Below is a story about him done on March 24th, 2014.
Nairobi, Kenya: In a serene half-acre compound in Nairobi’s plush Lavington suburb that has remained almost unnaturally green under the unforgiving Nairobi sun is a five-bedroom house. In it lives a 90-year-old man.
The vagaries of age have transformed his once sure gait into an uncertain shuffle. He walks with great effort back straight, knees hardly bending.
“Your face looks familiar… but your name escapes me,” he begins as he sits onto a high-backed dining chair at a terrace opening out to a well-manicured garden. I remind him of my name as if we are acquaintances from a shared past. He clears his throat, puts his hands together, fingertips touching, and then attempts to narrate his journey through the priesthood.
At his prime, retired Archbishop Raphael Ndingi Mwana a’Nzeki was a sharp-witted deeply religious priest whose sermons were a thorn in the flesh for the unjust.
Those who knew him then say his ability to remember incidents from years back was unrivaled. But currently, behind that small, wiry frame, a different man blankly stares back at the world.
His eyes are like a seal holding back painful secrets.
“He has been like this for a while. Complications of old age” explain Fr Anthony Mwituria who says he has been his caregiver since the retired archbishop was diagnosed with dementia.
With each day, he loses more control over his short-term memory.
His mind simply cannot retain what happens in the immediate but it can recall vividly intimate conversations and sermons from decades ago.
Mental ability
Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability caused by the gradual death of brain cells. The loss of cognitive abilities that occurs leads to impairments in memory, reasoning, planning, and behavior.
“I was born in Masaku,…” he says… “And I have always wanted to be a priest. Nothing else,” he adds before asking us for the umpteenth time who we are.
“Are these people from the media? Let them put forth their question and I shall answer without fear whatsoever.” He clears his throat again and leans forward in his chair anticipating a question then breaks off again:
“They should let the Bishop of Moshi work. He is well qualified and the people know him. If anyone has questions about Moshi let them ask me,” he trails off in reference to an event during his earlier years of the priesthood; his wandering mind a constant reminder of his fast-fading mental faculties.
Those who have known him well can only watch with a tinge of sadness and resignation. “It is a ruthless condition. But we have come to accept it,” Fr Peter Gichure offers.
Gichure lived with Ndingi for the better part of 10 years and has seen the retired archbishop deteriorate in function over time.
This condition makes it nearly impossible to have a long conversation with the retired archbishop. His memories have a set timeline.
Retired Archbishop Ndingi Mwana a’Nzeki is dead
Questions about events that occurred during more recent periods trigger a long thoughtful pause. His eyes look distant.
Credit: Waru Wa Wangechi
