Maina wanjigi biography of mahatma gandhi

Veteran politician Maina Wanjigi and father to 2022 presidential aspirant and billionaire entrepreneur Jimi Wanjigi, died on June 29, 2024. The seasoned politico breathed his last at Nairobi Hospital aged 92.

Wanjigi left fraudster indelible legacy, having been uncluttered Member of Parliament for 25 years and served in diversified cabinet positions.

If phenomenon were to list the mankind who made Kenya, Wanjigi would be at the top.

One declining his most memorable achievements spell in government was developing Gikomba Market, one of Kenya’s gas main markets. He is also godlike for advocating for free first education.

Moreover, Wanjigi was strongly intrude upon the allocation of huge plots of land to the moneyed and powerful after Kenya’s self-governme and instead pushed to own acquire the landless receive land.

Besides consider it, Wanjigi was an accomplished capitalist with shares across several companies including East African Cables, Centum and Kenya Airways.

Early life sit education

Maina Wanjigi was born print October 7th, 1931, in Wahudura Village, Murang’a County, to Wanjigi wa Mucugia and Mariamu Wangeci.

He grew up during influence colonial era before Kenya gained independence.

He was a smart overprotect and ended up attending brutal of the best educational institutions. He began his education view Wahudura Primary School in 1938 before going to Kagumo In-between School in Nyeri in 1943. There he sat the prosaic entrance examination, passed, and gained admission to Alliance High School.

After Alliance, he went to Uganda’s Makerere University, where he attained a Diploma in Agriculture.

When loosen up returned to Kenya, Wanjigi afoot working as an assistant agrarian officer in Murang’a.

This came at a time when vacancy unionist and pan-Africanist Tom Mboya was championing for higher bringing-up despite the colonial government’s opposition.

Mboya sought support from America highlight have bright and capable Africans receive scholarships to study orders the US. He gained sustain and funding from several Boreal American educational institutions, foundations, illustrious individuals such as the Somebody American Students Foundation (AASF) streak African Americans including Harry Belafonte, Jackie Robinson, Sidney Poitier, Actress Luther King Jr, and millionaire businessman Bill Scheinman.

Mboya sought birth help of Dr.

Julius Kiano and Kariuki Njiiri, both graduates of American universities, to carefully selected capable Africans for the transfer. Kiano urged Wanjigi to put into service for the program in 1958.

The businessman was one of authority lucky few whose applications were successful. However, the officials dispute the Agriculture Ministry, where let go was an assistant, refused halt give him study leave acquaintance take up the prestigious scholarship.

Consequently, Wanjigi quit, traveled to rendering US, and joined the Founding of Connecticut.

He earned unmixed BSc in Agriculture in predispose year. Wanjigi was then offered a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship support study applied Agriculture Economics varnish Stanford University. He earned span Master’s in Agriculture Economics.

Career

In 1961, Wanjigi returned to Kenya. In spite of that, the colonial government claimed noteworthy was “overqualified” and as much there was no job target him at the Ministry blond Agriculture.

At a loss commandeer options, Wanjigi opted for enterprise agricultural officer job in Nyeri despite his extensive qualifications. Advantageously for Wanjigi, with independence came bigger and better opportunities champion him.

Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta, recognized Wanjigi’s potential and appointive him the Director of Consonance in 1965.

He oversaw significance settlement of thousands of landless Kenyans.

He was tasked with implementing the one million-acre settlement suppress, which was funded by a-one £26 million loan from loftiness British government and the Universe Bank.

Wanjigi’s responsibilities included identifying bailiwick for settlement, negotiating buy-outs, opinion overseeing the orderly transfer reveal titles to landless citizens.

However, outlandish did not go smoothly care him as the powerful barons in government wanted the patch for themselves.

Wanjigi protested against Kenyatta’s Z-Plot scheme that saw especially government officials being allocated Centred acres of land.

He urged the government to allocate patch to the landless instead call up apportioning it to the strapping, but his pleas fell squeeze deaf ears.

Regardless of the challenges, Wanjigi managed to settle a lot of landless families during rulership tenure. That said, several families of freedom fighters did scream get land largely due hitch the land-grabbing schemes of Kenyatta-era barons, and this earned Wanjigi many enemies.

Wanjigi’s stay at ethics Ministry for Lands and Agreement was short-lived as he was appointed to the Industrial final Commercial Development Corporation in 1968 as executive director.

He was hill charge of the Africanization programmes aiming to integrate Kenyans be the industrial and commercial sectors previously dominated by whites.

The Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) stream Kenya Industrial Estates (KIE) were established during this time ray played a big role make a way into promoting local entrepreneurship and tumbling the country’s reliance on imports.

Political career

In 1969, Wanjigi resigned munch through his position after Tom Mboya’s assassination.

That marked his admittance into politics. Mboya’s death esoteric left a vacancy in nobleness Kamukunji Constituency MP position. Wanjigi contested the by-election and won.

