Adieu John Michuki: An officer and gentleman

He never minced words, either in public or on the floor of the House. Within the government, the late John Njoroge Michuki - who died on Tuesday - was the no-nonsense Cabinet minister. He was feared – at times loathed - the same way he was revered.

It was a style that was picked in his many years as a civil servant and as the chief executive of Kenya Commercial Bank, where he honed his managerial skills.

This was after he was asked by President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta to leave Treasury (where he was PS) to manage KCB after the government acquired the assets of National and Grindlays Bank.

At the Treasury, Michuki will be remembered for managing the transition of the East African Shilling to the Kenya Shilling and the problems that faced the shilling in the early days after the collapse of the East African Currency Board.

Michuki had previously been in the provincial administration in the transition years towards Independence as the first set of Kenyans who were recruited to fill the gaps left by fleeing British administrators.

It was his disciplinarian tendencies, first as a district officer, and later as Nyeri District Commissioner that would haunt him later.

But that hardly damaged his name although it was a dark side for him. In 1960s and 70s, when most of his peers were going into politics, Michuki stuck at KCB, and grew its branch networks countrywide as the head of one of the most important financial institutions in the country, beside the National Bank of Kenya.

He also went into big business, acquiring properties and managing his business empire with the same zeal. Banking was his career path before he turned to politics in 1974, but was prevailed upon by Kenyatta not to leave KCB. He didn’t.

By coming from a large polygamous family Michuki had learned the art of survival: to be assertive which he did as a civil servant and a near bully - in politics. His business acumen was enviable and run one of Kenya’s most prestigious golf hotels.
As a Cabinet minister, Michuki became one of the most aggressive and will go down in history as one man who streamlined the matatu industry, waged war on the mungiki terror gang, and returned environmental issues to mainstream politics.

But he also made several blunders including commissioning the raid on Standard Newspapers – which he openly admitted even though it was an affront on the freedom of the Press.

But that has failed to outweigh his legacy as a gentleman who spoke his mind.

There goes an administrator and businessman par excellence.