Mwamunga

A man of History

by Wale Akinyemi

He was simple ..too simple and it was very easy to look as him at just one of the other participants at the PowerTalks workshop on Change Management. What gave him up was when people were asked to introduce themselves. When he stood up, there was a resounding applause from the other participants - an obvious pointer to the man's popularity amongst the locals. I wondered who it was that could generate this kind of spontaneous response. Even when he introduced himself, it did not mean anything to me. However after the meeting I was introduced to him and he told me he had been a one time minister for commerce. I also discovered that he had been the member of parliament for twenty consecutive years before voluntarily quitting politics. This was when I understood who it was that I had just met.

Eliud Mwamunga had nothing to give away the fact that he had been the strong man of Voi politics for over three decades. He was soft spoken, very courteous and what you would call a perfect gentleman. He spoke about how much he appreciated what we were doing for the people of Voi and pledged his unflinching support for PowerTalks and the Afrociti vision. He kept his word. When we went back to Voi for the next workshop, he had mobilized people to attend the class. He also he displayed a level of generosity that was exemplary and out of the ordinary. He accommodated and looked after the entire PowerTalks team during the duration of the seminar in his out of this world luxury cottage at the top of the Sagalla hills.

When we got to Voi, we were met at the Voi town lodge by this elder statesman. Amazingly he was driving himself which is rare for African men of his age and calibre. After exchanging pleasantries, we set off for the hills. The journey to the top of the hills was a long bumpy ride and at every sign of lights in the dark cold night, we were all asking the question, 'are we there yet'? - reminding one of the Hollywood movie with the same name. When we finally got to the top of the hills, it was very dark so we did not appreciate fully what we had just done. One thing we did appreciate however was the fact that is was freezing cold up there. The next morning we woke up and what did we see outside our window? Clouds. Yes! We were right in the clouds!

Besides the hospitality and the generosity of Mr Mwamunga, what impacted me most were not so much the things he said to us but the things he did - his very life and principles.

First, I saw a very independent and determined man. Here was a man who did not even need a driver to help him navigate the twisting and winding hills. He later told us that as a kid, he used to walk down those hills carrying vegetables for his father and then climb back in the afternoon. The total duration of that was four hours each way so I guess the one hour drive was in no way comparable with the eight hours he used to do.

Secondly I saw a man of vision. It takes a man of vision to put up the kind of edifice he has put on the hills. Just the thought and the cost of transporting all the bricks and raw materials needed up the hill would have been discouraging to many. On our second day at the lodge, he did something that further showed his understanding of vision. He asked me to lay the foundation stone for the conference centre he was building up on the hills. His reason? That he knows that the Afrociti project would soon be a huge phenomenon and that he wanted people to know that he knew us at the very beginning!

As I observed and tried to take in everything I saw or heard, I noticed that he was surrounded by a lot of very elderly people who worked loyally for him. Then it dawned on me that he had been able to cater for the needs of these people and had won their loyalty even in their old age. This was a major lesson for me and for many young leaders today. We need to provide leadership that will give our followers a sense of purpose. Leadership that paves the way for others to find their lives purpose within the context of our leadership. That is a very rare thing.

Finally, I saw a man who had a strong sense of history. He had a cinnamon tree that was planted to commemorate the Independence of Seychelles which he had attended with former Attorney General, Charles Njonjo. A sign in front of one of the Olive trees in the garden was to commemorate an unexpected downpour of rain just after the tree was planted. Everything significant in the garden had an inscription with dates.

For me and I dare say for the entire PowerTalks team, the Sagalla trip will forever be a landmark in the history of our lives. We had had a close up, one on one encounter with a true son of Africa, a visionary, a leader of leaders. We had had a date with a man of history.