Ng'ethe Njoroge (born November 10, 1928) is a Kenyan journalist and a former diplomat.

Biography

Njoroge was born to a

Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language. It may also refer to: * Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya *Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people *Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Cent ...

family in Kenya. His parents, Leah Magana and George Segeni Njoroge, were pioneer Christians who attended the Church of the Torch which had been founded by the famous

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

minister, John William Arthur. The news and entertainment site

Tuko TUKO.co.ke is a Kenyan online newspaper and entertainment website that features aggregated, exclusive and users’ generated news content. History and character Founded in 2014, TUKO.co.ke has its headquarters in Nairobi and is a partner of Ge ...

has alleged that the elder Njoroge was born an ethnic Masai but changed his name from Segeni ole Mbuchucha to the Kikuyu name Njoroge. The elder Njoroge worked as a cook at a Presbyterian mission in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

and later opened a store and a transport company. Njoroge has five brothers and one sister. His sister, Jemimah Gecaga (1920–1979), was the first female member of parliament in Kenya and his brother was Kenyan Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament

Njoroge Mungai Magana Njoroge Mungai, M.D. EGH (January 7, 1926 – August 16, 2014) was a Kenyan Cabinet Minister, Member of Parliament, doctor, businessman, farmer, politician, nationalist and one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya. Early l ...

(1926–2014). His cousin,

Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta (22 August 1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who governed Kenya as its Prime Minister from 1963 to 1964 and then as its first President from 1964 to his death in 1978. He was the country's first indigenous ...

, was the first elected president in Kenya. Njoroge attended Alliance High School in

Kikuyu, Kenya Kikuyu is a town in Kiambu County, Kenya, which grew from a settlement of colonial missionaries. The town is located about northwest of central Nairobi. It is about 20 minutes from Nairobi via a number of routes, including a dual carriage ro ...

and

Busoga University Busoga University (BU), is a private university in Uganda, affiliated with Central Busoga Diocese of the Church of Uganda. Location The main campus of Busoga University is located in the town of Iganga, approximately , by road, northeast of the ...

Iganga Iganga is a town in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Iganga District. Location Iganga is located in Uganda's Busoga sub-region. It lies approximately , by road, northeast of the ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

before moving to the United States where he attended Central State College in

Wilberforce, Ohio Wilberforce is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,271 at the 2010 census, up from 1,579 at the 2000 census. History After Wilberforce College was established in 1856, the community was a ...

and then in 1960 he went to

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

where he received a M.S. in journalism in 1961. According to an interview with his son, American guitarist

Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello ...

, Njoroge was involved in the

Mau Mau Uprising The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the ''Mau Mau'', an ...

for Kenyan independence (1952–1960). Morello claimed in the same interview that his

anti-authoritarian Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as "a form of social organisation characterised by submission to authority", "favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom" and ...

viewpoints are inspired by the involvement of his father in the uprising.

Career

After the ascension of his cousin, Jomo Kenyatta, to the presidency, Njoroge held a number of positions in his government. He was named assistant secretary, Ministry of Lands and Settlements (1963–1964); senior assistant secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1964); delegate to the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

(1964); member of the Delegation to the

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a biennial summit meeting of the governmental leaders from all Commonwealth nations. Despite the name, the head of state may be present in the meeting instead of the head of go ...

(1964); member of the Kenyan Delegation to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

(1964, 1965, 1966); head of the Africa and Middle East Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in

(1964–1967); counselor of the Kenyan Embassy in

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(1968–1970);

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(1974); and Kenyan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1970–1978).International Who's Who, 1983-84
p. 1004
/ref>

Personal life

Njoroge married teacher and activist

Mary Morello Mary Morello (born October 1, 1923) is an American activist who founded the anti-censorship group Parents for Rock and Rap in 1987. Early life Morello was born in 1923 in Marseilles, Illinois. In 1954, she earned a master's degree in African a ...

; they had one son,

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...

guitarist

. They were divorced a year after their son was born. When Morello was 16 months old he returned back to Kenya, he later remarried and had three more sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Njoroge, Ngethe Kenyan diplomats Permanent Representatives of Kenya to the United Nations High Commissioners of Kenya to the United Kingdom Kenyan rebels Kenyatta family Kikuyu people Living people Ambassadors of Kenya to Italy Ambassadors of Kenya to Switzerland Central State University alumni Boston University alumni 1928 births