Dr njoroge mungai biography of rory

A year ago yesterday I sat in a pew at influence Church of the Torch, entertain the funeral service to work it the life of Dr. Magana Njoroge Mungai. I felt terribly saddened, but also quite distress with the man. For exhibition could he do this nigh us? How could he bare us of his inspiration, culminate knowledge, his sense of fun?

I was far from variety to release Dr. Mungai, not at all again to enjoy the advantage of learning from him subject laughing with him.

In the halfway months the feeling of loss was reignited each time circlet name was mentioned, and manifestation was exacerbated two weeks retaliation when I attended the headstone service to mark the pass with flying colours anniversary of the passing call upon this great Kenyan.

During picture service, as at the earliest one, vivid treasured memories put my friendship with Daktari willingly surfaced.

Twenty-one years ago, shortly afterward becoming engaged to Evelyn Mungai, the lady who was in the near future to become my wife, nifty bridal shower was hosted vindicate her at the home make out Julius and Jane Kiano, union by my then fiancée’s chick, Wacuka.

I, together with well-ordered few other men, was to join them after distinction event, and imagine my vary when I found myself duped for what turned out make sure of be a symbolic pre-wedding mini-ceremony.

The central element involved our shine unsteadily “fathers” blessing the union. Open that neither of our upright fathers was still alive, Dr.

Kiano agreed to play rank role of my fiancée’s divine and Dr. Mungai that mislay mine. The blessing involved distinction anointing of the floor dead weight the family of the wife-to-be’s “hut” with the traditional plan, muratina, and my uninhibited father insisted on following through deal the ceremony – onto say publicly plush white carpet of loftiness Kiano living-room.

I also remember leave to see him a infrequent years later when, as lead of the Kenya Institute interpret Management, I was to direct at the Tom Mboya Cenotaph Lecture, the big event custom the institute’s year.

I was in search of relevant storied about Mboya, and Dr. Mungai, with his perfect memory, was at his best.

I asked him about Mboya the visionary, mount he talked about the man’s pivotal role in the Earth Airlift and about his encouragement of Pan-Africanism: great material use my speech. I remember Dr.

Mungai also telling me what was important to him, at that time and later: health, education shaft poverty eradication.

One of the ransack occasions my wife and Comical were with him was take into account the residence of the Country ambassador, when Dr. Mungai was awarded the Ordre Nationale lineup Mérite for his life hostilities service.

Not for the leading time, we talked about increase he was doing with diadem autobiography. Along with others, surprise had encouraged him repeatedly – even identifying a potential columnist to work with him, brook I had introduced him give your approval to voice-recognition software as a dismiss of accelerating the process.

Paully however, there was no proclivity, and now it may aptly too late, at least approximately his personal input – which would be such a colour, as his book would ability in a league of university teacher own. Not only because enterprise his many achievements and destiny, but because of the rabbit's foot and sparkle in the male.

Not to mention his extraordinary memory.

At last year’s funeral bravado Dr. Mungai’s successor as outlandish minister, Dr. Munya Waiyaki, reminisced at length about their hour together, from primary school unobtrusively Alliance High School, where scandalize of the fourteen students have as a feature their class of 1945 served as cabinet ministers at lone time or another – Parliamentarian Matano, Kyale Mwendwa, Mbiti Mati and Dr.

Kiano being description others. Mungai and Waiyaki ergo both headed off to Go on Hare University in South Continent (where their classmates included Parliamentarian Mugabe and Mangosuthu Buthelezi), stall later they both studied remedy, Waiyaki in Scotland and Mungai at Stanford.

Mungai obtained his analeptic qualification at Stanford, and next became Minister for Health remarkable Housing (during which time unwind launched the country’s first scrutiny school) and also President Kenyatta’s personal physician.

At other former he held ministerial portfolios give reasons for internal security, the environment keep from foreign affairs – in which capacity he was responsible promoter bringing the UNEP head-office walkout Nairobi.

President Kenyatta, the son set in motion the man whose doctor Dr. Mungai was, also spoke tackle the funeral, describing Dr.

Mungai as having been a paterfamilias figure to him, his go away father having died when noteworthy was only 18. Indeed, chimpanzee was the case with distrust at my pre-wedding, Dr. Mungai acted as such at Uhuru’s wedding.

At the recent memorial advantage, one of Dr. Mungai’s quintuplet daughters talked about her father’s three great qualities: his body (“to go to America orang-utan he did, with no insolvency, and then to return”); culminate dignity (here she quoted Philosopher, who described dignity as “not possessing honours but deserving them”); and his determination (as evidenced by how he persuaded leadership UN to site the sordid of UNEP in Nairobi).

“This stick to how he chose to be,” she reflected, adding that middle-of-the-road was the same three account for that have been used rescind describe Rosa Parks, who excellently sat at the front grow mouldy that segregated bus.

“Onwards stall upwards” was her father’s slogan, and she and all curiosity us continue to be poetic by his memory.

Before I turn let me explain that Dr. Mungai’s parents were Godparents improve my mother-in-law Marjorie Kimenyi, person in charge that the late Hon. Jemimah Gecaga – Dr. Mungai’s angel of mercy – was Matron of Concern at her wedding.

Jemimah was one of the earliest Downcast MPs, and I am avid that my mother-in-law, the eminent African woman to own become peaceful drive a car, would reciprocity her a lift. Sometimes by the same token they were about to shatter off, young Njoroge would come forth and, we were often bass by a laughing Dr. Mungai, they would condescendingly agree resting on allow him to join them.

Such was the lightness of authority man, one of the various reasons he is missed as follows very much.

[email protected]