Josiah Mwangi Kariuki

In the late 1940s, he joined his primary school drama group which presented plays dramatizing efforts to resist colonial rule.

After his release, he managed to secure Kenyatta's approval in starting Nyeri's Kenya African National Union (KANU) branch by visiting him in detention.

In the late 1960s and early '70s, Kariuki's relationship with Kenyatta became increasingly strained as Kariuki became increasingly vocal in his criticism of Kenyatta's governmental policies and their results, including high levels of government corruption, widening inequalities, and the deterioration of relations between Kenya and other members of the East African Community.

In addition, the KANU government under Kenyatta had failed to provide drought relief, and had badly mismanaged the economy in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis.

However, the land bought back was never redistributed to those Kenyans who previously lived in these settled areas: instead, most of it was given as gifts to Kenyatta's family and friends or as bribes to influence political allies.

On 2 March 1975, Kariuki's remains were found in Ngong Forest by a herd boy; his hands had been chopped off, his eyes gorged out, his face burnt with acid and left on an ant's nest.

Altogether Kariuki was a larger-than-life figure on Kenya's political scene, and his violent demise was widely mourned by his compatriots.

A quote from him is widely remembered: "In Kenya today, I can only see the dawn of a June morning rising majestically from the white oblivion into the serenity of life."

A Parliamentary Select Committee chaired by Elijah Wasike Mwangale was immediately established to investigate the circumstances surrounding Kariuki's murder.