This archive report was first published on 2 August 2019.
James Ndei, a resident of Gitunduti village in Mathira, Nyeri County, has embarked on a 150km trek to State House, Nairobi to return a pith helmet given to his grandparents by Mzee Jomo Kenyatta 75 years ago.
The helmet, a relic of colonial rule, was given to Ndei's grandparents, Shadrack Gathuni and Deborah Mumbi, in 1944 when Mzee Kenyatta visited their home to drum up support for Kenya's independence.
According to Ndei, his grandparents had always wished that the helmet be returned to the Kenyatta family, as they felt that the aspirations of Kenya's freedom fighters were never fulfilled.
"My grandparents used to tell me Kenyatta was a regular visitor to their home and even spent several nights with them as he established the African Independent church," Ndei said in an interview with the Nation.
"However, despite the fact that Kenyatta later became the president, there is nothing to show for that association. My grandparents died poor and I feel they were betrayed, hence my decision to return the helmet," he added.
Corroborating Ndei's account, Mzee Zakaria Mbogo Ributhi, who turned 100 this year, said he witnessed Mzee Kenyatta give out helmets to some six church elders as a symbol of authority in 1942.
"He was a good man and he interacted with people very well, he used to sensitize us on the need to join the struggle for independence. But we are disappointed because most of us never benefited from the struggle," Mzee Ributhi said.
Ndei hopes to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta and hand over the helmet, which he believes is a symbol of the unfulfilled aspirations of Kenya's freedom fighters.
