Esther Waitherero was 10 years when her brother Mwai Kibaki was born, and she was at hand to give anecdotes on his early moments.
She looked frail from a distance, but was surprisingly energetic as she went about her daily chores of picking tea on her Gatuyaini village farm. "I still remember the day he was born (November 15, 1931). It was early in the morning before the sun rose. Our mother had woken up early to milk the cows but she could not finish. She went into labour and the boy was born.