What did you do with the optimism and exuberance of independence? Two young men in their early 20s, wasted no time: Peter Kimani King’ori aka Ndichu wa Kingúra (1947-2020) and Francis Macharia Mbuthia (born 1944).
They had just settled in the White Highlands after the mzungu left. They smelled the coffee and settled in Shamata, 160 kilometres from Nairobi as the crow flies.
This cold place was once a home to Boers and British settlers. Add Italian prisoners of war. Big colonial houses dot the leeward side of Aberdares. They are finally getting their match.
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The young men were quick to identify an opportunity: buy and sell potatoes. A bag was only Sh5, and it could go for Sh20 in Karatina, Nyeri, Embu, Nairobi and Kiambu, where they distributed the tubers.
That was a huge profit. They used sisal bags made at Juja. Remember? They rented a lorry but, with time, bought their own lorries, two Bedfords, a J5 and a bigger J6. The first one cost Sh15,000 in 1965, from Gakumo wa Thuku of Karura ka Nyungu in Kiambu.
They branded their business K5 (kuungana, kufanya kazi, kunaleta, kufanikiwa). The two realised the advantage of Swahili in business outside their locality.
They soon spotted a better opportunity—matatu transport. In 1967, they bought the first matatu, a Canter, then a Datsun and finally a Toyota, which was their last before they slowed down around 2012.
They plied the Shamata-Nyahururu-Nairobi route. The fare was Sh5 in 1970. It’s now around Sh800. Inflation is real: in 1963, Macharia spent Sh1 to buy a loaf of bread, tea leaves, sugar, milk and get change of 25 cents (pesa nane). They were in business for almost 50 years. Beyond profit, they gave back to society, including a rescue mission for a group of young men stranded in Mombasa on a job job-seeking mission in 1980.
They also helped feed the locals by transporting relief food during the drought of 1979/80.
They slowed down and Ndichu died. Macharia drifted to herbalism. He self-taught by reading books and interacting with like-minded individuals, like the American James Easterly he met on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1980. He even recommended a certain herb to improve my memory. A threat to AI (artificial intelligence? Macharia was a regular reader of Time and Newsweek. They are now digital
With health challenges, he settled on the farm where he grew up. On a recent visit, a lorry named K5 and a small van, his last matatu, were parked in the compound, with a beautiful view of Aberdares.
Looking back, Macharia feels the society has not been thankful or rewarding to those who go beyond the call of duty. He called for parental respect and non-enslavement to the phone, for the next generation.
He asks investors to protect their working capital and build it. He adds, “Patience and trust are the bedrocks of investment.” One wishes Francis Macharia Mbuthia and Ndichu King’ura had eventually played in the same league as Greyhound, Kenya Bus Service, Maersk or Kuehne + Nagel.
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By XN Iraki