The legend of Mercy Njeri town, and how a 9-year-old girl touched Moi's heart

What exactly does it take to have a small town named after you in Kenya? Or a road? Or a school? Better yet, two schools?

I’m not quite sure, but - I would assume - quite a great deal of political might, or just a tonne of money to throw around.

This is the question many Kenyans have been grappling with after it emerged that a whole shopping center as well as a few businesses therein, and two schools in a small town on the outskirts of Nakuru town are named after a little-known girl called Mercy Njeri.

To understand how these came to be, and to know just who exactly Mercy Njeri is/was, one would have to go back to the days of the late president Daniel arap Moi.

And, before you jump to conclusions, No, Mercy Njeri was neither related to Moi nor was she in his political circles.

Mercy Njeri (Yes, we’ll be referring to her by both names throughout this article) was born in Kiamunyi in 1975 and, for about six years, she lived a normal life.

She went to Kiamunyi Primary School, and dreamt of becoming a doctor so that one day she could help rid the world of bad diseases like measles and AIDS.

And then, because bad things do not come with warning signs, she became sickly; started experiencing difficulty in breathing and bouts of flu.

Eventually, when her situation got worse in 1985, she was taken to the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital before being referred to the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) where she was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease.

The doctors recommended heart surgery at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital in the U.K, but there was a catch; Ksh.500,000 was required for the entire process, and this was in the ‘80s, Mercy Njeri’s father – Simon Waiharo – definitely did not have that kind of money.

So Mr. Waiharo embarked on a fundraising mission, and approached the area MP Koima Kimosop for help. They managed to raise a paltry Ksh.94,000; and with Ksh.406,000 still remaining, Mr. Waiharo was at the end of his rope.

Enter stage left; then President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi.

Mr. Waiharo said Moi was on a tour of the area on February 4, 1985 when he decided to make a brief visit to Kiamunyi Primary School.

Moi is said to have been briefed on the situation by the school head teacher and was immediately moved; so much so that the very next month he summoned Mercy Njeri’s father to State House in Nairobi and gave him the money needed for travel as well as the procedure.

They left for the U.K on March 14, and on March 29, Mercy Njeri underwent the 12-hour procedure but unfortunately passed on.

"I saw my daughter fight for her life but she lost the battle," Mr. Waiharo told the Standard in a previous interview.

On April 6, 1985, the crestfallen father flew his little girl’s body back to the country for burial. Guess who was in attendance? That’s right: Moi.

The Kiamunyi Primary School head teacher who had informed the then Head of State about Mercy Njeri’s situation had one more request to Moi at the funeral; that the institution be renamed after the girl, whom they described as brilliant, polite, and hardworking.

Moi, surprisingly, acceded to the request; and so Kiamunyi Primary School became Mercy Njeri Primary School, just 500 metres away from the home of the little girl with big dreams whose story had moved the heart of the man many people thought had a hole where his heart should have been.

Gradually, the shopping centre that cropped up around the school was also named after Mercy Njeri, as well as a secondary school that followed soon after.

Traditionally, roads and places of significant public interest in Kenya have always been named after the political elite, and persons perceived to have greatly contributed to nation building.

Mama Ngina Kenyatta. Jomo Kenyatta. Dedan Kimathi. Mbiyu Koinange. James Gichuru. Tom Mboya.

These are just some of the country’s past prominent personalities and leaders who have had the honour of having roads and streets named after them.

According to The Conversation, how places or streets are named, or renamed, serves as an important indicator of the values of a society – and what those in power might want to remember, or forget.

Moi definitely wanted to remember Mercy Njeri. And now, the people of Nakuru always will too.