‘He was kind & fun’ – JM Kariuki’s daughter celebrates late politician on Father’s Day
By Wycliffe Nyamasege, June 18, 2023
Rosemary Kariuki, the daughter of late socialist politician Josiah Mwangi Kariuki popularly referred to as JM, remembers her dad as a kind father who loved his family dearly.
In a special tribute on Father’s Day, Rosemary said besides his rich political history, her father, who was assassinated in 1975, was kind and fun.
She also noted that Kariuki was a “disciplinarian and just a normal dad” and went on to celebrate him posthumously.
“Much has been written and said about my dad, the late JM Kariuki. The kind of politician he was, how he died, and subsequent riots by university students.
“But not much has been said about him as a father. He was kind, fun, and played with us with fatherly love. He was a disciplinarian and just a normal dad,” Rosemary said in a tweet.
She added: “Today, being a Father’s Day, I celebrate him and so many fathers out there. Happy Father’s Day.”
Much has been written and said about my dad, the late JM Kariuki. The kind of politician he was,how he died, and subsequent riots by university students.
— Rosemary Kariuki (@RosemaryMachua1) June 17, 2023
1/2 pic.twitter.com/vsBy71RrhH
Rosemary, who is following in the steps of her father, is the head of Business and Hustler Opportunities docket in Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja’s cabinet.
Her father held different government positions from Kenya’s independence in 1963 until his assassination on March 2, 1975.
The politician was last seen alive at the Hilton Hotel on March 2, 1975.
His badly mutilated body was later discovered in Ngong forest, sparking protest from a section of Kenyans who believed he was assassinated for being a critic of the then-President Jomo Kenyatta government.
The Mau Mau detainee was vocal in criticizing how the government was being run seeing him have a strained relationship with Kenyatta whom he served as his private secretary between 1963 and 1969.
He was elected as Nyandarua MP in 1974 and served as an assistant minister for Tourism and Wildlife.