The history of power cannot be told without mentioning the greatest rivals and source of contention. Former President Mwai Kibaki and Former Attorney General Charles Njonjo crossed swords right at independence. Njonjo didn’t bother to conceal whose interests he served – those of the old colonialists and the expatriate community.
He was an Englishman in black skin. As AG, he never liked or believed in Africans, and made it his business to ensure no black person came near gaining influence in the Kenyan Judiciary.
He also seized every opportunity to frustrate budding African lawyers whose mastery of the English language, let alone the law, he doubted.
Before independence in Kenya, Njonjo was the only African who lived in exclusive Muthaiga neighbourhood which was by then a reserve for whites. His English mannerisms and love for British culture earned him the notorious title ‘Sir Charle’.
As an Attorney General (AG), he yielded much power and he was the most feared man during the late Jomo Kenyatta’s time.
In commerce and industry, Njonjo was chief promoter and protector of British conglomerates, as he sabotaged African enterprises.
One-time chairman of the Transport Licensing Board Joseph Gatuguta once related how Njonjo made difficult his efforts to Africanise lucrative aspects of the local transport sector.
Gatuguta would deny permit renewals to expatriates to pave the way for local investors, only for Njonjo to have a British expatriate judge overturn his decisions in favour of foreigners.
Gatuguta had to cunningly wait until Njonjo was out of the country to sneak to State House and explain to Mzee Kenyatta the challenges he was facing.
The President saw the point and Njonjo’s Mzungu was ordered out of the country and back to wherever he came from.
On the contrary, Kibaki, as minister for Commerce and later Finance and Economic Planning, was in the driver’s seat of the massive Africanisation programme in newly independent Kenya.
Njonjo also played a vital role in seeing that retired President Daniel Moi ascended to power amidst stiff opposition from the then all-powerful ‘Kiambu mafias’.