An elderly woman caught the attention of an entire nation on Thursday during the burial of veteran musician Joseph Kamaru when she sauntered to the podium, where President Uhuru Kenyatta and other dignitaries were seated.
After exchanging warm pleasantries – the way old friends would do – she whispered something that seemingly tickled the president’s funny bone.
It turned out Catherine Muthoni – the erstwhile little known woman – who goes by the stage name ‘Celina’, is a sister of the late Kamaru who passed on last week at the age of 79 years.
The two used to entertain Kenya’s founding president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta at State House when the younger Kenyatta was still a young boy.
So when Celina was given a chance to speak to the president, she walked straight to him, held him in tight embrace and whispered something to the president, who immediately broke into a hearty laughter drawing the attention of the other mourners.
She even high-fived the president and playfully held his head in her hands OLD FRIENDS
Celina and President Kenyatta go a long way back, having first made acquaintances more than 50 years ago.
In an interview with a local TV station Celina said he reminded the president how he used to sneak sodas to her whenever she visited State House with her brother to entertain the late Mzee Kenyatta.
“Nilimwambia wewe unakumbuka vile ulikuwa unaenda kuniibia tu soda, akachekaaa. Ni vile kwenu kuna soda unaenda kuchukulia mtu kamoja kamoja (I reminded him how he used to ‘steal’ sodas for me, the way little children always do. That’s what amused him),” she said.
President Kenyatta has since officially invited Celina to State House next week in the company of other Benga musicians, perhaps to reminisce the good old days of his boyish misdemeanor of ‘stealing’ sodas for his childhood friend at State House.