This Day in History: July 5, 1969
Additional Date: July 5, 1969
Founder of the Nairobi People’s Congress Party (NCPC) and key figure in the formation of Kenya African National Union (KANU), Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya was born on 15 August 1930. After Kenya‘s independence in 1963, Mboya became Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and later Minister of Economic Planning and Development.
Mboya was assassinated on 5 July 1969 in Nairobi CBD as he was coming from the pharmacy. Nahashon Isaac Njenga Njoroge was identified as the assassin and was convicted and hanged. There were rumours that Jomo Kenyatta was involved in the assassination as he was threatened by Mboya, but this was never proven.