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 Known and referred by many as J.M. Kariuki, Josiah Mwangi Kariuki was born on March 21 1929, in an area known as Kabati-ini near Bahati Forest in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. The only boy in a family of five siblings, he was born to Kariuki Kigani and Mary Wanjiku, at a time when Kenya was a colony under the British Rule. His parents had earlier on been forced to leave their home area, Chinga, located in the Nyeri native reserve, back in 1928 to work in the white highlands. There, they became squatters on a European settler's farm and were expected, as was the case with other African squatter families, to do the regular and seasonal jobs for wages. In 1938, he briefly enrolled in Evanson's Day School, but dropped out shortly due to lack of school fees. In 1940, when he was ill, his father Mr. Kariuki Kigani, married a 2nd wife and moved back to Chinga, where he died in 1943.
J.M. was raised by his mother and another man, Mr. Zacharia. He started working for the settler's farm until 1946, when he won a bet in Nakuru Horse races. Using the bet's proceeds he then enrolled himself back to a string of schools and was able to finish his primary school education in 1950. Later, he joined King's College in Uganda's Wakiso district for his secondary education. J. M. Kariuki's political life probably started in 1946 in earnest, after listening to a the Late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s speech denouncing the way colonial government was handling the natives in a political rally. Kenyatta told the crowd to raise up against the misery they had endured under the colonial rule. Justice and hope could be achieved. He appealed to the gathering to unite against tribalism (divide and rule) and work hard and educate their children so they may take over the government of the country from Britain. This speech inspired everyone, J.M. included. During the next four years, the later-to-be husband of three concentrated on his studies, and also had to role play in the fight against colonial rule. In late 1940s, he joined the primary school drama and role-played in the fight against colonial rule. While in Uganda for his secondary education, he closely followed the struggles that local Kenyans were facing from the European settlers. There was scarcity of land for Africans to cultivate, there were moribund educational facilities, the administration mistreated Africans and Kenyans were not allowed into the legislative council. On 22 October 1952, he finished his secondary school education and returned to Kenya. Shortly after that, Kenya was placed under state of emergency by the new Governor, Sir Evelyn Baring, and Kariuki joined the Mau Mau uprising. After he took his oath, he started working as Mau Mau liaison officer between Eldoret and Kisumu. He also helped in soliciting money, boots and housing for Mau Mau. This led to his arrest in his hotel, which was working as a front to his political work. He was then detained in various camps (including Kowop and Langata) from 1953 until his release, seven years later in 1960. After his release, he managed to secure Kenyatta's approval in starting Nyeri's Kenya African National Union (KANU) branch by visiting him in detention. When Kenya became independent in 1963, Kariuki worked as Kenyatta’s private secretary between 1963 to 1969. In late 1960, Kariuki relationship with Kenyatta became increasingly strained as he became increasingly vocal of the president’s policies, disagreeing with the government’s handling of corruption issues, widening gap between rich and poor, deteriorating relations among East African Community members, and unfair distribution of land. He condemned dictatorship pointing out that emergent African leadership had perverted democracy to mean “Government by a few for a few on behalf of many, whether the many like it or not.” In 1974, he was elected Member of parliament for Nyandarua North and became an assistant minister in the Kenyatta government between 1974 and 1975. This was despite Kenyatta government pulling all strings at its disposal to avoid his re-election as his popularity threatened to overshadow the government of the day. JM Kariuki was the only Kikuyu politician to set foot on Rusinga Island for Tom Mboya's funeral. He was last seen alive at the Hilton Hotel, accompanied by Kenyatta's bodyguard on March 2, 1975, the day he was apparently brutally murdered, three weeks shy of his 46th birthday. Kariuki's remains were found by a Maasai herdsman, Musaita ole Tunda, in a thicket in the Ngong Hills several days later. His fingers had been chopped off and eyes gouged out. His death, just like that of another assassination victim – Tom Joseph Mboya - robed Kenya of, yet again, one of the most dedicated champions of the rights of the poor and a vociferous critic of inequality. His death, though largely acknowledged as a political assassination by people close to the Kenyatta government, has never been resolved. A Parliamentary Select Committee was immediately established to investigate the circumstances surrounding Kariuki's murder. The Committee's report implicated a senior police officer, Joginder Singh Sokhi, senior administrative officers and politicians, but no one was ever punished.
Famous Quotes by JM
“Political independence without economic independence is like having a wedding without a bride.”
“In Kenya today, I can only see the dawn of a June morning rising majestically from the white oblivion into the serenity of life.”
“If we forget these people (the youth), we will find ourselves surrounded by rogues who are rogues not because they want to become rogues but because they are hungry and this leads them into temptation.”
“It is this greed that will put this country into chaos. Let me state here that this greedy attitude among the leaders is going to ruin this country.”
"Kenya has become a nation of 10 millionaires and 10 million beggars.”
"Every Kenyan man, woman and child is entitled to a decent and just living. That is a birthright. It is not a privilege. He is entitled as far as is humanly possible to equal educational, job and health opportunities irrespective of his parentage, race or creed or his area of origin in this land. If that is so, deliberate efforts should be made to eliminate all obstacles that today stand in the way of this just goal. That is the primary task of the machinery called Government: our Government."
"We fought for independence with sweat, blood and our lives. Many of us suffered for inordinate days – directly and indirectly. Many of us are orphans, widows and children as a result of the struggle. We must ask: What did we suffer for, and were we justified in that suffering?" View Gallery 
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