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Kenya's First Finance Minister
James Samuel Gichuru (1914–10 August 1982) was a co-founder of KANU and served as acting chairman in 1960–61 before Jomo Kenyatta took over the post. A trained teacher, he studied at Makerere and taught at Alliance High School before entering national politics. At independence he became Kenya’s first Minister for Finance (1963–1969), steering the transition from the East African Currency Board to the Central Bank of Kenya in 1966 and participating in early post-independence economic and land-settlement negotiations. He represented Limuru in Parliament.
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James Samuel Gichuru (1914–10 August 1982) was a co-founder of KANU and served as acting chairman in 1960–61 before Jomo Kenyatta took over the post. A trained teacher, he studied at Makerere and taught at Alliance High School before entering national politics. At independence he became Kenya’s first Minister for Finance (1963–1969), steering the transition from the East African Currency Board to the Central Bank of Kenya in 1966 and participating in early post-independence economic and land-settlement negotiations. He represented Limuru in Parliament. Gichuru later served as Minister for Defence under Kenyatta and remained a key figure in the first decade of the republic. He died on 10 August 1982, and his legacy is marked in Nairobi by James Gichuru Road. Note: contrary to some claims, he was not a co-founder of Kenya Power and Lighting Company; KPLC traces its origins to a 1922 merger that formed the East African Power & Lighting Company, founded by H. E. Jeevanjee and engineer Clement Hirtzel, and it adopted the KPLC name in 1983.
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Kenya's first Minister for Finance (1963-1969)
Kenya's first Minister for Defence (1969-1979)
Co-founder and first President of KANU (stepped aside for Kenyatta)
Member of Parliament for Limuru
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Teacher
Co-Founder & President, KANU (1960-1961)
Minister for Finance (1963-1969)
Minister for Defence (1969-1979)
MP for Limuru
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His tenure as Finance Minister oversaw post-colonial economic policies that were later criticized for entrenching land inequality and patronage.
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James Samuel Gichuru (1914–10 August 1982) was a co-founder of KANU and served as acting chairman in 1960–61 before Jomo Kenyatta took over the post. A trained teacher, he studied at Makerere and taught at Alliance High School before entering national politics. At independence he became Kenya’s first Minister for Finance (1963–1969), steering the transition from the East African Currency Board to the Central Bank of Kenya in 1966 and participating in early post-independence economic and land-settlement negotiations. He represented Limuru in Parliament.
Dr. James Gichuru is affiliated with KANU.
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