How prized Mzee Kenyatta jackets turned around tailor’s fortune

Dhanji Liladhar Parmar’s name may not ring a bell to many but to residents of Nakuru town and those familiar with the life and times of the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, his is a household name.

Mr Parmar is not a politician nor a former freedom fighter, but his life was entangled with that of Kenyatta. In early 1968, then in his 20s, he was a little-known tailor operating from his father’s shop on Kenyatta Avenue in Nakuru town.

It is here that his life took a dramatic turn when a state official came knocking at the door.

“I saw a convoy of government vehicles outside the shop, then a man in police uniform stepped out and walked straight in,” he recalls.

He adds, “My heart skipped a beat because around that time Asians were being kicked out of the country. I waited!”

But the man - a provincial administrator - was bearing good news; President Kenyatta wanted Parmar to make him a leather jacket. “That leather jacket changed my life for the better. The jacket opened the doors for me. It did not only build a relationship between Mzee and I, but also with other top government officials and other Kenyans,” a nostalgic Parmar tells Saturday Standard.

Ever since the encounter, his relationship with successive governments has grown to unprecedented levels, not only because of the Kudu leather jackets he made for Mzee and other senior officers in the Kenyatta administration but also because of philanthropic work.

Kenyatta’s successor, former President Moi, awarded Parmar a Head of State Commendation in 1995 for his commitment to philanthropic work.

“I have never missed a national event for the past 50 years. I’ m looking forward to my 51st national event on June 1 (Madaraka Day),” he says pointing at the marked date on the calendar hanging on the wall of his house in Section 58.

Was concerned

Coincidentally, his home is directly opposite State House on Oginga Odinga Street. When he missed last year’s Jamhuri Day celebration at Afraha Stadium, Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui was concerned.

The Kenyan of Asian descent recalls the warm reception he was accorded at State House in 1968 by Mzee Kenyatta.

“I still remember Mzee’s tight grip as he shook my hand to say jambo (hello). His piercing eyes and the booming voice welcoming me,” he narrates as if the incident happened yesterday.

Scratching his forehead as if relieving events of that morning, Parmar says Kenyatta explained to him that he wanted a leather jacket made of Kudu leather. (Kudu is a species of spiral-horned antelopes found in the African savannah).

His shop specialised in making jackets, belts, handbags and other accessories out of sheep-skin. And here was the president telling him to make a jacket out of antelope skin.

“I knew Mzee was not just an ordinary customer but I never expected him to ask for that kind of a leather jacket,” he says.

When Parmar returned to his shop, the first assignment was to find a way of getting material for the jacket. But the following morning, the Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner was at his door step with three pieces of kudu leather.

“I never took any other job for a couple of days. And after a week, I had completed Mzee’s jacket - a masterpiece - and I was sure he would love it.” Parmar says his happiest moment was when he saw Mzee on television donning the jacket.

Common figure

“I was proud!” he said during the interview, adding: “From then when I switched on the TV to catch up with the current affairs and saw Kenyatta in the jacket at any of the public functions, I admired my work.”

Other public figures who admired the President’s jacket sought his services. Parmar made leather jackets for former Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner Isaiah Mathenge, Cabinet minister Mbiyu Koinange and provincial engineer Kim Gatende. Since then, Parmar became a common figure at State House and national functions, including Mzee Kenyatta’s frequent retreats at Lake Nakuru National Park Banda.

The local District Commissioner appointed him to the public holidays celebrations’ committee as treasurer, a post he held during former Presidents Kenyatta and Moi’s regime.

“I never missed the state functions for 50 years. I am a patriot and I love this country,” he says. His participation in public activities in the then larger Nakuru District made him appreciate the challenges Kenyans faced.

“I was once touched by the plight of Nyakinyua dancers, a group of women who used to serenade Mzee Kenyatta whenever he was in Nakuru. They would use the occasions to narrate their problems through song,” Parmar recalls.

That is when the philanthropic bug hit him. “Those songs by the Nyakinyua women dance troop awoke my desire to help the less fortunate.”

He approached the Asian community in Nakuru and through organisations such as the Lions Club of Nakuru, the Association of the Physically Disabled, the Hindu Council, the Indian Association, Arap Moi Children’s Home and Hill Special School in Nakuru Town, he ventured into serving the less fortunate.

“I was deeply touched and I realised that each of us has a role to play in whatever leadership capacity,” says Parmar.

He helped hundreds of families displaced during the post-election violence. Parmar also assisted thousands of Asians expelled from Uganda by dictator Idi Amin.

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