Esau Mwangi has perhaps been among a handful of public servants who have worked and interacted closely with three former heads of state since Kenya attained independence.
At 83 years and now retired, Mwangi started working as a police officer in the early 1960s before he moved into the now defunct National Security and Intelligence Service (NSIS).
It was during his stint as a police officer that he brushed shoulders with the three men who once occupied the most powerful office in the land.
Yet, it was President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s stature that perhaps astounded the retired officer among all the other former heads of state who served this country.
To him, the freedom struggle icon, who once tasted detention under the colonial administration, is a shadow that has never faded from his memory.
For Mwangi, Kenyatta is an enigma who can never be wished away; though deceased.
The octogenarian now lives in his imposing country home in Mahiga location, Othaya subcounty, where he has invested heavily in crop and animal husbandry.
“I started my tour of duty in Ichaweri, Kiambu, where I used to guard the home of Mzee Kenyatta after joining the Kenya Police between 1967 to 1968. I really enjoyed working with Mzee,” Mwangi says.
“Every morning he would converse to me in mother tongue to inquire how I was fairing. One interesting thing about Mzee was his uncanny memory of never forgetting anyone once he had seen your face. He had a very sharp memory.”
After his transfer from Kiambu, Mwangi again met his former boss in Kericho after the deadly Kisumu clashes following a hostile reception to the President on October 25, 1969.
In the ensuing fracas, at least 11 people were killed after police opened fire on rampaging mobs, who had started hurling stones at the presidential podium.
The visit had also come only months after the cold murders of Tom Mboya and Argwings Kodhek— both fiery politicians from the lake region.
For Mwangi, it was almost a dream come true coming face to face with Kenyatta.
“After the fracas of Kisumu, Mzee came and found me at the boundary of Kisumu and Kericho. He immediately asked me what I was doing there and I explained to him about my transfer from Nairobi to Rift Valley. He then asked me whether I had gotten wind of what happened in Kisumu to which I responded in the affirmative,” he recounts.
“Mzee then requested me to scout for an amiable place in Nakuru where he could have some dinner away from the prying eyes of the public. To me it was clear the President was not taking anything for granted as far as his security was concerned.”
But perhaps one of the striking reflections about Kenyatta’s personality is the public’s perception that viewed him almost as superhuman.
According to Mwangi, every person including those in his inner circle, held him with a sacred reverence with rumours rife about him having eyes blazing like mystic red orbs.
But while Kenyatta’s frame carried with it an aura of mysticism and invincibility, the former officer says he used to go easy with him.
For him, the founding father of the nation was just an ordinary man who had been tasked to lead a country from the shackles of colonialism into one of Africa’s most celebrated democracies.
Although he never worked closely with President Daniel Moi, Mwangi’s description of the second head of state is that he was a social and strangely down to earth man compared to his predecessor.
While Kenyatta was a leader to be feared, Moi made up for this lack by building social networks with the common people, something which many of his opponents misconstrued as a laid back presidency.
However, the events that followed the aborted 1982 putsch by a detachment of junior Kenya Air force officers later proved such critics wrong.
Moi was a workhorse who used to be in office when most government officers were still in their houses mulling over which suit to wear to work, Mwangi says.
“Mzee Moi was a sociable personality who could interact with anybody. To me, he was an individual who rarely flouted the trappings of power but exploited his position to serve the people,” he says.
“Perhaps his humble background played a great role in shaping him to the quiet and humble person he came to be.””
Mwangi hails Moi for his bigger than life heart in giving.
His stint with President Mwai Kibaki came when he became his personal guard after the Narc coalition swept into power in 2002 bringing to an end the long reign of Moi’s 24-year rule.
Perhaps it is this relationship with Kibaki that thrust him into politics and pushed him to be a life member of the Democratic Party (DP), a political vehicle the former used in staking for the presidential ticket in the Narc camp.
Today, he is the national chairman of the party, though he plans to retire from the position after the 2027 general election.
He describes Kibaki as a brilliant leader who was always quick to listen and slow to speak.
And despite the aftermath of the disputed 2007 presidential election that almost drove the country under, Mwangi claims the country is worse off today devoid of leaders of Kibaki’s calibre.
“Kibaki cared for this country and didn’t mince words when it came to dismissing self-seekers from his inner circle. If he knew you had your own interest, he could never grant you an audience. But he was an excellent listener. He was selfless and could not eat until he was satisfied that everyone else in the room was served. That was Kibaki for you,” he narrates.
But now in his sunset years, Mwangi revels in doing what he loves most after having dined and wined with the mighty for decades.
With a singing wood of 500 hass avocado trees, a number of beehives, fish ponds, vegetable and plantains on his sprawling hilly farm, life can only get better for this octogenarian who now leads a serene life.
To him, it is the coolness of his leafy trees on his farm and compound that grants him true rest.
His expertise and colourful career in the security establishment is still a source of knowledge for many.
“I worked for President Kibaki as a security adviser until I retired and settled down here as a farmer. I have loved farming since I was brought up in farmlands by my peasant parents. I decided to settle here and become a farmer –growing hass avocados and also rearing dairy cows and chicken, ” Mwangi narrates. He has a Master’s Degree in Security and Risk Management from Daystar University.
“And since I am growing old, I decided to scale down because I didn’t want to be stressed in terms of the cost of feed. In addition, I have been the national chairman of the Democratic Party of Kenya since 2004 and this gives me an opportunity to play politics a little.”
However, unlike many who delve into farming in pursuit of profits, the former officer’s intention was purely to keep him active and fit in his twilight years.
This is despite the fact most of his avocados are usually flown to European markets, where they fetch relatively high prices compared to other markets.
But this market keeps on changing depending on fluctuation in production by leading global avocado exporters such as Brazil.
And unlike modern agribusiness practices that rely heavily on agrochemicals and pesticides, his farming is purely organic, a practice he says is ecologically friendly.
“I don’t want chemicals here in my shamba. Chemicals have destroyed the health of many people. Many farmers who are doing commercial farming don’t care (about the health of consumers). On my farm cabbages, fruits and avocados growing is purely organic,” he stresses.
by KNA
