Pamela Mboya (1938 – 26 January 2009) was a Kenyan political activist and diplomat, the wife of

Tom Mboya Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya (15August 19305July 1969) was a Kenyan trade unionist, educator, Pan-Africanist, author, independence activist, and statesman. He was one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya.Kenya Human Rights Commissio ...

the Kenyan trade unionist, educationist, Pan Africanist, author, independence activist, Cabinet Minister and one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya.

Early life and education

Pamela Odede was born at

Maseno Maseno is a town in Kisumu, the third largest city in Kenya. It is located along Kisumu - Busia highway 25 kilometers to the provincial capital and it is in north west ward. Another road connects Maseno to Vihiga town, located 15 kilometers east o ...

, near

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

. Her father Walter Odede was a politician. She studied art at

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

from 1957 to 1959. Pamela was a beneficiary of the Kennedy Airlifts in 1959. She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology at

Western College for Women Western College for Women, known at other times as Western Female Seminary, The Western and simply Western College, was a women's and later coed liberal arts college in Oxford, Ohio, between 1855 and 1974. Initially a seminary, it was the host of ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion of the state approximately northwest ...

Career

Pamela Odede married Thomas Mboya in 1962, in a large Roman Catholic wedding. She was widowed when he was assassinated on 5 July 1969. Images of Pamela Mboya as a glamorous bride, and as a young widow grieving, became iconic in Kenya's turbulent 1960s and 1970s; the name "Pamela" even became trendy for Kenyan girls after her influence.Joe Ambuor
"Final Journey of an Icon, Tribute to Pamela Mboya,"
''Standard Media'' (5 February 2009). Pamela Mboya was frequently photographed as a hostess with international visitors: during her marriage, she danced with

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

to celebrate Kenya's independence in 1964; after she was widowed, she visited with

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...

and other survivors of loss by assassination. Pamela Mboya was Kenya's permanent representative to the

UN Habitat The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlem ...

in the 1980s. She chaired HelpAge Kenya, and was a member of the Kenyan Women's Political Caucus.

Personal life

Pamela and Tom Mboya had five children together, one of whom died as a young boy. After she was widowed, she had another son with her brother-in law, in accordance to Luo tradition, whom she named Tom Mboya, Jr. in his honour. Pamela Mboya died from ovarian cancer in 2009, aged 70 years, in South Africa. Her daughter Maureen Odero is a Judge of the High Court of Kenya, and her daughter Susan Mboya is the immediate former president of the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation and the wife of

Evans Kidero Evans Odhiambo Kidero (born 20 May 1957) is a Kenyan politician and former Governor of Nairobi County. He served as CEO of Mumias Sugar Company for 8 years, resigning in 2012 to join elective politics. Early life Kidero was born in Majengo as ...

, former governor of Nairobi City County."Dr. Susan Mboya Kidero Appointed President of the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation"
''New Vision'' (22 August 2013).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mboya, Pamela 1938 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Kenyan women politicians 20th-century Kenyan politicians People from Kisumu County