Former President Mwai Kibaki was on Saturday last week, April 30, laid to rest at his Othaya home.
For his friends and family who are religious, they wished that Kibaki would be rejoicing in heaven after being reunited with his wife of 50 years Lucy Kibaki - and his siblings - all of who have passed on save for his sister Waitherero.
Among his brothers, Benard Githinji Ndiritu had a special relationship with his younger brother whom he witnessed become President despite having been uneducated himself.
As adults, the two lived quite distinct lives - one as President and the other as a peasant farmer - but they also shared a common trait in that they both shunned bothering others or looking for pity.
Kibaki's doctor, Gikonyo, and son, Jimmy said as much while eulogising the late president during the funeral service.
For Ndiritu, an incident in 2010 where he organised a Harambee for his grandkids without informing his brother confirms just how much he disliked bothering his famous brother who was busy with national matters.
Ndiritu, who lived a humble life as a tea farmer in Othaya, was fending for his grandchildren at a time when he had lost three sons who left behind several grandchildren.
For a number of years, he was taking care of the grandchildren after three of his sons died in a span of one decade.
The burden of raising them fell on him together with another son who worked at a government parastatal. Unfortunately, the son would lose the acclaimed job position leaving Ndiritu with the solemn responsibility of taking care of the grandchildren.
Unable to raise the funds, Ndiritu did what most rural folks do. He worked with his local church at Iriaini Catholic Church to organise a fundraiser in order to mobilise his neighbours for the activity.
Two days before the harambee, Kibaki's handlers at State House got wind of the fundraising project, which led to Kibaki acting swiftly and sending Ksh2 million in cash in order to aid his brother's plight - the fundraiser was immediately called off.
"The President's handlers did not want the optics of his brother asking neighbours for help and asked Ndiritu's family to always reach out to them whenever they had such needs," a neighbor who sought anonymity told Kenyans.co.ke.
The grandkids were able to complete their high school education and even go for education abroad - through the help of their famous grandfather.
In 2018, former Head of Public Service Francis Muthaura told Parliament that he had received a directive from President Kibaki - asking Ndiritu's grandchildren be given government opportunity to study in Australia at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
Muthaura testified that the state used a total of Ksh25 million as an education grant in order to support their stay within the institution.
Ndiritu, over the years, continued to live a humble life despite his brother's acclaimed status. He passed away in 2015 at the age of 88.
