Gema delegates 'crawled' from Elwak to vote for Kihika

Jomo kenyatta and Mama Ngina during Madaraka day celebrations on June 1, 1978. [File, Standard]

It sounded like a great idea. Majority of Kenyan communities had crafted associations and it seemed sensible for Mt Kenya too to establish its own. But the good idea was hijacked by hawks determined to rival Kanu and Jomo Kenyatta's government. Kenyatta grudgingly gave consent for the formation of Gema (Gikuyu, Embu and Meru Association) and he was picked as the patron.

The intention was that under no circumstances was the association going to get involved in politics. This was the reason Kenyatta entrusted James Gichuru, his Defence minister to be coordinator of MPs from Mt Kenya to assist in popularising Gema.