Esther Waitherero, sister to the late former President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, passed away at the age of 115 years.
Her son Francis Githinji confirmed the sad news, saying his mother died in the morning of Thursday, July 13 at her Gatuyaini, Othaya home following a short illness.
According to K24, the deceased has left behind four children, three sons, and one girl.
Francis has asked the country to stand with him and his family in prayers during this difficult time.
Esther was 10 years older than Kibaki and was tasked with caring for him and her other brother, Bernard Nderitu, while they were both little as she revealed in a prior interview with The Standard.
“Our mother would go to the shamba and leave me to take care of the two boys. One was slightly older than the other and they were troublesome,” narrated Esther.
“My work was to roast mitahato (bananas) and feed them. I would chew the bananas until they were soft then feed them,” she continued.
Even in her old days, the deceased still recalled events that took place when her late brother Mwai was born and was heartbroken to hear of his death in April of this year.
“I still remember the day he was born (November 15, 1931). It was early in the morning before the sun rose. Our mother had woken up early to milk the cows but she could not finish. She went into labour and the boy was born,” she said.
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However, in the year 1939, it took urging from village elders for their father to allow Kibaki to attend school, a decision that revolutionized Kibaki’s life but was not as acceptable to them.
“My mother wept and we all wept. We did not want him to go away from home and Mwai was liked by everybody. My mother even said he was too small to walk the distance to school, but our father’s word was final,” expressed Esther.
