Legacy
Kaggia is remembered for his selfless service to the people. After independence the choice was open to him to join his colleagues to amass wealth and rush to replace the settlers and enjoy the privileges of the new ruling class. However, Kaggia preferred to faithfully serve the people of Kenya by pursuing the public good. Unlike most of his contemporaries he did not give in to greed, but rather stayed the course at great expense to himself and his family.
At his burial, the only at that time still living member of the Kapenguria Six, Achieng' Oneko described Kaggia beautifully by 'Kaggia was the symbol of a society strugging to find its sense of identity and oneness while steering clear of tribalism and corruption'.
It is this steadfast example that all progressive Kenyans admire.
John Sibi-Okumu paid a special tribute to Bildad M. Kaggia. One of his major preoccupations has been with what he calls the ‘Kenyan condition since independence.’ He had asked himself whether in all our fifty years since Independence we haven’t produced a single politician with the moral stature of a Mandela, or a Tutu, or a Nkrumah, or a Nyerere, or a Cabral.
His focus fell appreciatively on Bildad Kaggia. After reading about him and especially his autobiography: THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE, he embarked upon an interpretation of his life on the stage. This resulted in the play Kaggia. First it was played in 2014 (at the Phoenix Theatre) and the second was in 2015 (at activist Boniface Mwangi's PAWA 254). In 2019 it played at the Kenya National Theatre.
Trailer Kaggia play.mp4