Kenyan independence hero Bildad Kaggia dies after a long illness

Date: 7 Mar 2005
Updated: 5 Mar 2020

Bildad Mwaganu Kaggia was a nationalist and a freedom fighter. Kaggia joined the Kenyan army when the Second World War broke out and was deployed in London as a company quarter-sergeant at a war office meant to rehabilitate African soldiers. During his time there, Kaggia studied political science, journalism and trade unionism through correspondence. Convinced that western religions were a stepping stone to colonialism, Kaggia returned to Kenya with a mission to Africanise religions. He started his own church, which included African customs and traditions. He later joined and sat on the central committee of the Mau Mau. When Kenya gained independence, Kaggia became a member of parliament and served as minister in Jomo Kenyatta’s cabinet. He retired from active politics in 1974, largely due to clashes with Kenyatta over land policies. He died on 7 March 2005 at the age of 82.

Search events by date

What happened on your birthday?

How we know this

01Brockman, N.C., (2014), Kaggia, Bildad b. 1922? Friends of the Holy Spirit Kenya, from Dictionary of African Christian Biography, [online], Available at www.dacb.org [Accessed: 26 February 2014]
02Adenekan, S., (2005), Bildad Kaggia Key figure in Kenya's independence struggle, from The Guardian, [online], Available at www.theguardian.com [Accessed: 26 February 2014]

Last updated · 5 Mar 2020

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2014, February 28). Kenyan independence hero Bildad Kaggia dies after a long illness. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097146

South African History Online (2014) 'Kenyan independence hero Bildad Kaggia dies after a long illness', South African History Online, 28 February. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097146 (Accessed: 2 October 2026).

South African History Online, Kenyan independence hero Bildad Kaggia dies after a long illness [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097146, (accessed 2 October 2026).

"Kenyan independence hero Bildad Kaggia dies after a long illness." South African History Online, 28 Feb. 2014, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097146. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

South African History Online. "Kenyan independence hero Bildad Kaggia dies after a long illness." South African History Online. February 28, 2014. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097146.