Killings rock land company, 43 years later

Shareholders of the troubled Kihiumwiri farm in Gatanga district are all ears during a forum convened by their leaders over the increased insecurity in the area. [PHOTO: BONIFACE GIKANDI/STANDARD]

When a group of Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta’s age mates mooted the idea of forming a land-buying firm, they had no idea that 43 years later, their investments would be worth billions.

The old men did not also have the slightest idea that the name they had adopted for their company, Kihiumwiri, which loosely translates to a big knife in the body, or a hot-blooded person, would live up to its true meaning.