The death of Kenya’s founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta was largely as a result of neglect from those who were supposed to look after him.
According to Lee Njiru, the former Press Secretary to Kenyatta's successor President Daniel Arap Moi who also served Kenyatta on his last years, Kenyatta's last days were sad to watch.In a Daily Nation publication dated September 2008, Njiru revealed how the once strong commander-in-chief grew too sick to rule and severally collapsed during public occasions, collapsing in a toilet in Msambweni the day before his death.The situation was so dire that the President could hardly sign his name, with all his allies and advisers distancing themselves from him, leaving him to suffer alone as they proceeded with their quest for power.One of such was the then Minister of State and the President's brother in law Mbiyu Koinange, who despite being well aware of Mzee's worsening condition, remained undisturbed.Njiru recalled that one day while having lunch with the President at the Mombasa State Lodge, Koinange showed no concern even though Kenyatta's speech was getting worryingly incoherent.''During this hour of need, Mzee Kenyatta was abandoned and neglected by his aides and top advisers whose unbridled greed for power, property and money was their propulsion force,'' said Njiru as quoted by the daily.Njiru painted the picture of a leader who could no longer even walk up the stairs without resting midway, at one point forgetting his symbolic fly whisk on his way to Mombasa a day to his death.Mzee Kenyatta died on August 22, 1978, with the State announcing that he peacefully died in his sleep.#historynow