Achieng Oneko

Ramogi Achieng Oneko (1920–2007) was a Kenyan freedom fighter and politician, considered a national hero in Kenya.

He was born in Tieng'a village in Uyoma sub-location in Bondo District in 1920 and educated at Maseno School.

Detention Oneko was one of the six freedom fighters arrested by the British colonial government in Kapenguria in 1952. Other members of the group, known as "Kapenguria Six" were Jomo Kenyatta, Paul Ngei, Bildad Kaggia, Kungu Karumba and Fred Kubai. They were arrested for allegedly being linked with the Mau Mau rebellion movement. Oneko was charged as "Accused No.3." After they were convicted, all six appealed the conviction.

The appeal judges found that Oneko had largely been convicted on the weight of a KAU meeting he had attended. The statements at the meeting were mostly in Kikuyu, which he did not understand at the time. Although the judges acquitted him of the charges on 15 January 1954, he was still held in detention with the other Kapenguria Five.

They were released nine years later, in 1961, two years before Kenya gained independence.

Politics The first parliamentary election were held on independence in 1963 and Achieng Oneko won the Nakuru Town Constituency seat. Jomo Kenyatta became the first president of Kenya and soon appointed Achieng Oneko Minister for Information, Broadcasting and Tourism. However, in 1966 Oneko quit the government and joined the newly created Kenya People's Union, a socialist party led by his comrade Oginga Odinga.

He left a widow, Loice Anyango. His eldest wife Jedida, died in 1992.

At the time of his death, Oneko was the only one of the "Kapenguria six" still alive. Mashujaa Day (previously known as Kenyatta Day until the promulgation of the new Kenya constitution on 27 August 2010) is a national holiday in Kenya that commemorates the detention of the Kapenguria Six on 20 October 1952.