Joseph Mathai: Sabina Joy was our favorite hang-out joint

Executive Director of TNA Joseph Mathai at a Nairobi hotel on Tuesday,August 19 during the interview. PHOTO:COLLINS KWEYU

The most memorable thing during my campus days were the lectures. Unlike today, university lecturers had a unique swag.

Prof Phillip Mbithi who taught us sociology, and later became vice-chancellor, was one such lecturer. Besides having a profound understanding of the subject, he had such a commanding personality. My most memorable classmates were Polycarp Igathe, Caroline Mutoko, Kanini Kega and Hussein Wario. Others in the same year, but not in my class included MPs TJ Kajwang, Moses Kuria and Kabando wa-Kabando.

Although I didn’t vie for a position in Sonu, I was involved in mobilising for Ford Asili where I was an official in the primaries featuring Keneth Matiba and Martin Shikuku. During those times, the university was the barometer of society and students were at the centre of every national debate. The most memorable time is when we rioted and the GSU invaded our halls of residence and ate our food. They left us beaten and hungry.

The state often used students to fight its adversaries, and I remember being recruited as members of Kenya Chambers of Commerce and Industry to oust an official in an election held in Naivasha.

Sabina Joy, dubbed ‘Hall 14,’ was a favourite spot for students and it’s a joint I frequented with my friends for a drink and dance.

I used to have a shop in my room where I sold cigarettes bought from the Armed Forces Canteen Organisation (AFCO) stores using my boom. Business was good and I would ‘employ’ a student for two hours to take care of the shop as I attended class. The experience that I got from my campus hustle came handy in my later years as a businessman and a political marketer.

Joseph Mathai is the Executive Director of The National Alliance (TNA) party. He graduated from the University of Nairobi class of 1994.

- As narrated to Mwaura Samora.