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Been There, Done That: Nyachae's Eventful Life
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- Published on Sunday, 08 July 2007 23:10
They are both on the threshold of a breakthrough in their careers. Both have jet-black hair, robust cheeks and clean-shaven chins. They are also both towering figures of strength, with intact hairlines.Although it is hot, the air inside the plane is laced with excitement. The call of duty is beckoning and they both know that at the end of the day President Jomo Kenyatta will want a detailed brief.
Nyachae in an encounter with journalists
The assignment before them constitutes the crust of their dockets in the Government. Moreover, Moi is the senior-most politician in the province.
In their minds they are both toying with the speeches they will make once they land. None of them has an inkling that a near-crash is looming.
At the controls of the aircraft is a hefty Turkish pilot. He gets ready to land the dignitaries at an open ground in Baragoi, Maralal District.At the ground, waiting to receive the dignitaries, are members of the public who are mainly donning the traditional Samburu regalia. There are also hordes of school children bubbling with excitement and entertainment troupes.
The plane touches down, raising a cloud of dust. As it taxises on the bumpy "runway", beads of sweat break out of the pilot's hairless patch. He is busy fiddling with some lever and buttons but due to a technical hitch he cannot cut the engine power.
Ahead is a gigantic thorn tree and a security scare grips the grounds as it appears like the plane is headed for it. Inside there is silence, prayer and hope. But at the nick of time the pilot manages to haul the plane from the ground and head for the skies again. In fact, those who witnessed the event say the plane's belly touched the upper branches of the tree.
So scary was the experience that one of the passengers pulled out the plastic handle strapped on the sides of the aircraft as he held on to it with the firm grip of a dying man."Death was staring at us in the face. It was by divine intervention that saw us survive," Nyachae once told this writer.The second approach was smooth; the experienced pilot had finally put his finger on the problem."Simeon, because we survived this, we shall live for a long time. One day we shall be talking about it as grey-haired old men," Moi is reported to have told Nyachae after the near-fatal incident.
Thirty-seven years later Nyachae is fondly referred to as Nyambuche (the grey-haired one) by his Abagusii folk.He also passes along as Emamba - the crocodile - because of his political disposition and style of exuding power.Though they had known each other for a few years, as Kenyatta's trusted lieutenants, their friendship and familiarity went a notch higher after the shared harrowing ordeal.
Until the 1999 fall-out between the two resonated across the country, they were believed to be close friends.Because of the friendship between Nyachae's father, paramount chief Musa Nyandusi, and Mzee Kenyatta long before Independence, Nyachae enjoyed an enviable position in the old man's heart.
Nyandusi, a rich polygamist, often played host to Kenyatta at a time when Nyachae was "just the boy in the compound".When Kenyatta died, his friend and contemporary took over. Soon he was the Chief Secretary, the most coveted seat in the country outside the political arena.
Nyachae speaks with a tinge of nostalgia about his admiration of Kenyatta's leadership style. "He was brave and straight-forward. When you agreed on a matter he would stand by you to the end. He was not a slave of political expediency."Tracing Nyachae's roots is a like a journey down the path of royalty. Born to chieftaincy, he internalised the skills of public management at an early age.
For starters, during school holidays, his father would send him to stay at the home of his long-time friend, the late Kipsigis paramount chief Tengecha. Every day was like a tutorial lesson on management for Nyachae.
He grew up as a child with a strong mind and will, and an enormous capacity for work. He also was gifted with awesome physical strength, traits he shares with President Moi. The only difference is that President Moi was brought up with Spartan simplicity.
Down the road Nyachae acquired remarkable entrepreneurial skills.
Wherever one talks with Nyachae in private, one can't fail to discern from the many references he makes about his family that deep inside he prefers the joys of family life to the glitter and pomp of public office.
He is a strict father, a teetotaller and a keep-fit adherent. So protective is he of his family that often at public rallies in Kisii he would ask his sons to stand and openly tell them that although he is a polygamist they should never copy him.
"I was born and brought up in a different time. I am not your age. There was no Aids then, but now we are living in bad times," Nyachae says.Talking to him unfurls a different image of the man with a famous temper.
"I never hide anything, I say it as it is and those who do not like my style at least appreciate the fact that they always know what I think about them," he says.He has many memorable recollections from his past.
For example, during the burial of politician J.M. Kariuki, Nyachae had the onerous task of reading Kenyatta's message of condolence.Very much like himself, he read the speech sent to him in Nyeri from Harambee House as the booing and catcalls rose.At the end, he folded the sheaf of papers on government stationery and started his own, criticising the very government he worked for.Thereafter, the country waited with bated breath for his sacking. But nothing came of it.
"Many thought I was going to be sacked. My speech contradicted the one sent from Harambee House. I spoke from my heart because I disagreed with the way the Government handled the murder," he says.Nyachae still speaks fondly about years spiced with friendship he shared with Moi."I have deep respect for Moi as an individual. I only have a problem with his style of management. He is a keen listener, I have known him to be also a compassionate man."
Nyachae was born on February 6, 1932 in Kisii. He received his early education at Nyachwa and Keriri Primary and Government African Schools, Kisii. In 1956 he went to South Devon Technical College, Torquay, UK, to study public administration.In 1962 he was at the Kenya Institute of Administration for an advanced course in public administration. He made history by scoring a record nine distinctions in all the subjects examined. Thereafter, he went to Churchill College, Cambridge University, UK, for further training in the field.
Prior to joining politics, he served in all the cadres of the provincial administration - DO, DC and PC. He rose from a clerk in the DC's office in 1954 to Kenya's Chief Secretary, an equivalent of present day Head of Civil Service.
He tried to plunge into politics in 1988 but was barred from running by Kanu at the height of the one-party system.He clinched the Nyaribari-Chache seat in 1992 and was thereafter appointed Agriculture Minister. In 1997 he was moved to the Ministry of Water. For fourteen months he held the Finance docket before resigning in 1999.
His parting shot springs from his abrupt departure from the cabinet on being transferred from the Treasury: "I miss nothing since I quit on my own, I was not fired. I have more time for my private work and interaction with my supporters."
