Leaders hail ex-Laikipia senator GG as honest

Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter and Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu (center) follow proceedings during the funeral service of GG Kariuki at St Andrews Church on July 13, 2017. The late senator will be buried in Rumuruti. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Devolution Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri said GG was a soft-spoken and pleasant personality.
  • Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu described the senator as a defender and advocate of the landless.

Laikipia Senator Godfrey Gitahi Kariuki’s requiem mass failed to attract the show of power he wielded at the high point of his political career, when he was considered the most powerful man outside the Presidency.

The mass for Dr Kariuki, who died two weeks ago from a cardiovascular condition, was a dour affair, however, not befitting the status of a man who once enjoyed reverence in the country’s corridors of power.

HONEST
His clout at the apex of his political career was matched only by that of Kanu-era strongman Nicholas Biwott who, in an ironical twist of fate, died this week.

Even then, the mass, held at PCEA St Andrew’s Chapel, remained true to the man’s long history and stature with every speaker eulogising the senator, commonly referred to as GG, as an honest man whose love for the country was above everything else.

CRADLE TO GRAVE

But it was Reverend Cyrus Wachira Kimani who captured the mood when he delivered the sermon that was in sync with the life everybody associates with the fallen senator.

“At one point we are young, beautiful, strong, handsome and so good looking.

"The next minute we wither away and we are no more,” he said.

PEACE
GG’s widow, Gladys, paid glowing tribute to him, describing him as the best husband from whom she learnt a lot that made her a better mother to their children.

“He was a good husband who never shied away from giving me a hand in the domestic chores or on the farm,” she said, adding that GG was a conciliator who brought different ethnic groups in Laikipia County together and encouraged them to coexist peacefully.

Devolution Cabinet Secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri said GG was a soft-spoken and pleasant personality who had initiated many settlement schemes in Laikipia to the advantage of the many landless people.

“I learnt a lot from him and I am proud to say that he comes from the same county that I proudly call home,” he said.

MENTOR
Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter hailed GG’s long political life and noted that, despite his advanced age, the senator was always time conscious.

While describing him as his mentor, Deputy Speaker Kembi Gitura said the senator was candid and resolute in everything he did even though he could be cynical at times.

Laikipia Governor Joshua Irungu described the senator as a defender and advocate of the landless and a man who advocated deployment of Kenya Police Reservists (KPR) in the county when few knew the need for them.

POLITICIAN
GG was elected senator in the 2013 General Election, capping decades in elective politics that started when, in 1963, he was elected as Member of the House of Representatives in the National Assembly to represent Laikipia-Nanyuki Constituency.

He will be buried Friday in Rumuruti, Laikipia County.