By Moses Njagi
Long before he became a politician, former Cabinet Minister Waruru Kanja was condemned to hang when he was only 23 years old — on November 26, 1953.
He was sentenced for smuggling arms to Mau Mau fighters at the height of the struggle for Independence. He was then a police officer having trained at Kiganjo Police College.
Waruru Kanja outside his house in Nyeri town. With him are his grandchildren and other relatives. [PHOTO: GEORGE MULALAA/STANDARD] READ MOREEsports Kenya president Lusigi lands global role EACC recovers Sh21m Mombasa road reserve after 17-year battle Indonesia flood death toll passes 1,000: rescuers Western leaders join Kenyans in mourning political veteran Jirongo |
"But my appeal flopped. I further appealed to Her Majesty the Queen (Kenya was still a British colony), who substituted the death sentence to life imprisonment," he says.
He began serving at the Industrial Area Prison and still remembers his prison number, 32602/H, which he says he cannot forget despite his failing memory.
He was released at the dawn of Independence when the colonial Government offered parole to prisoners jailed for agitating for freedom.
Admittedly, he thought Independence would bring an end to his tribulations in the hands of the administration.
He could not have been more wrong.
Many years later, in 1981, as an Assistant Minister in the Moi Government, he was convicted and jailed for three years for failing to declare foreign currency. In those days of a controlled economy, this was a crime.
He appealed against the sentence and had it was reduced to one year.
Despite the tribulations, Kanja says he is happy that he has been able to have the freedom to speak his mind, irrespective of whether it was received well by the authorities.
