Businessman Jimi Wanjigi’s father Maina Wanjigi has finally been laid to rest at his home in Kianjoya Njeri County.
Azimio la Umoja – One Kenya Alliance leader Raila Odinga and Roots party leader George Wajakoya were among the other leaders from the political class who attended the burial.
While eulogizing his father, Jimi revealed that described him as a humble person who wined and dined with the high and mighty but it never got into his head adding that at some point he was interrogated in Nyayo House but got saved by lawyer John Khaminwa.
“He was faced and teargassed by the police he was also interrogated in Nyayo House lawyer John Khaminwa was the one who saved him from Nyayo House he also spent time in the trenches, Wanjigi wine and dined with the high and mighty it never went to his head he was even hosted queen in place with my mother privately them alone he was still the shepherd boy, by the time he passed, he had left a legacy worth emulating he is a lighthouse that continues to shine,” he said.
Maina Wanjigi
Wanjigi died at the Nairobi Hospital on Friday, June 28, 2024, aged 92 after battling Amyloidosis a rare disease.
During the memorial service, Jimi Wanjigi revealed that he and his siblings decided to hide their father’s condition from their parents.
“We as siblings decided that we would not tell him, and we also did not tell our mother. We got our doctor to vow to us that he would not tell her either, since September last year, we have been painfully watching heart failure set in and not being able to do anything for him. It has been a very trying period,” Wanjigi said.
Before retiring from active politics, Wanjigi served in various capacities after becoming the Member of Parliament for Kamukunji constituency in 1969 following the assassination of Tom Mboya.
During the late President Jomo Kenyatta’s era, Wanjigi held the position of Director of Settlement of the Million Acre Settlement Scheme, where he is credited for settling thousands of landless Kenyans.
Amyloidosis
Amyloidosis is a rare disease that occurs when a protein called amyloid builds up in organs. This amyloid buildup can impair the function of the affected organs.