AC Primary is where I accompanied my mother to attend a J.M. Kariuki rally in mid 1970s. I had heard the name J.M. Kariuki and now I was curious to see the living legend. And seeing him I did. I remember he brought a friend from Zambia, who stood up to greet the crowd and we greeted him back with a thunderous Nyandarua welcome. I remember my mother commenting about the Zambian “hii egukenga ta maguta” translation “wow, he glistens like oil”.
It was at the same meeting that J.M. introduced his new wife Wanjiru from Dagoretti. I remember her standing next to him and waving to the crowd. I thought she was so pretty dressed in Kitenge head gear and loop earrings. I was less than 10 years old but the events of that meeting has remained fresh in my mind all these years later. Maybe its because of the shocking assassination of J.M. Kariuki that followed soon after, making it personal to the child I was back then.
I felt like I knew the man. He looked nice and jovial as he introduced his wife and his foreign dignitary friend to us during that meeting. He was so full of life and now they had murdered him. That was personal to me. I guess that is why I still remember that meeting this many decades later. Anybody else who was at that meeting back in mid 1970s?
One person I am certain was at that J.M. meeting is our local Chief Apollo. It was such meetings where the Chief was always present, sitting on the platform with the visiting dignitaries. That is how we knew the Chief must be an important government official.
The picture above was the OlKalou home of J.M. Kariuki. In the vicinity was the largest village (gichagi) left behind by the colonial masters. It came to be known as Gichagi kia J.M. Word has it that he advocated for the dismantling of that village and others like it, resettling their peasant occupants on individual pieces of land all over OlKalou. He spearheaded or oversaw one of the greatest projects of bringing piped water into OlKalou homes, a project that benefited every home in OlKalou in those early 1970s, but collapsed with his demise and no other politician has managed to revive it to this date. From the two acts alone, J.M. rightfully earned himself the title of being a true common man’s advocate. I did not know his politics or personal life, but what I know is what he did for us in OlKalou. That is why when I dwell on the subject of J.M. Kariuki, I am only expressing what I grew up hearing from the adults who truly knew who J.M. Kariuki was to them. Bible says in Matthew 7:16 You will know them by their fruits”. Below are some famous J.M. quotes:
“Kenya has become a nation of 10 millionaires and 10 million beggars.”
“Every Kenyan man, woman and child is entitled to a decent and just living. That is a birthright. It is not a privilege. He is entitled as far as is humanly possible to equal educational, job and health opportunities irrespective of his parentage, race or creed or his area of origin in this land. If that is so, deliberate efforts should be made to eliminate all obstacles that today stand in the way of this just goal. That is the primary task of the machinery called Government: our Government.”
“We fought for independence with sweat, blood and our lives. Many of us suffered for inordinate days – directly and indirectly. Many of us are orphans, widows and children as a result of the struggle. We must ask: What did we suffer for, and were we justified in that suffering?”
