Travelling under the strict Covid-19 restrictions and government protocols was not anything good to write home about. In other words, it was not a pleasant experience. The trip was from Nairobi with a stopover at Kenyatta University Hospital mortuary to join fellow mourners enroute to the home of a friend, Samuel Kirundi, for his funeral service and burial thereafter.
That was shortly after the World Health Organization declared coronavirus a pandemic and Kenya reported the first case in March 2020. At the time, the number of mourners was restricted to 100 and the chiefs and/or their assistants had to attend and ensure the funeral service and burial lasted for less than an hour. Viewing of the body, especially for cases of Covid-19, was banned.
I enjoyed the back seat of the Toyota Prado of my neighbour, Mzee Stephen Nganga's daughter, Lucy Nganga, who was behind the wheels with her father as the co-driver to and from the village.
Covid pandemic
She was in-charge and politely reminded her father to "relax" and allow her to be our chauffeur saying the three of us had driving lives but the police would only recognised the one behind the wheels.
We drove through the following towns along the way: Ruiru, Thika, Kenol, Muranga and then arrived at our friend's rural home at noon. It is located in one of the biggest and prime tea plantations I had ever witnessed, despite being accustomed to seeing the tea plantations in Kericho County and sugarcane plantations in Kisumu County on the way to my village.
As we travelled Nganga, who was Vice Chairman of our Amani Court Security Committee, chaired by the late Kirundi, reminded me that he too hailed from Mathioya sub-county. Mzee Nganga also remembered vividly an encounter with former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta at a private event. He shocked her by reminding her of her designated number as a detainee during the Kenyan state of emergency declared by the colonial administration in the wake of the Mau rebellion. When she asked him how he knew her secret number, Mzee Nganga informed her that his mother was her cellmate!
Back to the Mathioya trip, because of the covid rules, we all ensured we had our face masks on throughout the one hour drive to Kenyatta University, during the brief prayers and viewing of the body before we joined the funeral convoy for the two-hour drive on Thika Super highway up to Kenol town, where we a left turn onto a single lane road through Muranga town all the way to Iriaini village, which borders Nyeri County.
Chief’s daunting task
Another requirement was to observe safe distance between ourselves and fellow mourners including the widow and the bereaved family. While passing through Muranga town, I noticed some hawkers selling fish, and I was taken aback.
Why? because fish is not associated with Kikuyus who ate residents of Muranga and Mount Kenya where githeri (mix of boiled maize and beans) is the staple food. It reminded me of a humorous news feature on one of the television stations some five years earlier of an attempt by a non-government organisation partnering with Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to introduce and popularise fish in the region.
Instead of feasting on the fish, the guests picked the ugali (mashed maize meal) and ate it with the soup, leaving the pieces of fish on the table untouched! Asked why, some of the residents said: "how can we eat fish that is staring at us with their open eyes." Another said she was ready to try fish-farming by building a pond, but it would be strictly for export and not domestic consumption. According to other villagers who were interviewed, fish is for Luos and Luhyas, not for Kikuyus!
Let the people decide
The myth had also been spread a popular Kikuyu musician, Joseph Kamaru in a hit song Reke Tumanwo. In the song, the musician said in part: "Mixing Kanu and NDP is like feasting on githeri and omena!"
At the time, the Mathioya Member of Parliament was the tough-talking Joseph Kamotho, who doubled as Kanu Secretary General under President Daniel arap Moi. It was on the eve of Kanu-NDP merger, led by Moi and Langata MP, Raila Odinga, which was opposed by Kamotho and Vice-President Prof George Saitoti.
When the two parties eventually merged at a colourful ceremony at the Kasarani International Sports Complex, off Thika Super Highway, Saitoti and Kamotho were edged out of the ruling party and by extension the Moi succession race.
The rest is history; water under the bridge. So when we lost our neighbour and friend, Kirundi, who was chairman of our Jamhuri II Estate's Amani Court Security Committee, I felt obliged to visit the area for the first time and see what developments, if any J.J.Kamotho had left behind as his legacy after losing his parliamentary seat to an opposition rival.
