She fiercely defended her family, spoke her mind and helped many

Kenya’s political elites on Wednesday gathered to pay tribute to former First Lady Lucy Kibaki, whom they eulogised as a woman who fearless defender of her family who spoke her mind.

At a requiem Mass at Consolata Shrine in Westlands, Nairobi, family members also described Mrs Kibaki, who died last week at a London hospital, as a mentor, loving mother and doting grandmother.

In attendance were President Uhuru Kenyatta and First Lady Margaret, Deputy President William Ruto and his wife Rachael, opposition leaders Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka, as well as a host of Members of Parliament, Cabinet Secretaries and family and friends of the late Mrs Kibaki.

FEARLESSLY OUTSPOKEN

Only a few family members, and the top two leaders were allowed to speak with President Kenyatta eulogising Mrs Kibaki as a person who fearlessly defended her family.

“Mama Lucy will forever be remembered for her strong family values and her fearless defence of her family,” said the Head of State.

He added that Mrs Kibaki was “committed to causes she believed in”, including fighting for the rights of the girl-child and tackling HIV/Aids.

There was a light moment when he said Mrs Kibaki was honest enough to express her mind and, should a person rub her the wrong way, she was sure to let it be known.

“With her, there was no halfway; you were either on her wrong side or her right side,” said the President amid light laughter from the congregation.

He also said Mrs Kibaki was a strong supporter of her husband, former President Mwai Kibaki, when he was the head of state for 10 years.

Paying homage to the former First Lady, Mr Ruto also said she “spoke her mind freely and honestly”.

The DP also described, amid peals of laughter from the congregants, two occasions when Mrs Kibaki asked to meet him and, as he went to see her, he was wondering what he had done wrong.

The former First Lady then proceeded to “speak her mind” to him.

Reading the eulogy, Judy Wanjiku, Kibaki’s daughter, said her mother was an outspoken person who was never afraid to speak her mind candidly.

“An outspoken and keen voice against social injustice, the late Lucy Kibaki expressed her mind with unmistakable clarity and sense of purpose,” she said.

“Her sense of standards was uncontested. Never once did she entertain hypocrisy; she was true to herself.”

FAMILY PILLAR AND MENTOR

Mrs Kibaki was also described as committed to the cause of young people with revelations that she helped to educate several of her relatives and the needy who sought her help.

Her grandchildren Kristina Muthoni, Ryan Mwai, Sheryl Kibaki and Eddah Githinji also described Mrs Kibaki as a strong pillar and mentor whose memories they will live to cherish.

Mrs Kibaki was born Lucy Muthoni in October 26, 1934 at Tumu Tumu Mission Hospital, Nyeri, one among the 10 children of the late Reverend John Kagai, a pioneer Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) minister, and the late Rose Nyachomba Kagai.

She went to Mihuti Primary School, Tumu Tumu Missionary School and Alliance Girls High School in Kiambu County.

She then trained as a teacher at Kambui Teachers Training College, Kiambu, and taught at Kangaru Girls High School before joining her alma mater, Kambui TTC, as a tutor.

In 1960 she met her husband Mwai Kibaki, then a lecturer at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and the two married in December the following year.    

She is survived by her husband, four children — Judy Wanjiku, Jimi Kibaki, David Kagai and Anthony Githinji — and seven grandchildren.

Her body was taken back to Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi, to be interred on Saturday at the family home in Othaya, Nyeri.