# Eliud Mathu

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{{Short description|Kenyan teacher and politician (1910–1993)}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [brackets](/source/brackets) -->
| alt                = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption            = 
| birth_name         = <!-- only use if different from name -->
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1910|06|01|df=y}}
| birth_place        = [Karai, Kenya](/source/Karai%2C_Kenya)
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1993|05|26|1910|06|01|df=y}}
| death_place        = [Nairobi](/source/Nairobi), Kenya
| other_names        = 
| occupation         = Educator, politician
| years_active       = 
| known_for          = first African member of the [Legislative Council of Kenya](/source/Legislative_Council_of_Kenya)
| notable_works      = co-founded [Kenya African Study Union](/source/Kenya_African_Union)
| education          = [Alliance High School](/source/Alliance_High_School_(Kenya)),<br/>[Exeter University](/source/Exeter_University),<br/>[Balliol College, Oxford](/source/Balliol_College%2C_Oxford)
}}
'''Eliud Wambu Mathu''' (1 June 1910 – 26 May 1993) was a Kenyan teacher, politician and civil servant. He was the first African member of the [Legislative Council of Kenya](/source/Legislative_Council_of_Kenya) and served from 1944 to 1957.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parliament of Kenya {{!}} The Kenyan Parliament Website |url=http://www.parliament.go.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=106&Itemid=91 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=www.parliament.go.ke}}</ref>

==Biography==
Mathu was born on 1 June 1910, in [Karai, Kenya](/source/Karai%2C_Kenya), to a [Kikuyu](/source/Kikuyus) family.<ref name="auto1">Andrew Burton, Andrew Ross Burton, Helene Charton-Bigot, Generations Past: Youth in East African History, Ohio University Press, 19 Oct 2010</ref> He was educated at the [Alliance High School](/source/Alliance_High_School_(Kenya)) and qualified as a teacher. In 1929, he became the first African master at Alliance.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Review: Understanding Kenya in the '50s: New Resources, but More Needed: Reviewed Works: Mathu of Kenya: A Political Study by Jack R. Roelker; Counter-Insurgency in Kenya 1952-60: A Study of Military Operations against Mau Mau by Anthony Clayton |author=Marshall Clough |journal=Africa Today |volume=25 |issue=2 |date=April–June 1978 |pages=79–81|jstor=4185774}}</ref> Between 1932 and 1934, he studied at [Fort Hare College](/source/Fort_Hare_College) in [South Africa](/source/South_Africa) and passed the South Africa matriculation.<ref name="auto1"/> He returned to teach at Alliance and pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree through a correspondence course.<ref name="auto1"/> In 1938, he moved to the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) to complete a one-year teaching diploma from [Exeter University](/source/Exeter_University), and study history at [Balliol College, Oxford](/source/Balliol_College%2C_Oxford). Mathu returned to Kenya in 1940, teaching at Alliance High School until he left in 1942 to open his own school in Waithaka.<ref name="auto1"/>

In October 1944, Mathu was nominated to the Legislative Council of Kenya to represent the African community. He became the first African member of the Council. He co-founded the [Kenya African Study Union](/source/Kenya_African_Union) to help co-ordinate and represent African interests in the Council. During the [Mau Mau Uprising](/source/Mau_Mau_Uprising) rival politicians from tribes deemed loyal to the government accused him of organising the Mau Mau. Despite remaining loyal himself, as a Kikuyu, he became disqualified from serving in the Council.<ref name="auto2">Munene, Macharia, Historical Reflections on Kenya: Intellectual Adventurism, Politics and International Relations, University of Nairobi Press, 16 Mar 2015</ref> At the [1957 election](/source/1956%E2%80%9357_Kenyan_general_election), Mathu was replaced by [Bernard Mate](/source/Bernard_Mate), a member of the [Meru tribe](/source/Meru_people) who had the support of the government.<ref name="auto2"/>

He died in [Nairobi](/source/Nairobi) on 26 May 1993, aged 82.<ref>Kenya Gazette, 7 Oct 1994, Vol. 96, No. 48</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathu, Wambu}}
Category:1910 births
Category:1993 deaths
Category:University of Fort Hare alumni
Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford
Category:Alumni of Alliance High School (Kenya)
Category:Members of the Legislative Council of Kenya
Category:British Kenya people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eliud Mathu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliud_Mathu) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliud_Mathu?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.