Dr. Alexio Caetano Lactancio de Sousa

Dr. A.C.L de Sousa combined medical brilliance and foresight with statesmanship and a profound sense of responsibility to the land he lived in. A pioneer journalist, a great politician, an active social worker, an accomplished leader of many facets, a devoted husband, loving father and wonderful friend he was. Born on May 10, 1883, in Carmona, Goa, he left the village, disillusioned with village jealousies and petty politics. In Bombay he studied medicine at J.J. College of Medicine. On arriving in Kenya in 1915, he was appointed Government Medical Officer in Mombasa. Thus commenced an epoch so eventful that it ended only with his death on July 17, 1958. In 1919 he married the charming and gracious Dr. Mary Matilda Pereira of Mazagon, Bombay, whom he met while at medical college. He entered private practice with his wife and lived at his beautiful home in Parklands with their children, Theo de Sousa, Dr. Peter de Sousa and Aura de Sousa Rodrigues.

Writing was in his blood. His forceful notes were masterly political writings loaded with sound facts, fearless arguments and logical criticism. No subject did his prolific pen not adorn. He was gifted with a flair for eloquence which could sway a mob or charm the most cultured audience. He expressed his frank and studied opinion on every subject affecting his community. He wrote freely for the ‘Democrat’, later for ‘Fairplay’ a weekly he helped to found, then for the ‘Colonial Times’ and later for the ‘Goan Voice’, of which he was founder and editor. A worthy tribute to him would be to compile all his literary works in one single volume – newspaper articles, editorials, funeral orations, messages of sympathy and appreciation, speeches at condolence meetings and brochures, to capture the spirit of the man and extent of his contribution the Goan and Indian community in Kenya.

Whatever he touched in public life, he adorned. As a public worker he rose in the eyes of all communities of Kenya. His opponents said he was overambitious. If ambitious he was, his ambition drove him to work for his people. His work was so much behind the scenes that people had no real knowledge of the extent to which he served the community. His understanding and love of the necessity of education is his greatest work. He is one of the few Goans who never swerved from the path of rectitude for personal gains – if so, he would have been a millionaire. Brutally outspoken and serious looking, the lion was not as fierce as he was painted. Within him was a heart of gold and wells of kindness and compassion.

A great Goan, one of the first to step on the shores of East Africa, he will be remembered with 5gratitude for his service and for the Indian Maternity Hospital, built as a result of his efforts, the Goan Overseas Association of which he was founder and President, the Desai Memorial Library, the East African Goan Conference. the Goan Housing Scheme, the Indian Association, and the Indian Medical & Dental Association. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1934 to 1938 and of the Nairobi Municipal Council for many years. Described as the greatest protagonist of Goan Education in East Africa, in fact, the architect of Goan history in East Africa, if not for his fighting spirit and dynamic personality, the Goan School in Nairobi or for that matter any Goan school in Kenya would not have seen the light of day. With his tenacity and whole-hearted support of the Goan community he achieved the goal of separate schools for Goans. This whole-hearted support, except for the sullen rancor of a few discordant voices, he enjoyed to the end of his days. Death restored him to his rightful place among the eminent Goans for his unsullied probity, undisputed services and splendid name.

I was only four when grandpa passed away. All I know of him is from what mother shared with us, her five children, as we grew up, from letters from my uncle, Peter de Sousa and his wife Sofia and from numerous friends of the family from Nairobi. Mother was wheel chair bound for 22 years till she passed away on June 17, 2013 but in all those years, each day as she looked at the photographs of her parents on the mantelpiece and we lit a candle and prayed, she would reach out, touch the picture frames, lovingly smile and say, “my papa, my mother” testimony to wonderful persons that they were, Dr. A.C. L de Sousa and Dr. Mary de Sousa.

Dr. Alan de Sousa Rodrigues, eldest grandson of Dr. A. C. L. de Sousa, now living in Goa, has spent 36 years in the field of education as a teacher and principal. He attributes his passion for education, writing and his fiery temper when fighting injustices