Trained in the British colonial culture of strict discipline, obedience to leadership and commitment to work, Simeon Nyachae knew no other way.
Mourners – politicians, government officials and family members – eulogised him on Thursday as a natural leader who valued results-oriented leadership and who administered discipline without hesitation.
He brought the strictness home, and everyone, including his wives, submitted lovingly. At the same time, his heart was overflowing with compassion and generosity.
As for strictness, after retiring from civil service service in the 80s his wife Grace Wamuyu was still employed. But he ordered her to resign in 1984 to be in charge of his new business, Sansora Limited, which he had set up in Kisii.
"I knew it was not a request. It was an order," Wamuyu told mourners during a service to honour the politician in Nairobi.
"I was fearful, but he reassured me he knew what he was doing and how right he was," she added.
And when he later plunged into elective politics in 1992 - vying for the Nyaribari Chache parliamentary seat - he again instructed her to be his personal assistant on the ground. Again, she obeyed.
"Engaging me as his assistant in the Nyaribari Chache politics was like being thrown into the deep end of a swimming pool," she said.
"I had never stood in public before. I had nightmares but when the community embraced me, I enjoyed being part of them."
Nyachae cultivated a culture of obedience and loyalty in his family such that even after he quit politics in 2007, his wife and children still remained rooted to the rural life and the traditions of the family.
"I found myself deeply attached to the community, to the constituency, and up to the time he rested, I was the main source of his political news. I had, of course, to assess his mood," Wamuyu said.
Nyachae served as DO and DC before becoming PC in Central province. He later served chief secretary and as Cabinet minister in various dockets.
But he loved his wives and family, made time for his children and balanced his life. He died early this month aged 88. He will be buried in his Kisii home on Monday.
In fact, so strict was Nyachae in the corridors of power that ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi told mourners that Cabinet ministers addressed him as 'sir' while he served as a chief secretary.
"Imagine that. Cabinet ministers addressed him as 'sir' yet he was chief secretary," he said, describing his former colleague as utterly professional, thorough, candid and fearless.
GENEROSITY
Interior CS Fred Matiang'i and ODM leader Raila Odinga recounted how Nyachae's net of generosity was cast wide, leveraging on his position in government. He was also one of the most high-profile personalities from the Kisii community to empower ordinary people.
Through his empowerment initiatives, Raila said, many from the community now work in New Jersey, Texas and Minnesota among other states in in the US
He helped them find opportunities for education abroad.
As a community patriarch, he paid fees for some, he counselled others as a father; Nyachae supported many people in many ways.
Matiang'i said that except for biology, Nyachae played a fatherly role in his own life and hugely shaped his character and his attitude towards leadership.
"For almost over 20 years, I have had the privilege of walking close and working with Mzee Simeon Nyachae. For everything, except for biology, I'm Mzee Nyachae's son because he raised me.
"I spent so much time with him, I travelled with him. Probably two-thirds of the impact he had in my life cannot be verbalised," Matiang'i said.
He said he was not alone and that there were hundreds of people from the Kisii and other communities who would not be what they are today were it not for Nyachae's personal intervention in their lives.
"I frankly think there is no other person I know who has educated the number of people that Mzee Nyachae had educated," the 'super minister' said.
"And I'm not shy to say this here in public. When you look at the education and professional profile of the Kisii community, you have to address the Nyachae factor.
"The Nyachae factor is the resources that Mzee Nyachae mobilised and pumped into the education and professional development of our people," the CS added.
He was incredibly generous and always available to support whoever needed his support, he said.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka said he was a towering public official who was diligent in his work.
(Edited by V. Graham)