Mwai Kibaki: Through the eyes of his personal doctor, Dr. Dan Gikonyo

The death of a sitting or former president represents an exceptionally grief-stricken period for any nation.

Unfortunate as it may be, it is a time that brings any country closer together, with both critiques and supporters setting aside their differences to celebrate the life of an individual who had the privilege of serving a nation at the highest possible capacity.

Right now, Kenya is mourning the death of its third president, Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki, who on Friday succumbed to ill health at 91 years of age at a Nairobi hospital surrounded by close friends and family.

A seasoned politician with integrity at the core of his values, many Kenyans will remember Kibaki for being a consensus builder who single-handedly brought back Kenya’s economy from the brink of collapse during his ten-year tenure at State House.

Others like Karen Hospital founder Dr. Dan Gikonyo, however, had the privilege of interacting with the former Head-of-State on a more personal level, far from the prying eyes of the media and his critics, where the former President could just be Emilio without having to put up a façade of any kind.

Dr. Gikonyo, Kibaki’s personal physician, first met the late president in 1978 when he (Gikonyo) was just a fledgling in the world of medicine.

Just 28 years-old at the time, Gikonyo was finding it difficult to make ends meet; the fact that he and his wife, also 28, were getting ready to welcome their third child didn’t make things any easier.

When the infant was born, he was diagnosed as having a facial deformity in the form of a cleft clip and palate. The condition, the child’s paediatrician noted, could be rectified but much to the dismay of the young couple, the procedure to do so could only be done in London at the time.

“I heard London and there I was. I couldn’t even get bus fair to Nyeri and the doctor was telling me to go to London with a child and pay medical fees,” Gikonyo told Citizen TV on Friday.

Gikonyo’s friend, the now deceased MP Mwangi Maathai, recommended that the doctor take his problem to Kibaki who had then established himself as a seasoned politician in the KANU regime.

“He (Maathai) went and talked to Kibaki and within one evening the late president did a fund raising for me that raised £ 4000 for my child’s treatment in London and by doing so the former president became a part of the family,” said Dr. Gikonyo.  

The relationship between the pair continued to blossom in the years to come after Kibaki’s kind gesture.

Twenty four years later, in November 2002, when Kibaki who was then seeking the country’s presidency got involved in a near-fatal road accident at the Machakos junction, Gikonyo who had then established himself as one of the most coveted cardiologists in the country, did not hesitate to guide the former Head-of-State to recovery.  

“That was one of the saddest moments of this country, not only to me but to the citizens of Kenya because it was just at the dawn of Kibaki’s presidency and we thought we might lose him but me and other physicians worked day and night to see that he got back to his health,” said Gikonyo.

After Gikonyo and a team of local medical practitioners accompanied Kibaki to London for surgery, he would craft a strict regimen for him to follow without fail in his road to recovery.

“He was a man of very strong internal discipline. There was no day he would not exercise, he woke up early did his regular physicals and in the course of the day I would go to State House and we would go on walks,” said Gikonyo.

“He was an obedient and compliant candidate when it came to medical issues, always doing what the doctor said and that is how he lived to be 91.”

So invested was Kibaki in his recovery that he even gave up alcohol. The late president was known for imbibing on the occasional White Cap beer during his time as Othaya MP.

“As you know many people used to make fun of the president that he was fond of White Cap. He gave it up the day he entered State House and he never again tasted any form of alcohol,” said Gikonyo.

Gikonyo will remember Kibaki for being a man who he says never acted on selfish interests, instead always putting the affairs of his country and his people before his own.

“He had no self-interest, he could not even name anything after himself.  He once said that even if his face was put on the national currency it would not increase its value when compared to the dollar. He likewise refused to name Thika Road after himself,” Gikonyo said.

“I really admired him; I admired his sense of honesty and integrity. The best moment in my life was when he was sworn in as a President.”