postcolonial Kenya.

Albeit his relaxed reconciliatory and non-provocative amicable political style, which endeared him to foe and comrade, alike; Khasakhala was an ardently uncompromising advocate of social justice for his Nyole/Nyore people of Bunyore, a subtribe of the Luhya or Bantu Kavirondo, who were being marginalized and their land purloined from them by the more homogeneous and colonial era politically better connected archenemies the Luo tribe or Nilotic Kavirondo.

Maseno settlement and township was one of the several key flashpoints.

He was one of the first African members of the colonial legislatures, when in 1960 the colonial government ordered a nationwide election for 14 African Legislators to the colonial parliament.

Khasakhala was the winner of the combined counties of Marama, Kisa, Maragoli, Tiriki and Bunyore; he became the first Legislator for the combined region.

Moreover, in 1961 he was elected to the legislative Council of Kenya—popularly known as the LegCo—as a representative for the Nyanza North electoral constituency.

In 1962 Khasakhala together with the other 13 Members of Parliament were taken to Britain for one month edification on political governance and the parliamentary system.

He was later to be elected the first Member of Parliament for Emuhaya in 1963.

In 1965 as a member of the House of Representatives at the dawn of independence he successfully defended the location of Maseno as Bunyore, to the chagrin of Okelo Odongo a Luo and fellow member of the legislator; the protagonist engaged in a bitter exchange from which Khasakhala would not backdown.

During the debate, another post-independence MP, lawyer Argwings Kodhek a Luo went as far as to claim that Khasakhala was behind the burning of his five houses.

Khasakhala was a faithful cabinet member in both the Kenyatta and the Moi regimes.

Regrettably, he was often a political victim of his loyalty to friends and superiors.

Many have wondered why someone with such an illustrious political career, never made it to a full Cabinet Minister.

He held the post of a regional vice-president for Western Province, one of the seven regional vice presidencies in postcolonial era Kenya period spanning 1966–1970.