Driver who ferried Uhuru and his siblings to school daily.
There was a rule in Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s household: Everyone had to return to the family’s home in Gatundu in the evening, unless they had travelled far.
Mzee Kenyatta, being escorted by his convoy, left in the mornings and returned to Gatundu after work at State House Nairobi. His aversion for spending the nights at the President’s residence in Nairobi is well documented.
Mzee’s children, too, had to be taken to school in Nairobi and back every day. We are informed that he was not a fan of boarding school.
From 1974 until Mzee’s death in 1978, the main driver of Kenyatta’s children to and from school was Robert Mugo “Karuga” Mboi, a police constable with the General Service Unit (GSU).
He drove a young Uhuru, his brother Muhoho and sister Nyokabi from Gatundu to St Mary’s School-Nairobi in the mornings and took them back every evening — more than 50 kilometres for a one-way trip.
Designated car
A Mercedes-Benz 280 SE was the designated car. And when there was some congestion on the road, Mr Mboi would activate the siren and motorists would give way. To date, it intrigues him how a car with civilian number plates drew so much respect once he reached for the siren.
Sometimes he helped Uhuru try out a new bicycle. Sometimes he gave him rides on a wheelbarrow after offloading weapons. They were friends, he says.
It is an uneventful journey to Mr Mugo’s home in Gatumbi village in Gichugu Constituency, to interview him.
It is a journey that tells a story of the country’s geo-political realities, especially regarding infrastructure. Beyond the Thika Superhighway, the road is being expanded as one of the legacies President Uhuru Kenyatta wants to leave behind.
Evening snack
When we arrive at around 5.30pm, we find Mr Mugo in the kitchen, roasting green bananas in the company of his three great-grandchildren. That sounds like the perfect evening snack for this family tucked inside the greenness of the countryside, coffee bushes and occasional macadamia trees contributing to the greenery.
To the left of his homestead, Mt Kenya stands feebly. An evening cloud cover has neutralised the majesty of the mountain’s steep slopes and sharp peaks, leaving an emasculated silhouette.
The kitchen is a wooden structure reinforced by concrete at the base, as is the main house that Mr Mugo says has been standing since 1984. It is apparent from the get-go that this is a humble household.
Trove of memories
Turning 79 in August, Mr Mugo has a trove of memories about his days with the first family.
He was recruited into the GSU in March 1966, and his tall frame gained him an almost instant admission into the elite police unit by a white police officer who was handling the recruitment.
“I was the first person to be hired,” he recalls.
He underwent training at the police training college in Nairobi’s Embakasi and in August of that year, passed out as an officer. His first posting was in northern Kenya.
“Then I returned to Nairobi, and I joined the presidential guards in Gatundu; at Mzee’s place,” narrates Mr Mugo.
“For four years, I was manning the main gate, up to 1971. After that I left the presidential guard and joined the escort team from 1972.”
After two years in the presidential escort team, he was given a huge responsibility — taking the children of Mzee Kenyatta and Mama Ngina to and from school.
“I’d take them to school, at St Mary’s, then go for them in the evening,” he says. They’d leave at 8am and return at 4pm or 5pm.”
No sibling friction
When he became their driver, Uhuru was in his final years of primary school. What was it like? Was there an air of leadership in Uhuru? Did they often fight like children are wont to?
“Uhuru liked his siblings a lot. All those days I was with them, I never witnessed friction among them,” responds Mr Mugo.
He goes on: “Uhuru was wise in many ways. He was of a clear mind. And from his talking, you could tell this was a future president.”
One of the memorable things Uhuru used to do for Mr Mugo was to ensure he had his lunch.
“He made sure I’d eaten lunch. Wherever I was, he would come to look for me to ensure I had taken lunch. I would be taken to the kitchen and he’d say to the cooks: ‘Patia rafiki chakula,’” says Mr Mugo.
And there were days when that camaraderie would lead to bicycle rides.
“I would tell him, ‘Friend, may I have a ride on your bike?’ He’d tell me, ‘Come and ride.’ And we would laugh a lot while riding the bike,” recalls Mr Mugo.
Chats with Mzee
He also has many memories of Mzee, among them the chats they used to have in the Gikuyu language.
“We were fond of each other because I spoke a different language from the others,” he says.
“He found it interesting that I was different from the rest. And we loved each other.”
Mzee Kenyatta is known to have been so proud of his mother tongue that he ensured his children, despite all the trappings of power, learnt the language extensively.
During some of those talks, Mr Mugo says Mzee casually spoke about getting him a car.
But the death of Mzee in August 1978 caused a sudden change of fortunes. When his erstwhile deputy Daniel arap Moi took over as President, he came with his preferred security detail and that saw Mr Mugo and others who had been in presidential escort transferred to other stations.
That spelt an end of the good times near the seat of power. The bull that Mzee slaughtered for his close staff every year was now a thing of the past. The “loaded” envelopes they received on all holidays were now gone. The informal chats with the country’s founding President were also gone.
Mr Mugo was transferred to Wang’uru, where he served until his retirement in 1997.
Wants to meet Uhuru
Though strong and steadfast, Mr Mugo thinks he can fare better. Though he is receiving his pension, he thinks his acquaintance with Uhuru in his younger days should bring some rewards, now that he is President.
“Kama ingewezekana tuonane hivi, itakuwa vizuri zaidi (It will be extremely great if I found a chance to see him),” he says.
He wants some land from the Head of State and probably a car to help him move around; to go to his beloved Seventh-day Adventist church among other travels.
“I also have three grandchildren who are graduates but have no jobs. I would love to see them employed,” he adds.
His last direct meeting with Uhuru was in 2017, and he has photos for it. It was during a campaign trip while Uhuru rallied for his re-election for a second term. He recognised Mr Mugo and called him.
“We met at Kianyaga. He asked me, ‘Have you met mum?’ I said, ‘I can’t get there, lest I be beaten.’ He told me, ‘Give me your number.’ The number was taken by his people, and that got lost there,” he says.
His subsequent efforts to reach out to Uhuru have not borne fruit. But on Mashujaa Day in 2019, Mr Mugo was one of the people who were recognised by the state, and his task of being a driver for the first family was mentioned.
He says someone from Harambee House called him to inform him that he would be one of the heroes to be celebrated that day. He attended the event at the Mama Ngina Waterfront Park in Mombasa.
Request for land
Mr Mugo’s wife Annette Njeri, with whom they have been married since 1969, reiterates the request for land.
“We want a shamba. We have a lot of problems due to lack of land. We have a small plot and he has many children,” she says.
Ms Njeri adds that when her husband told her he had been posted to State House, she was happy, knowing they would be rich soon.
“But that wasn’t the case. We are very poor,” she says.
Erick Mbogo, one of their grandsons, is a graduate with a political science degree who works as a motorcyclist.
“We understand the President is busy and as guka says, it’s the President who promised to invite him to State House so they can have a word. We’d want to remind the President to remember guka,” he says.
Erick and other grandsons heard many stories of Mr Mugo from his days at State House. He remembers stories about his grandfather covering Mzee with an electric blanket to keep him warm during visits to Nakuru, stories of the bicycle rides and all.
“He’s been telling us that the way Uhuru loves peace and wants people to love each other, it’s something in him since he was a baby,” says Erick.
In the village, Mr Mugo says he has been a determined campaigner for Uhuru, more so in 2017 when he went door-to-door convincing residents to re-elect him. He was also an agent for Mr Kenyatta over the two presidential elections that year.
The interview ends as the sun, masked by a cloud, edges towards the horizon. A discussion is ongoing about what they will have for supper.
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