Colorful memories of a retired colonel

Memory can be a luxury, especially when age catches up with one and that youth escapades begin to back up surreptitiously in the folds of the mind. However, for Lieutenant-Colonel Geoffrey Kiambuthi Kinuthia, whose memory is still alive and whose pen is agile, the days of his youth remain clear like a blue sky on a sunny day.

"Good memories are the most precious treasures," he writes in the preface to his autobiographical autobiography, An Old Soldier Never Dies which was released just a month ago. caressed, they stay with us, like favorite books to pick on a shelf and appreciated. "

Kiambuthi is one of the few Kenyan soldiers to have taken the unusual step of telling their story. with hilarious anecdotes, including the fact that he does not know who his biological grandfather was because his grandmother had come out of her marital home when she fathered Kiambuthi's father

. real that I'm sitting here writing it and, to be honest, was quite traumatic when we first talked about it. "

At the heart of this story lies the question of # 39; s identity. who was he? Did he belong to Kinoo, the village where he was born in Kiambu, or was he a stranger to the fact that his father had roots at the coast? And could that ultimately have informed his decision to eventually settle in Kilifi after his voluntary retirement from the army in 1980?

The story of Kiambuthi is not your usual autobiography. It is said in the episodes that his memory guided him. One of the hilarious elements is the story of a villager named Kaniaru, who had consulted a wizard because he was obsessed with the question of his own death. The wizard warned him that his death would be caused by a buffalo.

So when a buffalo was spotted in their village, he was guided to safety as the animal was harpooned to death and his head cut off. When Kaniaru's friends called him to see the animal, he slipped on the innards and fell on the buffalo's head. The horns pierced him when he fell and he died instantly.

Young boy, Kiambuthi had many meetings with the army during the colonial era. One of his uncles fought in World War I in Tanzania before deserting. And as a boy, he accompanied his father to Nairobi when he met British soldiers in their ceremonial uniforms, and in his mind they looked like gentlemen.

He could not reconcile the image he saw with the reputation of the soldiers in their quest for Mau Mau.

And on his first day at school, he was beaten because he had not managed to make a left turn when the badembly was fired. Unknown to the boy, he would become a soldier one day, although the influences that would lead him in that direction were all around him.

In high school, Kiambuthi enjoyed English literature, reading Shakespeare and DH Lawrence.

"My only worthy rival was Peter Mwaura, a quiet boy who became an illustrious journalist." Mwaura later became editor-in-chief of the Nation Media Group and is currently editor-in-chief of the group. 19659004] The author's military life is just as colorful.

"During the recording at Sandhurst," he writes, "I was found to be underweight.

C & # 39; Also in Sandhurst he met his future wife, Elizabeth Wanjiru, who was training as a nurse in Warwickshire.

Kiambuthi's last post was at the Armed Forces Training College, Lanet, where he served as Commander of the Fighter Wing under General David Tonje, who was then the Commander.It did not last long before resigning.

"I spent the peak of prosperity and honor, and I started to get off quickly from the On the other hand, "he writes," I was not at all prepared for the rigors of the civilian street. "

Finally, he tried many companies that failed before founding a successful school at that time. day.

It's my past, "he writes, and how rich and hilarious he is.

Kiambuthi's book should serve as an encouragement to those who feel strongly compelled to share their stories of life. Plus, this is not your usual writing style. It is a story that any reader will enjoy to stubborn as he looks good as bad in his life.

Of course, he also had a colorful public life, including an unforgettable moment with the founding of Kenya President Jomo Kenyatta, who needed an intelligence briefing from him, and l & # 39; former Ethiopian leader Haile Selbadie and other public figures, who situate him in the public space. But he is also careful in selecting what to say and what to keep close to his chest.

This is a library should store.