A story is told about Kariuki Chotara, a popular politician who managed to elevate himself from the dusty farms of Naivasha to one of the biggest national political icons.
So privileged was he in the eyes of retired President Daniel Moi in the 80's that he could directly drive to the State House and had direct access to the head of state.
The undisputed KANU kingpin had gotten the Chotara nickname thanks to his extra light skin.
However, the latter struggled with English, apparently as a result of having been born and raised at a time when education was not a necessity.
Consequently, he repeatedly humiliated himself before the nation, either due to poor English or inability to understand what was being said.
On top of that, the former tailor was so uneducated that he was not conversant with most things, on top of his heavy Kikuyu accent that soiled his top political position.
Such an instance came when he was notified of riots at the University of Nairobi. Upon hearing that they wanted dialogue, not aware of what it meant, he ordered that they "be issued with it".
"kama ni hiyo dialogue wanataka, si wapewe tu, kwani wananyimwa kwa nini? (If they want dialogue, let them have it. Why are they being denied?)" he said at the time.
In another incident, the latter dropped his gun when trying to pick a microphone which he had dropped when he was addressing a function.
When the crowd moved forward to catch a glimpse of the weapon, what hit them was a mixture of poor English mixed with Swahili and served in deep Kikuyu accent.
"Munanjua mimi ni chap chuta na hata DO natoka Ebakathi hawethi gushooti kama mimi! (I am a sharp shooter and even a DO straight from training in Embakasi cannot outdo me)," he said.
Chotara whose star started rising when he joined politics in 1975 died after being hospitalized at a Nakuru hospital on January 9, 1988, a year after predicting his death.
He was also part of the Mau Mau team that indirectly fought for independence and had close ties with the Kapenguria Six.