Nominated Senator Beth Mugo’s husband dies, to be cremated

Nominated Senator Beth Mugo with her husband Nicholas Muratha Mugo during a celebration marking their 61st wedding anniversary at St Andrew church in Nairobi. [John Muchucha]

Nicholas Muratha Mugo, the husband of Nominated Senator Beth Mugo is dead.

Mugo, 85, died at a Nairobi hospital on Thursday morning after a long illness, the senator confirmed in a statement. The late Murathe Mugo was born on March 5, 1936.

In a statement, Senator Mugo said her husband’s remains will be interred tomorrow February 4. Her spokesman has said Mugo's remains will be cremated at a venue yet to be disclosed.

Mugo served as acting high commissioner for London between 1969 to 1973 representing Kenya at the UN General Assembly as a diplomat.

In 1973, Mugo was appointed Kenyan ambassador to Ethiopia.

He also served as a diplomat in Sudan, France and Yugoslavia before retiring in 1978.

He went to Kagumo Boys High School in Nyeri County before joining Warren Wilson College in the US through Tom Mboya and Dr Julius Kiano airlifts to study History and Political Science.

The Mugo’s have four children and five grandchildren.

Nicholas Mugo with his wife Beth during their 61st anniversary at St Andrew Church, Nairobi. [File, Standard]

Link to the First family

Beth Mugo is President Kenyatta’s first cousin.

She is the daughter of James Muigai, the only known sibling of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

Beth’s brother Ngengi Muigai inherited Mzee Kenyatta’s Gatundu parliamentary seat upon his death in 1978 and served for a decade.

Beth was a long-serving MP for Dagoretti constituency before being split into Dagoretti North and South in Nairobi until she retired from active politics citing cancer complications.

She also served as Minister for Public Health under President Mwai Kibaki.

Nicholas Muratha Mugo, right, served as a diplomat in Sudan, France and Yugoslavia before retiring in 1978. [File, Standard]

Wedding anniversary

The two celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary in September 2019 where Beth described her husband as a loving and caring man.

In an interview with The Sunday Standard Magazine, Beth said she was 19; vivacious and totally besotted with a 22-year-old lad. And when he asked for her hand in marriage, she didn’t have to think twice about it.

“He just told me that he loved me and that I was the only girl that he had ever loved. That was enough for me. He is also a gentleman. He was gentle then, and he has been gentle till today,” she says coyly, a naughty glint in her eyes.

Beth said they married at a tender age due to his parents’ strictness

 “Those days we did not do much dating. Our parents were very strict. We were not allowed to go out with boys to stay out there. My father was very strict. He would say he doesn’t want the neighbours to say, ‘I saw Muigai’s daughter standing by road somewhere.’ He always encouraged us to bring them home. He always told us, ‘If a young man is interested in you or you like him, invite him home.’ My father always welcomed them home. All my sisters will tell you the same.”

Beth and Nicholas are a contrast of personalities. She is outspoken and a career politician who has always been at ease with the limelight. He, on the other hand, was a soft-spoken and unassuming man who has largely avoided the media for most of his life.