Driver who drove Uhuru and his siblings to school now wants land, car as reward

He drove young Uhuru, his brother Muhoho, and sister Nyokabi from Gatundu to Nairobi's St-Mary's School in the mornings at 8 a.m. and returned them around 4 or 5 p.m.

Mr. Mboi, 78, claims that the reward was a promise from Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's founding father, but that it was not fulfilled after Mzee's death in 1978.

He says he'd like to meet President Kenyatta and, in addition to rekindling old memories, he'd like a reward that would help him provide a better life for his grandchildren.

"Kama ingewezekana tuonane hivi itakuwa vizuri zaidi," he said in an interview with Daily Nation. "I also have three grandchildren who are graduates but have no job. I would love to see them employed."

Similarly, Mboi's wife, who was also present during the interview, stated that land will alleviate their poverty.

"We want a shamba. We have alot of problems due to lack of land. We havbe a small plot and he has many children," said Mrs.Annete Njeri.

Mr. Mboi recounts the various times he has rubbed shoulders with President Kenyatta and his pipedream fades away like smoke in the wind, despite his best efforts.

He claims that the last time he saw the President was during the election campaign in 2017.

"We met a Kianyaga. He asked me 'Have you met Mum?' I said 'I can't get there lest I be beaten. He told me, 'Give me your number.' The number was taken by his people and that got lost there," he says.

Mr. Mboi, a retired GSU constable who served from 1966 to 1997, now resides in Gatumbi Village in Gichugu constituency, where he lives in a wooden structure with a cement foundation.

As he recalls his good times with young Uhuru back in the day, he says their friendship was one he will cherish for the rest of his life. He says he helped Uhuru try out a new bicycle, sometimes giving his wheelbarrow rides.

"I would tell him, 'Friend, may I come have a ride on your bike?' He'd tell me, 'Come and ride,' and we would laugh a lot while riding the bike," he said.