Famous Kiambu

“The weather is rather foul tonight, Njoki,” My mother says as she checks the warmth of the water bottle in my bed and tucks me in.  

 When it is cold, we make hot water bottles by pouring warm water into our old used jerrycans. We then place them between our sheets to make our beds nice and warm before we slide in. 

 Rumble! Crack! Clap! The sound of thunder goes. 

“Mother please tell me the Kiambu naming story,” I ask. 

“Again? How many times have I narrated that to you, Njoki?” mother asks. 

 “I know mother, a thousand times, but just once more,” I plead. 

Mother begins… 

“The name Kiambu is believed to have originated from a Kikuyu phrase “Kia Mbuu” which means the place of drizzles, but others believe that it comes from the first inhabitants of the place who were from Mbari ya Mbuu which means the clan of Mbuu. Either way the names are put together to make Kiambu.” 

 As Mother checks on my uniform to make sure it’s clean and ready for school the following day, she tells me more.  

 “We consider our climate to be a blessing because it favours the growth of tea, coffee, variety of farm produce, and dairy farming.” 

 “That’s right, tea and coffee are Kenya’s cash crops that are sold all over the world,” I add excitedly.  

 “Exactly. It is one of the ways that Kenya makes a profit. The Kiambu people also sell their produce all over the country. Vegetables, milk, eggs. I am sure you see the many trucks on the road that ferry the produce to different markets.” Mother says. 

 “Yes, I actually wondered where all the produce we grow goes to because surely, we cannot eat all of it,” I laughingly say.  

 I always must be careful when crossing the road, using the zebra crossing. Those trucks are huge and loud, I can feel a slight shake in the ground when they pass by.  

“You know that Turkana is the cradle of mankind, right?” she asks. 

“Yes, I do,” I respond not knowing where the conversation is going. 

 “Well, Kiambu is the cradle of education,” she says. 

 “Let me guess…is it because it has schools that just about everyone in Kenya wants to go to?” I ask. 

 “Yes, like the Alliance Schools, Maryhill Girls’ High School, Mang’u High School, Loreto Limuru and Limuru Girls’ High School, very prestigious schools,” Mother says. 

 My mother always wanted to go to Limuru Girls’ High School, but her family did not have money to even take her to a local secondary school. She got married young and took care of her parents as the only child. School is very important to her.

As the story continues, mother moves to famous people from our county like Chief Waiyaki wa Hinga. He was a respected freedom fighter and led his people against colonialism. Waiyaki way, one of the major highways in Kenya is named after him. 

 “Maybe all my storytelling will inspire you to be an author like Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, who wrote several stories about Kenya through the eyes of Kiambu land,” My mother says walking towards the light switch. 

After lights out, I sit in bed for a while wondering who I will be in the future and how Kiambu county will change.