Kiharu residents eulogise Kenneth Matiba as honest, caring

When Veronica Njoki visited the Wangu Investment farm in Timau a few years ago, she was speechless. 

She had not imagined that her minimal contribution to the purchase of land would turn to immense fortunes for her and her grandchildren.

The farm which specialises in horticulture, wheat and dairy, has mechanised its operations and offered employment to hundreds of Laikipia residents.

“The workers at the farm were using electricity to milk cows. When the milk is exhausted in the glands, the machine stops,” she said during an interview.

Ms Njoki was referring to the milking machines at the farm on the Nanyuki-Meru road that has extensively employed technology to reap maximum benefits.

DEVELOPMENT
But as the old granny struggled to explain her experience at the farm, Beatrice Nyambura, another shareholder, interrupted.

“We did not walk throughout the tour. We were in buses that took us to every stop. We saw so many things that made us very happy,” she noted.

The grannies were standing barely 100 metres from Mr Kenneth Matiba’s home and occasionally pointed to the “Embassy”, as it is fondly referred to.

Ms Nyambura noted that people who signed up have been able to put up decent houses, educate their children and expand their farming businesses.

The death of Mr Matiba, the founder of the farm, has hit them hard.

LAND

Members of Wangu Investment in Kiharu constituency, where the veteran politician was MP, are paying tribute to a leader who tirelessly worked to eradicate poverty.

Mr Matiba represented Kiharu, then called Mbiri, between 1983 and 1988 and from 1992 to 1997, and used the Investments Sacco to pool resources.

While this was a perfect way to mobilise voters’ support, it worked to improve the residents’ socio-economic status.

He contributed the lion’s share of money towards the purchase of several acres of land from Robert Wilson and then convinced the residents, most of whom were small-scale traders, to chip in.

Though some were sceptical about the idea of buying land, he promised that they would reap huge benefits from the investment.

“When it seemed nearly impossible to raise money, he came to us. Matiba told us to look for more money so that we do not lose that land. He was an honest man,” Ms Njoki noted.

EDUCATION
Wangu Investments, which has 12,000 shareholders, has vast interests in wheat, barley and livestock farming in central Kenya and the Rift Valley.

Given that the Constituency Development Fund did not exist then, Mr Matiba also spent part of his salary sponsoring students, building schools and churches.

In education, teachers noted that the quality of education improved as he pressured parents to enrol their children in secondary schools and university.

“He hated it when parents forced their children to say at home. He believed that education was important in his bid to fight poverty,” Mary Muthoni said.

Mr Eric Kamau, a Wangu Investments shareholder, said he received Sh11,000 as his dividend yearly and eulogises Mr Matiba as a revolutionary leader who made sure that Kiharu residents put something on their tables even after the end of his leadership as their MP.

“He is no more, but his deeds for us will live forever; he had a wider vision for not only Kiharu residents but the country as a whole,” Mr Kamau said. 

AGRIBUSINESS
The county has not been left behind in transforming lives through agribusiness.

On Monday, Governor Mwangi wa Iria announced that his government will launch a programme that will ensure every household has a cow.

“My plan is that by 2022 every family has a cow that they can depend on for milk. We have worked to increase the price of milk and we can achieve this programme,” he said.

The county has also embarked on distributing maize, avocado and coffee seedlings to farmers.