Njoroge Mungai: Icon in Kenya's struggle for independence

Dr Njoroge Mungai was a former Member of Parliament and cabinet minister for Defense and Foreign Affairs during the reign of the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. He was a personal physician for the president, also a farmer and great entrepreneur.

Dr Mungai who was born in 1926 at Kiambu schooled at Alliance High School before proceeding to the University of Fort in London for further studies. He is also an alumnus of Stanford University in the United States where he pursued medicine.

Mungai was a great friend and close relative of the late Mzee Kenyatta. Upon the arrest of Kenyatta during the colonial period, Mungai was assigned to be his personal physician, a function he played until when Kenyatta died.

He had much interest in seeing Kenya attain independence from the colonialists and so strongly supported Kenyatta's ideals and ideology in liberating Kenya from the colonial masters.

In this regard, he eagerly joined the Kenya African National Union, the country's liberation party for which he worked as its organisation secretary.

Mungai was part of the Kenyan delegation at the Lancaster House Conference of 1960 which negotiated the country's independence from Britain.

He was described as a patriotic leader who was at the forefront of fighting for the country's liberation from colonialists.

Dr Mungai died on August 16, 2014, at a Nairobi hospital where he had undergoing treatment for several months.

Despite his demise several years ago, his name continues to be remembered alongside other icons in the country's struggle for independence.

As a medical doctor, entrepreneur and politician, Mungai exhibited a high sense of professionalism and commitment in whatever he did.

His type of unwavering patriotism and strong loyalty to his country contributed a lot to making Kenya stable and creating an avenue for prosperity after independence.