Henry Pius Masinde Muliro was a Kenyan politician from the Bukusu sub-tribe of the larger Abaluhya people of western Kenya.
20 Facts About Masinde Muliro
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Masinde Muliro was one of the central figures in the shaping of the political landscape in Kenya.
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Henry Pius Masinde Muliro was born in Matili village, in the Kimilili area of Kenya, the son of Muliro Kisingilie and his wife Makinia.
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Masinde Muliro's farmer father was a Roman Catholic, and after his parents died, he was brought up by an older stepbrother, Aibu Naburuk.
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Masinde Muliro undertook his elementary and secondary school studies in Kenya and Uganda, Masinde Muliro attended several mission schools run by Catholics, including St Peter's College in Tororo, Uganda.
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Masinde Muliro joined the University of Cape Town in South Africa in 1949, enrolling for a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, Philosophy and Education.
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Masinde Muliro graduated in 1953 with a degree in arts and education.
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Masinde Muliro taught for a while at a government school.
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In 1948, Muliro joined the Kenya African Union, a body formed to champion the interests of Africans in colonial Kenya.
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In 1958, Masinde Muliro formed the Kenya National Party with the support of nine Legco members.
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Masinde Muliro later dissolved his party to join the Kenya African Democratic Union.
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Masinde Muliro was appointed minister of commerce just before Kenya gained independence in 1963.
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Masinde Muliro worked in various positions in later governments but was frequently on the wrong side of President Jomo Kenyatta.
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Masinde Muliro remained in the cold between 1979 and 1984; he was again rigged out in the 1983 snap election by the KANU party.
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However, in the ensuing 1984 by-election, after Gumo's win was invalidated due to ballot box stuffing, Masinde Muliro narrowly won the resulting by-election against a Kalenjin candidate, Hon.
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Masinde Muliro served as the Kitale East Constituency MP until 1988, when the constituency was split up and he contested the newly created Cherangany Constituency parliamentary seat in the infamous 1988 Mlolongo election.
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Masinde Muliro narrowly won the Cherangany Constituency parliamentary seat in the 1988 election, but his election was immediately nullified.
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In 1989, Masinde Muliro teamed up with Kenneth Matiba, Charles Rubia, Martin Shikuku, Phillip Gachoka and Oginga Odinga to form FORD, a pressure-group agitating for a return to pluralist politics.
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Masinde Muliro was buried on his rural farm in Sibanga area of Kenya.
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The party, then split into two factions after Masinde Muliro died due to a disagreement on who was to run for the presidency against President Moi.