Kalembe Ndile's heart was in the village where he was loved

Former Kibwezi Member of Parliament Richard Kalembe Ndile during an interview with Standard in Machakos, on Wednesday, October 30 2019. [David Njaaga,Standard]

I initially met Kalembe Ndile while as a budding features writer with The Standard in the 1990s.

He was fighting for the settlement of squatters at Masongaleni settlement scheme in Kibwezi. The squatters had been driven from Cyullu Hills in the 1970s to create a game reserve and while some had been settled in Masongaleni, others were living in squalor on the roadside in Makindu.