Filipo Kamba Gunini (1880–1996)

Filipo Kamba Gunini was a pastor, missionary and teacher from Tanzania.

Early Life

Filipo Kamba Gunini was born in 1880 in Bariadi district. His father, Gunini Kahena, and his mother, Silya Idete, were peasant farmers. In his youth, he traveled with other youth in search of employment as casual laborers. In Tanga he enrolled in a camp of sisal farm workers where he worked until the First World War started. The Germans who owned the sisal estate abandoned it and went to the southern part of present-day Tanzania. Filipo Kamba Gunini traveled with the Germans up to River Rufiji and then back to Tanga after he heard of missionaries from Europe living in the Pare mountains, at Suji. He decided to go up to the mountains and was employed by the missionaries as a cook.¹ The missionaries offered him a job, and he accepted Jesus and was baptized in 1919. Having been taught by the Adventist German missionaries to read and write (primary education), they sent him to Nairobi for training as a teacher, and at the end of the training he received a grade II teacher’s certificate.²

Marriage and Career

Filipo Kamba Gunini married Rebecca Mahushi in 1922. Together they had eight children named Barnabas, Yunis, Rupho, Hulda, Mbaraka, Esther, Tumaini, and Emmanuel. Rebecca was a housewife who helped her husband with taking care of the family while he spent most of his time in teaching, traveling, establishing churches, and visiting church members.³

From Suji, the Church sent missionaries into Sukuma land to pioneer missionary work by opening schools. Those who were sent included: Filipo Kamba Gunini, Petro Mulungwana, Isaya Fue, Filipo Sekisago, and Daniel Mwenda. When Bupandagila Primary School was opened in 1928, Filipo Kamba was among the eight teachers who started it. Other teachers were Ezekiel Mauro, Yohana Malili, Maria Malongo, Mesipereth Rutoryo, Simon Sayi, Apolo Kwilabya, and Leah Mnyuku from Pare land who died and was buried in Bupandagila.⁴

Isaya Fue and Filipo Kamba Gunini went to supervise Habiya, since there were no European missionaries who were willing to go to Habiya as result of a German missionary, Richard Muzing, being killed by the Maasai in 1915 in a cattle conflict. Therefore, the work was dependent on Isaya Fue from Pare land and Filipo Kamba Gunini.⁵

Filipo Kamba worked as a teacher at Abiya, Bupandagila, and Ikizu. He also worked as a pastor, having been ordained in 1948 at Mwanyili by Pastor Herald Robinson and Ernest H. Kotz. As a pastor, he served at Mwamanyili, Kibumayi-Tarime, and Nyambitilwa-Bunda. His territory covered Mwanza and Geita as one church district. He retired in 1960 and went to live with his children at Malili-Nasa. He died September 7, 1996, at an age of 115 years.⁶

Contribution to the Church

Filipo Kamba is remembered for his dedication to service. He was able to visit all of his churches and branches on foot and by bicycle. He motivated people to attend camp meetings regardless of distance. He involved newly baptized members in ministry, resulting in rapid growth of the church at Kirumba and Kasamwa.

Notes

1. Emmanuel Kamba, telephone interview with the author, March 15, 2020.↩

2. Ibid.↩

3. Seth Barnaba Kamba, interview with the author, Kahama, Tanzania, March 15, 2020.↩

4. Joseph Bulengela, “Taswira ya Waadventista Wa Sabato” (SNC: Toleo la Jubilii. 2013), 17.↩

5. Seth Barnaba Kamba, interview with the author, Kahama, Tanzania, March 15, 2020.↩

6. Miaka Mia moja ya Kanisa la Waadventista wa Sabato South Nyanza (2016), 4, unpublished manuscript in the author’s private collection.↩