MAZRUI FAMILY REVOLTS AGAINST OMANIS IN MOMBASA
By D.Karanja
AjabuAfrica.com
New Bedford, MA
0710/2008
In 1698, after a long siege of Fort Jesus in Mombasa, the Arabs from Oman finally defeated the Portuguese and kicked them away from the East African coast for good. But how did the perpetual turmoil and jostling for power in Oman influence the political leadership in Mombasa for 100 years?
At this time, the reigning dynasty in Oman was called Yarubi. In the 1730’s it was overpowered and overthrown by Ahmed bin Said –el Busaidi, who established himself as Imam and ushered in the Busaidi dynasty. It is during this dynasty that Omani power flourished. Even the Sultans who ruled Zanzibar as recently as the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries belonged to Busaidi dynasty.
The Sultan of Oman appointed a governor, called Liwali, to oversee far away possessions such as Zanzibar, Lamu and Mombasa. The Liwali in Mombasa during the Omani coup was a man by the name Muhammad bin Othman. He was from the Mazrui family. Muhammad bin Othman refused to recognize the new Imam in Oman. In a colorful account, he is quoted to have said, “The Imam is an ordinary person like myself. He has usurped Oman. I have usurped Mombasa.” His intention was without doubt. He wanted complete independence from Oman.
Some local elders opposed to the Liwali sent word of Muhammad bin Othman’s disobedience to the new Imam. Consequently, in 1744, the Imam sent five men on a secret mission to assassinate the Liwali. They arrived at Mombasa and passed off as enemies of the Imam and pretended to be looking for safety in Mombasa. They then made contact with the leaders who were opposed to the Liwali at Kilifi. It was here that they disclosed their true intentions.
They gained access to the Liwali by pretending to seek his assistance on a trading mission to Kilwa. While they were in the same room, they assassinated Muhammad bin Othman by stabbing him to death. They then captured his brother, Ali bin Othman, and a few other close associates.
They also requested and received the obedience of the garrison at Fort Jesus and the soldiers there helped them round up other members of the Mazrui family still free in the island. Ali bin Othman was imprisoned at Fort Jesus. Thereafter, one of the five men from Oman, named Saif bin Khalaf, was declared Liwali by the rest.
There was inevitable division within the population. One section supported the new Liwali, Saif bin Khalaf, and the other supported Ali bin Othman, the previous Liwali’s brother who was in jail at Fort Jesus. Ali bin Othman’s followers hatched an escape plan. Sympathetic soldiers, originally from Baluchistan, stationed at Fort Jesus agreed to aid them.
Under the cover of darkness, Baluchi soldiers at Fort Jesus lowered Ali bin Othman down the lowest section of the walls. He was met by his followers and quickly whisked away by boat. Before daybreak, they hid him in a secret location away from the Island. As soon as the authorities learnt of his escape, a search was ordered in the island but it was unsuccessful. Ali bin Othman’s followers had done a good job.
Luckily for Ali bin Othman, an Englishman who happened to be a friend of his brother, the assassinated Liwali, Muhammad bin Othman, happened to dock in at Mombasa. When he learnt of his friend’s fate, he volunteered to assist Ali bin Othman take over power. On the appointed day, Ali and his supporters, including the Englishman, attacked Fort Jesus. They climbed over the walls using ladders constructed for that purpose. They took the garrison by total surprise and succeeded in overpowering the soldiers. The new Liwali, Saif bin Khalaf, was cornered in a tower inside the fort.
When all efforts to cajole Saif to exit the tower failed, they brought a canon from the Englishman’s ship and blasted the tower. The hiding Liwali ran out and was promptly killed. Ali bin Othman was then declared the new Liwali. The year was 1745. The Mazrui family thereafter ruled Mombasa and the entire coast from Pemba to just south of Lamu.
Imam Ahmed bin Said –el Busaidi of Oman had failed to take back Mombasa from the Mazruis. He changed strategy by appointing his own Liwali with jurisdiction over Zanzibar to halt the spread of Mazrui influence southwards. The new Liwali in Zanzibar was Abdullah bin Said. He arrived in Zanzibar with an army of soldiers because he feared Ali bin Othman of Mombasa may try to chase Omanis out of Zanzibar.
True to their fears, about 1753, Ali bin Othman of Mombasa recruited volunteers among his subjects and sailed for Zanzibar. He made a very strong and spirited attack of the island. However, just when he seemed to be making good progress at a critical time in the battle, one of Ali bin Othman’s new recruit turned against him and stabbed him to death. The murderer was also immediately killed, though it is not known who did it. At that point, the invading forces of Ali bin Othman lost heart and returned to Mombasa.
The next Mazrui to rule after Ali bin Othman’s death was his cousin, Masud bin Nassir. He had participated in the recent fighting in Zanzibar and was previously ruling Pemba on Ali bin Othman’s behalf. Masud reigned till 1775 and may have harbored intentions of attacking Zanzibar again and driving away the Omani-appointed Liwali. Though this never took place, he had better luck keeping the island of Pate free from Oman rule.
Masud bin Nassir’s successor, Abdullah bin Muhammad ruled till 1782. He was the first Liwali born on the East coast of Africa and came into power after much wrangling between the brothers as to who should succeed their father. When Abdullah bin Muhammad died, another round of wrangling over succession started from which Ahmed bin Mohammed el-Mazrui emerged the winner.
Thus the era of the Mazruis had now begun at Mombasa. It would be brought to an end in the 1820's during a most interesting period in Kenyan history. We will examine that in the next article.
Story by D. Karanja,
Edited by George Chege for AjabuAfrica.com
July 2008 |