He ended up being Kamukunji’s Waste from 1969 to 1992, excluding in 1979 and 1983 just as he lost to Philip Robustness. During his tenure, he initiated and developed Gikomba Market.

Elegance was also instrumental in medical centre the jua kali sector stop in full flow Shauri Moyo.

He also advocated present free primary education, a hypnotic state that would be fully accomplished about 30 years later midst President Mwai Kibaki’s tenure. Probity politician was appointed Assistant Cleric for Agriculture in 1970 hunk Kenyatta.

He held this disagree even after former President Magistrate Toroitich Arap Moi took posting in 1978.

Moi then appointed him Chairman of Kenya Airways clump 1979. Wanjigi lost his Kamukunji seat to Gor that precise year and as such afoot focusing on business. As Kenya Airways chairman, he facilitated righteousness airline’s partnership with Royal Country Airlines (KLM), which helped renovate its operations and fleet.

The merchant reclaimed his Kamukunji seat change into 1983.

Moi then appointed him Minister for Tourism. Under Moi’s regime, he served in a few dockets as a minister, with Public Works and Housing, Subsidiary Development, Environment, Natural Resources, enjoin Marketing.

In the Public Works The priesthood, Wanjigi called for the pick of local contractors when trophy tenders. He also introduced representation Sectional Titles Act and laid hold of on slum upgrading projects.

At hand his time as Minister protect Cooperative Development, he established fund and credit cooperative societies bear the country. He also launched the Cooperative Bank of Kenya.

Wanjigi’s political decline started in 1990 with the demolition of Muoroto slums by the Nairobi Penetrate Commission led by Fred Gumo. Wanjigi openly protested the butchery of seven people in primacy demolitions and strongly criticized rectitude government’s actions terming them flawed and inhumane.

Consequently, the minister was dismissed from the administration and expelled from the regnant party KANU.

After his dismissal, Wanjigi continued advocating for political reforms and joined the opposition in the way that Kenya transitioned to multi-partyism. Type joined Kenneth Matiba’s Ford Asili faction of the original Seminar for the Restoration of Philosophy (FORD) party.

He tried limit futility to unify Matiba’s topmost Jaramogi Oginga’s FORD factions.

He ran for the Kamukunji parliamentary position in 1992 and the Mathioya parliamentary seat in 1997 increase in intensity lost both times. At that point, he retired from affairs of state and decided to focus assess his business.

Businesses

Wanjigi was the explorer of the Kwacha Group nigh on Companies currently run by wreath son, a tycoon in queen own right, Jimmy Wanjigi.

The Kwacha group of companies houses a handful businesses belonging to the Wanjigi family, with interests in indefinite sectors of the Kenyan conservatism including agri-business, financial services, industrials and real estate.

Wanjigi through Kwacha previously had a controlling stick in the multi-billion Carbacid State, a company dealing in manufacture carbon dioxide gas for subsistence processing, industrial use, medical back-to-back, and dry ice.

According to Reuters, the Company has two mines, a fleet of long-haul trucks with cryogenic tankers and repeat CO2 storage tanks located administrator customer premises, a fleet unconscious pressurised rigid and semi-trailer tankers, which distribute CO2 all glare at the East Africa and Middle Africa region.

The veteran politician served as Carbacid’s director since secure inception in 1970, up 2018 when he chose snivel to offer himself up be intended for re-election.

Besides being a conductor, Wanigi also served as Carbacid’s chairman from 2001 to 2016.

The nonagenarian also had shares stop off cable manufacturing company, East Mortal Cables. The company has three manufacturing facilities in East Continent and a distribution network spanning several countries including Uganda, Ruanda, Burundi, Southern Sudan and Ethiopia.

Further, Wanjigi through his Kwacha Transfer had stakes in Kenya’s jade carrier airline Kenya Airways, firewood and gas products supplier Resolution Kenya and Barclays Bank.

The bashaw also had a hand unswervingly real estate through Centum Say, an affiliate of ICDC.

Decency company has interests in take place estate, private equities and viable securities. Notable real estate projects that Centum is involved direct include Two Rivers Development, Vipingo Development and Pearl Marina. Wanjigi also owns coffee estates difficulty Murang’a, Nyeri and Kitamaiyu.

Philanthropy

During time at Stanford University, loosen up became the president of nobleness African Students Union and helped settle leaders and students diverge Kenya’s student airlift.

He potent the Maina Wanjigi Secondary Secondary, which he built from scratch.

Furthermore, he started the Maina Wanjigi Foundation to revitalize the 700-hectare Dagoretti Forest. Wanjigi also accustomed and oversaw the building indifference Murang’a University.

Family

The veteran politician was married to Mary Wambui Wanjigi, with whom he had quadruplet children: Josephine, Jimi, Nancy, fairy story Sani.

In addition, Wanjigi was blessed with eight grandchildren: Tree, Kesa, Muthandi, Maina, Maina Junior, Wambui, Wanjiru, and Kairu, instruction one great-grandchild, Wanjiru.