Tea-buying center chairman
The decision to visit the area was also in line with our previous talk with my friend that we would visit each other's homes in our respective villages. That was not to be as he ended up in an early grave after suffering from health challenges.
I also looked forward to visiting Muranga County, which is home to the 1992 Ford Asili presidential candidate, former Cabinet Minister Stanley Njindo Matiba, who was a flamboyant tycoon, hotelier and MP for Kiharu.
Another interest was linked to a former colleague at Nation Media , Vincent Mwangi alias Bogus, who would always spend his weekend at his rural home in Gaichanjiru and return to work, as a court reporter, with interesting stories about his experiences and farming activities.
I also had a passion for Muranga having a cousin, Seth Omondi Olale, who has in-laws from Kandara. Another cousin, John Ogude Otieno Nyawaka, also has in-laws in Kiambu and Kirinyaga Counties.
Seth ventured into Muranga when his travelled to Kandara with an uncle and some relatives and close friends to meet parents of his fiancée, Ann Muthoni, for consent before their wedding and marriage.
That path had earlier been taken by one of my elder brothers, Kenneth Cainan, who led a delegation to Kabete in Kiambu County to meet parents of Lydia Muthoni and ask for her hand in marriage. Later, he crossed to Nyeri County where he met Rose Masao, a relative of President Mwai Kibaki, whose father was a Chaga from Arusha, Tanzania.
Mixed marriages
One of our maternal uncle's, Frank Oti, set the pace in mid 1960s when he fell in love with a neighbourhood girl from Kabete in Kiambu County, whom he later married. Bueing a typical Luo and under pressure, he later married a second wife from Asembo, in Siaya County.
The interesting thing is Nya Kabete, speaks fluent Dholuo whenever she visits her home in Rusinga Island in Homa Bay County, where she is fondly referred to as "Nya Jomo," in reference to the founding father of the nation, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, who also hailed from Gatundu in Kiambu County.
On the way to Mathioya, we made a brief stopover at the junction of Nyeri-Muranga highway to wait for other mourners who were driving to converge and drive in a convoy to Kirundi's home some 5 Kilometers away on an earth road.
My impression of the region was confirmed by the many tarmacked and well-maintained major and feeder roads, a far cry from what I was used to see in Nyanza and Western province (since renamed as regions) under Moi era.
I attributed the developments to good and effectively leadership of former MPs and Cabinet Minister like Matiba, Kamotho and Julius Gikonyo Kiano, who was the first MP for Kiharu, and a minister in the Jomo Kenyatta cabinet. Dr. Kiano was also the first Kenyan to get a PhD in the United States in the 1960s before he returned to Kenya on eve of 1963 independence.
First PhD holder in Kenya
I still have fond memories our visits to Kiano's Karen residence in Nairobi, near Bomas of Kenya, led by my big bro Ken, who was a close friend of Earnest Kiano. His step mother, Jane Kiano, would always welcome us with a broad motherly smile and biscuits plus a bottle of soda of our choice! To us, Christmas came early!
Back to the home of our friend, we arrived in a convoy of over 60 buses and cars. We went straight to a reserved part of the well-tendered lawns overlooking ridges and valleys with coffee plantations on them and wood lots to the side.
The funeral service was brief, devoid of politics, long speeches and sermons, thanks to the presence of the fully dressed two assistant chiefs who stood guard. No drinks or food was cooked, served or entertained at the home. Within one hour we were through and the pall bearers asked to carry the coffin to the grave. After that, everyone dispersed as the chiefs kept vigil.
Our drive back was more scenic, giving as an opportunity to see the majestic Mt. Kenya, locally called Mt. Kirinyaga, as Mzee Nganga's daughter opted for the longer route through Nyeri and Sagana towns back to the city at sundown.
We made a brief stopover at a restaurant in Sagana for snacks and to unwind from the solemn occasion. From there it was a rush not stop to Nairobi to beat the 7pm curfew.
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