WHY AUGUST IS REGARDED A DARK MONTH IN KENYA’S CALENDAR Last updated on 8 Aug 2013 00:00 By STANDARD REPORTER In ancient Rome, the soothsayers warned Julius Caesar to “beware of the Ides of March.” The Ides of March is a day on the Roman Calendar that corresponds to March 15 and became notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Ceasar in 44 BC. But in Kenya, it is the month of August that has been known to come with a catalogue of tragedies. And nothing attests to this fact more than the fire outbreak at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport yesterday that, coincidentally, came on the anniversary of the August 7 terrorist attack in 1998. Here are some tragedies that have befallen the country in August in the past: August 22, 1978: Kenya’s first President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta passes away in Mombasa plunging the country into mourning. August 1, 1982: Elements of the Kenya Air Force attempt to overthrow the Government of President Moi. The coup is crushed but leaves over 200 dead and property worth billions destroyed. August 14, 1992: Masinde Muliro, a former assistant minister and activist in the fight for a multi-party system collapses and dies at the airport shortly after arriving back from abroad. August 14, 1990: Bishop Alexander Muge, a critic of the Moi Government and Anglican Bishop of Eldoret, is killed in a road accident. August 7, 1998: An explosion rips through the US Embassy in Nairobi killing 212 and injuring 5,000 people. The attack is linked to the Al Qaeda terror network. August 23, 2003: Vice-President Kijana Wamalwa dies after illness at the Royal Free Hospital in England, just two months after wedding Yvonne Nambia August 22, 2012: Martin Shikuku, former MP for Butere popularly known as the “the people’s watchman” passes on after a battle with cancer. August 22, 2012: Inter-ethnic fighting between the Orma and Pokomo tribes residing in Tana River District results in the deaths of at least 52 people.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Aug 2013 11:28:20 +0000
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