WITH the passing of Joseph Barrage Wanjui in
Nairobi at the age of 87, recently, Kenya has recently lost one of its most
exquisite fruits of Uhuru, a true jewel. He was among the first to be educated (before large
numbers of Kenyans were rushed to the USA) in the USA. After graduating in the
USA, he was rushed back to Kenya and became the first chief executive officer
of the Industrial Commercial Development Corporation, The Chief Executive of the
East African Industries went on to become a brilliant industrialist and
businessman. After graduation in the USA, he was hired by ESSO and remained the
company’s star performer for a long time. His daughter and her family were his
link with Australia. I was privileged to have spent a couple of days with him
the last time he was here. I actually met him the first day he became Chief
Exec of the ICDC. Dr Gikonyo Kiano (Minister of Trade aka Mr 10 per cent
because he charged 10 per cent of the import permits for himself. Kiano took
Joe to Gatundu and introduced him to President Kenyatta at Gatundu. On their
return, Dr Kiano took the relatively young Joe to Parliament House and that was
where I met him for the first time.
Above everything else, above the chief
executive positions he held in so many organisations, his vast business
interests and the many accolades he received in his life he was always a true
son of Kenya.
Wanjui saved so that he could go to university
in the USA, even if this meant walking to work to save a bob or two. He was
thrifty from Day One. Whereas others might have bought a car, or expensive
clothes, Joe was thrifty. He learned that from his brother James Mbatia who
accumulated property through audacious savings. Joe on returning to Kenya
bought his first car but also invested in a block of houses in the Eastleigh
Estate in Nairobi. He would go on to invest in property all over Africa and in
huge high scrapers in Nairobi and elsewhere in Kenya.
From his book: The Native Son: People
know me as a Corporate executive, which has defined my life and career. He was
the longest-serving Chief Executive of Unilever in Kenya: East African
Industries which he led for 19 years.
He was the first Chief Executive of the
Industrial Development Corporation where he launched wave after wave of
African-owned enterprises and a network of indigenous retailers and wholesalers
(in the first instance replacing the out-going expatriates, and then taking
even further to be the forerunner of the corporate industry.
Joe Wanjui served on numerous boards but he was
particularly proud of his role in the growth, from the very early days, of the
Kenya Association of Manufacturers and the Kenya Association of Manufacturers.
Both organisations played a pivotal role in the development of industry and
industrialists.
Joe Wanjui first went to America in the 1950s
and to his horror found it a pretty intimidating place. “I resigned from Metal
Box in August 1958 to prepare for my trip to the United States. I was
apprehensive and jittery as I took my first flight ever, heading for Ohio
Wesleyan University.” He wrote that his arrival in the US was an even more
novel experience than he had imagined. In the hotel, it was the first time he had
seen a TV set. He didn’t know how to switch it on. He was mesmerised, to say
the least.
He settled down to life in the college but
there was always terror of colour bar. There were not too many negroes in the
college. However, daily doses of racism were pretty common in those days. Even
stranger was meeting white students at the university for the first time.
Coming from Kenya where most non-whites had virtually no contact with whites
other than as workers, getting to know the white students was a new experience.
Many years later, every white person who had
the good fortune to meet Joe Wanjui would never forget him. “Racism hit me full
blast when I arrived in America although in a very different and unexpected
way. But the greater paradox of racism in America was that we felt it more,
precisely because we interacted with whites, something which could not have
happened in Kenya.
Over the years, Joe Wanjui set on the board of virtually every major organisation in Kenya. He was Chancellor of the University of
Nairobi, the position he took very seriously and loved very much. So much so he
quickly established the J.B. Wanjui Education Trust.
Joe Wanjui loved Kenya. His heart broke each
time political leadership failed. He tried to help as much as he could. Some
folks say he was the king maker behind the scenes when the late Mwai Kibaki became
President. Nonetheless, Kibaki’s victory gave Joe Wanjui a lot of hope for the
future of Kenya.
Like I said earlier, Joe Wanjui was the jewel in the crown of modern independent Kenya. He loved playing golf at the Muthaiga Country Club.
He will be missed, always.
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