James Samuel Gichuru – Gentle, tolerant and always confident

Listen In 1964, President Jomo Kenyatta convened a meeting in Nakuru to convince the large-scale settler farmers not to flee the country but instead stay and help develop the economy of the young nation. With him was James Samuel Gichuru, a Cabinet minister. Jeremiah Kiereini in his book, A Daunting Journey wrote, “James Gichuru was […]

James Nyamweya – Founder of the Industrial Court and father of the labour movement

Listen James Nyamweya was a politician and pioneer lawyer who served as MP for Nyaribari (before it was split into Nyaribari Chache and Nyaribari Masaba), as well as an influential Cabinet minister in different ministries in President Jomo Kenyatta’s government. Under President Daniel arap Moi, he headed the Elections and Boundaries Commission briefly ahead of […]

James Njagi Njiru – KANU strongman who had the President’s ear

Listen Growing up, James Njagi Njiru’s acquaintance with the world outside of the place where he was born was minimal. But not even dropping out of school after getting his primary certificate could deter him from joining elective politics – he decided to vie for the Kirinyaga West parliamentary seat to become the constituency’s second […]

Gilbert Kabeere M’Mbijjewe – His lone ranger style put him at odds with colleagues

Listen Little is known about Gilbert Kabeere M’Mbijjewe although many may remember his trademark pipe. He was among the few Kenyan politicians whose appointment to the Cabinet was because of his impressive career as a civil servant and as a corporate executive. As a minister in President Daniel arap Moi’s administration, M’Mbijjewe had a quiet […]