Jimmy Kibaki on Saturday, April 30 narrated how his father, the late President Mwai Kibaki, once offered him a job as a farmhand on their Naromoru farm when he was a form two student at St Mary's School.
Speaking during the funeral service at Othaya, Jimmy explained that his father, whom he described as strict, particularly with matters education, was not impressed by his poor academic performance.
He noted that unlike his siblings who had posted stellar performance, he got off the wrong footing at form one and his grades were not impressive in his second year of high school.
"Mzee looked at my results; I think he was wondering whether it could be a mistake, this cannot be my son. He then asked my mother…this result is out of what? Is it out of 50 or what? And my mother said this is 100 per cent," he stated.
"Mzee gave me one of those fierce looks, he doesn’t shout. He said Jimmy let’s do this, forget about this school business, let me take you to our farm in Naromoru, look after my cows and I’ll pay you a small wage, it won’t be for free,” Jimmy narrated.
The son of the late Kibaki added that his performance often was a pain in the neck for his parents, admitting to struggling with school work in his early high school days. In fact, he divulged that his father once whispered to his mother that a mental assessment would be in order.
“He told my mother, Lucy you know Mathare mental hospital is not far away from Muthaiga. Shall we take this boy there to get his head examined so that we can establish that it is not his brain that has a problem, he is just lazy?” He recalled.
Jimmy resorted to turning over a new leaf, burying his head in his books as he did not want to be the one disappointing his teacher-trainer mother and lecturer father, who were strict disciplinarians.
His story is a testimony of the value the former president had for education. From his days at the Mang'u High School, where he emerged top, to championing for academia through the free primary education programme, the late Kibaki saw it as an empowerment tool.
Kibaki was laid to rest in a private ceremony at his home in Othaya, Nyeri County on April 30. He was accorded a 19-gun-salute, an honour by the military.
The former Head of State passed away on April 21 at the age of 91.
