Trail of betrayal follows freedom hero to the grave

• Family of uhuru icon still living as miserable squatters even after Kibaki pledged to help

Freedom hero Kisoi Munyao, the man who hoisted the Kenyan flag on the peak of Mt Kenya at the dawn of Independence Day, lived a life marked by broken promises.

That trail of broken promises has followed him to his grave, leaving his family as embittered as they were when Munyao lived a life of anonymity despite having offered Kenya the image that would come to be seen as the symbol of uhuru.

When Munyao died three years ago, President Kibaki promised the government would ensure his family enjoyed the fruits of independence he (Munyao) missed out on by ensuring they lived a comfortable life.

But those tasked with the job of implementing these pledges have given the family a raw deal. A house that was supposed to have been constructed for his family was poorly done despite the Sh3.7 million price tag, and the area district commissioner has asked the family not to move in.

Munyao’s widow says a chief has laid claim to a four-acre piece of land allocated to the family. And his children cannot afford to pay school fees, despite an earlier promise that the government would see them through school.

“After the burial, a commitment was made to help children who were still in school,” said Michael, one of Munyao’s sons.

In many other countries, Mr Munyao would have lived the life of a celebrity. On December 12, 1963, he became a national hero when he planted the flag of the new nation at the top of Mt Kenya and declared “the light is shining on the nation”.

He was flown to Nairobi to meet President Jomo Kenyatta and feted by all. Then the attention came to an abrupt halt as he faded into oblivion.

Mr Munyao was rarely heard of until news of his death broke in March 2007. President Kibaki led the nation in giving Munyao a State funeral.

The government undertook to build a house for his second wife Joyce Katutu which, according to the project manager Benson Chebet, was to cost Sh3.7 million. The house was “completed” in April last year, but the widow has yet to move in.

On Thursday, local District Commissioner Fred Shisia joined the family in a tree planting exercise, and after visiting the house openly expressed his disappointment with the workmanship.

“The construction work is poor, the finishing is not good. The contractor should be recalled to the site and told to make good,” the DC wrote in the visitors’ book.

What has annoyed many is the fact that it has taken the government more than three years to complete a three-bedroom house despite the reported release of the money for the project when it was approved.

Since April last year, the family said the contractor has been pressuring them to occupy the house. On Thursday, the DC told them not to.

Cracks have formed in various sections of the house, the roof is leaking, the shallow septic tank has collapsed, and pipes leading to the tank have not been completed. Termites have begun to eat the wooden door frames.

But Mr Chebet said they had completed the project and what remains are “small things which can be fixed”.

He blamed the rains for the cracks visible in the building and added that the government is yet to pay them their full dues for the project.

“Talk to the ministry of Home Affairs and National Heritage and Public Works people; they may be able to explain,” Mr Chebet said.

The construction issue aside, the house does not stand on Munyao’s land.

According to one of his sons, Michael, their father sold the four-acre piece in 1983 to raise school fees for his children who were then in primary and secondary schools.

“When President Kibaki came for the burial, the family held a private session with him in one of the tents. In attendance were ministers Joseph Munyao and Suleiman Shakombo and Hyslop Ipu who was then State House comptroller. We told the President about the land, and he said the family would be helped to get it back,” recalled Michael.

Contacted by the Sunday Nation, Mr Munyao, now not a Cabinet minister, confirmed that the meeting did take place.

“The issue of the land was discussed and a decision made on the spot ... If it is true that money to buy back the land has not been paid, then it is like any other scandal that we keep reading about in the newspapers,” he said.