Joseph Martin Shikuku Oyondi (December 25, 1932– August 22, 2012) was a Kenyan politician. Joseph Martin Shikuku Oyondi was born on Christmas day 1932 in Magadi Kenya. His father was John Osule Oyondi and he was married to Lucia Andeche in the Catholic church in 1929. They had seven children. Shikuku was the second born.

Early life

Shikuku attended St Peters Mumias boys primary school, a Catholic school in western Kenya. After completing his primary education he joined St. Peters Seminary for secondary education with the intention of becoming a Catholic priest. This was not to be as he apparently fell in love and left the seminary.

Career

He briefly worked with the Caltex oil company in Kenya then Kenya and then East African Railways before joining politics at a young age of 19 on 18 October 1952. At the age of 28, he was the youngest member of the Kenyan delegation to Lancaster House Conferences (England), as the youth representative for KADU, a political party which together with KANU went for the talks at Lancaster House which paved way to the Independence of Kenya. He also participated in the crafting of Kenya's first Constitution. He joined

Nairobi People's Convention Party The Nairobi People's Convention Party (NPCP) was a Nairobi based political party formed in 1957 by Tom Mboya. This party played a crucial role in the fight for Kenya's independence. Despite attempts at suppression from the colonial government, t ...

(NPCP), becoming its Secretary-General soon afterwards. He later resigned to join the

Kenya African Democratic Union The Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) was a political party in Kenya. It was founded in 1960 when several leading politicians refused to join Jomo Kenyatta's Kenya African National Union (KANU). It was led by Ronald Ngala who was joined by ...

(KADU) as a youth leader along with future President

Daniel Moi Daniel Toroitich arap Moi ( ; 2 September 1924 – 4 February 2020) was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He is the country's longest-serving president to date. Moi previously served as the thi ...

and

Ronald Ngala Ronald Gideon Ngala (1923–1972) was a Kenyan politician who was the leader of the Kenya African Democratic Union political party from its creation in 1960 until its dissolution in 1964. Early career Ngala was born in 1922 at Gotani in Gir ...

. Shikuku was elected the Butere Constituency MP in 1963 on

KADU KADU (90.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station licensed to Hibbing, Minnesota, United States. The station is owned by Heartland Christian Broadcasters, Inc. Translators In addition to the main station, KADU is relayed by an additional tran ...

ticket. His party merged soon later with

Kenya African National Union The Kenya African National Union (KANU) is a Kenyan political party that ruled for nearly 40 years after Kenya's independence from British colonial rule in 1963 until its electoral loss in 2002. It was known as Kenya African Union (KAU) from 19 ...

KANU, the only legal party during the subsequent Kenyan single-party era.The Standard, August 22, 2012
Long serving politician Martin Shikuku dies
/ref> Shikuku was the last member to cross the floor of the House to join the one government after the Merger of Kanu and Kadu. He retained the Butere seat in 1969 was appointed Assistant Minister in the Office of the Vice-President and Home Affairs by the President

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He played a significant role in the ...

. Later Shikuku was detained by Kenyatta after the minister sarcastically referred the KANU government as "dead". Shikuku was released in 1978 when Daniel arap Moi took over as the President upon Kenyatta's death. Shikuku recaptured the Butere parliamentary seat the next year and was appointed Assistant Minister for Livestock Development. He retained his seat at the 1983 elections but lost in 1988. Kenyan single-party system started to crack in the early 1990s. He was a founding member of

Forum for the Restoration of Democracy Forum or The Forum may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example * Internet forum, discussion board ...

alongside

Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Jaramogi Ajuma Oginga Odinga (October 1911 – 20 January 1994) was a Kenyan politician who became a prominent figure in Kenya's struggle for independence. He served as Kenya's first vice-president, and thereafter as opposition leader. Oding ...

. The forum soon split, and Odinga formed the Ford-Kenya party, while Shikuku Ford Asili with

Kenneth Matiba Kenneth Stanley Njindo Matiba (1 June 1932 – 15 April 2018) was a Kenyan politician and an activist for democracy who came in at second place in the 1992 presidential election. In November 2007, he announced that he would stand as a preside ...

. The 1992 general election were the first multiparty election in Kenya since the 1960s. Matiba was the Ford Asili presidential candidate, while Shikuku recaptured the Butere MP seat on Ford Asili ticket. Matiba later left Ford Asili and at the 1997 elections Shikuku was the party's presidential candidate. He did not get many votes and also lost his parliamentary seat. He died on August 22, 2012, at the Texas Cancer Centre in Hurlingham,

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

.Daily Nation, August 22, 2012
Veteran politician Martin Shikuku dead
/ref> aged 79 Capital FM, August 22, 2012
Veteran politician Martin Shikuku dies at 79
/ref>

Personal life

Shikuku was married to Dolarosa Elizbeth Regina Achieng on 24 September 1966 and they had four children; Sylvano Madanji Shikuku (born 16 November 1966), Emmanuel Noel Osyle Shikuku (born 26 December 1968), Lucia Awor Shikuku (born 30 June 1971), and Martina Maende Shikuku (born 26 January 1974, died 5 November 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shikuku, Martin 2012 deaths Kenya African National Union politicians Forum for the Restoration of Democracy politicians Forum for the Restoration of Democracy – Asili politicians Members of the National Assembly (Kenya) People from Western Province (Kenya) Deaths from cancer in Kenya Candidates for President of Kenya 1932 births