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Today is the Kenya’s Independence day and we celebrate one of the women who fought alongside men in the struggle for independence.
NGINA KENYATTA (MAMA NGINA)
Ngina Kenyatta (Mama Ngina) was born at Ngenda in Gatundu, Kiambu County, the daughter of senior chief Muhoho Gathecha.She married mzee Jomo Kenyatta in 1951 when she was only 18 becoming his fourth wife.
Jomo was 57 then.
(Young Ngina Kenyatta With Late Husband, Jomo Kenyatta)
When her husband died, she was at State House Mombasa with her children Uhuru, Muhoho and Nyokabi during a family get-together that the President had called for as was his tradition, according to The Weekly Review.
Little is said about her education but she was a Roman Catholic and was known to attend mass every Sunday in the Catholic mission with some of her children.
Mama Ngina was recognised for her role during Kenya’s freedom struggle including serving a jail term alongside other gallant Kenyans who were opposed to British domination and oppression during the many years of Kenya’s colonialism.
She was arrested soon after her husband was shipped away to Kapenguria by the colonial masters, where she was incarcerated at the Kamiti Maximum Prison.
When she went back to her home in Gatundu, she found that her house had been demolished.
She became a farmer planting maize, beans and potatoes on her farm and selling them at the market in Gatundu just like any other rural woman.
After independence where the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta became the first President of Kenya, Mama Ngina became the most popular woman in the country and was accepted and referred to as the mother of the nation.
