Appolo Ohanga - Political Life

Political Life

From 1946 to 1947, he was Secretary to the Language Committee of all Nilotic languages.

In 1947 he was nominated to the Kenya Legislative Council. He became the first African in Kenya to hold a Cabinet post when he rose to the position of Minister for Community Development and Rehabilitation in 1954, a post he held until 1957.

He then joined the Civil Service as an Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, and later moved to the Ministry of Home Affairs where he was in charge of approved schools. During his tenure in the Civil Service, he was very active in the Trade Union Movement and served as President of the Civil Servants Union and first President of Central Organization of Trade Unions(COTU).

Upon his retirement from the Civil Service in 1972, he became the Chief Executive of the Kenya Senior Civil Servants Association.

In the course of his career he visited many foreign countries including India, Germany, United States of America and, severally, Great Britain. In his various capacities he traveled extensively all over Kenya and East Africa, and, until his death, he could still recall vividly by name the various personalities he met in those areas.

He retired from the Senior Civil Servants Association in 1975 and dedicated his time to his family, farming, church and community matters.

In 1986, he was honoured by His Excellency President Daniel Arap Moi who conferred on him the distinguished Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya.

Mr. Ohanga died at 12.25 a.m. on January 23, 1992 at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi.