Kenya’s founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta borrowed money to buy his first suit, according to James Muigai.
Muigai, who was Kenyatta’s step-brother, said the former President was so broke when he was released from the Kapenguria detention camp that he had to borrow money to meet his basic needs.In an interview with Daily Nation’s veteran journalist Kamau Ngotho, Muigai recalled when Kenyatta was set free before the country gained its independence; he had accumulated enough savings from working as a teacher to support him.“By the time my brother came out of colonial detention, I was already a top civil servant with a good salary,” Muigai said."Actually I am the one who lent him money to buy his first set of suits just before he became President,” he added.Muigai further said that due to his long career as a teacher and inspector of schools, he did not seek favours from Kenyatta or try to use shortcuts to accumulate wealth.“I could go to a bank and take a loan to buy a coffee farm and use proceeds from the same farm to service the loan. So why bother my brother just because he sat at State House? Certainly, that is not the discipline we were taught at Alliance!” he said.Muigai was the first student to be admitted at Alliance High School in Kikuyu, Kiambu County on March 1, 1926.He was registered as James Muigai s/o Johnstone and was among the 27 pioneer students at the institution.Mzee Muigai, who passed on in 1995, after retirement from his teaching career, was engaged in coffee farming at his Gatundu home where he used to live with his family.#historynow