To many, former Finance Minister James Gichuru was a smart man who steered Kenya’s economy at the height of independence, setting the tone for the country’s financial future. However, Gichuru harboured an unmatched love for beer that interfered with his duties on one too many occasions.
In 1966, during the official opening of the Central Bank of Kenya, Gichuru, as the Finance Minister, was expected to deliver his official speech. However, to everyone's disbelief, he was nowhere to be seen. Gichuru was drunk and had supposedly blacked out after yet another drinking session.
The late Gichuru was a beloved patron of Karai Bar on River Road, to the extent that government officials knew that if he was not in his office, he could likely be found at the joint, downing his favorite liquor.
So, when he was missing during the CBK launch, it was assumed, perhaps rightly so, that he was either at home inebriated or at his favorite drinking spot.
The incident shocked then-President Jomo Kenyatta and other government officials, creating panic. The situation forced then-Defence Minister Njoroge Mungai to rush to Gichuru's office and search for his colleague's speech.
"Four hours before the official opening of the Central Bank of Kenya (in 1966) by the President himself, Gichuru failed to wake up," recalls Duncan Ndegwa, the first CBK Governor, in his autobiography.
Despite Gichuru’s misgivings, he still retained the support of his boss, Kenyatta, who trusted him with running the very sensitive ministry. Gichuru, in his own unique way, had massively contributed to Kenyatta becoming the country’s first president by putting aside his own ambitions in favor of Kenyatta.
However, this was not well received by his Principal Secretary, the late John Michuki, who constantly reported his boss to Kenyatta. “Year after year, Permanent Secretary John Michuki reported the minister’s failure to react to policy choices,” Ndegwa further narrated.
Another incident where Gichuru’s love for the bottle was clear to see occurred during budget readings. The worst came when Gichuru was reading his final budget speech, arguably the worst time to mess up.
“Halfway into completing the Budget speech in Parliament, Gichuru fumbled in front of the eyes of honorable members, diplomats, and the President.”
The incident was further compounded by the fact that, prior to the reading, Gichuru and PS Michuki had spent considerable time at the Treasury that morning rehearsing Budget presentations.
According to Mr. Ndegwa, “A break was allowed for the minister to top up, maybe at Karai Bar” on River Road, and that is the state in which the minister read his speech.
Gichuru’s drunken escapades were so much so that he at times left sensitive government documents under tables at Karai, much to the chagrin of his subordinates.
Even so, Gichuru proved to discharge his duties diligently, with the country maintaining an average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 6.5 percent. Gichuru was credited with the formation of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and stabilizing the economy by pushing forward policies that encouraged large capital inflows.
He was also faced with the daunting task of reimbursing the white settlers during independence and reducing reliance on the British Treasury, which was supplying 24 percent of government revenues.
To manage this, Gichuru turned to long-term borrowing from domestic capital markets after the imposition of exchange controls in 1965.
This allowed Gichuru to succeed as the first Minister of Finance, a post he held from 1963 to 1969. Even after his death in 1982, some of the policies he introduced continued to influence the nation’s economic affairs, highlighting his lasting impact on the country.
