Margaret Wanjiru Kamau

Margaret Wanjiru Kamau was born in Murang'a in 1948, the second of six children. She trained as a teacher at Kagumo College and gave thirty-eight years to the classroom — first in Nyeri, then at Kilimani Primary in Nairobi, where generations of pupils knew her simply as Mwalimu Maggie.

She raised four children and helped raise many more. Her home in Kasarani was never quiet: there was always tea, always ugali stretching further than it had any right to, always a neighbour's child doing homework at her table. She served as a deaconess at her church for over twenty years and led the women's guild with a firmness that was somehow also gentleness.

She is survived by her children Peter, Njeri, Samuel and Wambui, eleven grandchildren, and a community that will not forget her. Her family thanks everyone who has stood with them during this time.