On Saturday, April 30, Jimmy Kibaki broke protocol during the late Mwai Kibaki's funeral service to allow a tribute from Jimmy Kairu , the son of David Munene Kairu, the only member of Parliament that ever made his father cry.
Jimmy, who has many a time described the late president as a man who kept his cool, revealed that Kibaki broke into tears when Kairu died in April 1998.
He disclosed that his father and the former Kieni legislator had a great relationship and remained close friends who were loyal to each other for many years.
"The relationship between his father and my late father was one of those great friendships. The first time I ever saw my father shed a tear was at your father's funeral," Jimmy disclosed.
According to Jimmy Kairu, his father and Kibaki were attached at the hip, and would often be spotted together even when he served as the late President Daniel Moi's Vice President between 1978 and 1988.
"There were whispers in the circles in the 70s, 80s and 90s that if you want to see honorable Mwai Kibaki, look for Munene Kairu, they are most likely to be together or will be, shortly," the young Kairu noted as he gave his tribute.
Before being elected MP, Kairu was a police officer and had run-ins with his former employer for standing up for Kibaki. He and five others dubbed the 'Nyeri Six' were detained after they were involved in a bar brawl over the fate of the Vice President who had strayed away from the government.
"In 1988, when our dad was released from King'ong'o prison, he told us that he was only attending a government seminar. We knew he was targeted for supporting you," Jimmy recalled.
Kairu was part of the friends in Kibaki's inner circle that met and agreed to form the Democratic Party (DP) in 1989, which was officially registered in 1992 following the repealing of Section 2A of the constitution, that had paved way for multiparty politics.
Kenya's third president is said to have a hand in Kairu's decision to throw his hat into the political ring. He contested for the Kieni parliamentary seat under a DP ticket in 1992 and won.
Kairu successfully defended his seat in the 1997 election despite his friend (Kibaki), losing the General Election to incumbent Moi. However, the two parted ways on April 2, 1998, when the lawmaker passed on.
"Go well, my friend and mentor, you were more than honorable. You taught me the meaning of servitude and forthrightness. You were a true gentleman, loyal to a fault and lived by a code. Thank you for everything you did for me and mine," read the tribute in part.
