Riamageto village in Kisii South Sub County is named after Samuel Mageto Momanyi; one of the great drivers in the founding President Jomo Kenyatta’s motorcade.
At his expansive farm, he practises dairy and fish farming which are a testimony of a man in his late 80s still being a hard worker.
With over 55 years of experience on the steering wheel, he has never caused any road accident and strictly adheres to all traffic laws.
Mageto was issued with his driving license in March 1962, said “With great care, it is almost impossible to cause a road accident. The Government needs to rethink on the issue of driving schools and ensure that every driver undergoes the right driving test.”
Mageto was appointed to drive Kenya’s first President; Kenyatta personal physician, Njoroge Mungai for close to ten years.
When Kenya gained internal self-rule in 1963, Mage joined Lawrence Sagini who had just been elected to the House of Representatives as MP for Kitutu West and named Minister for Natural Resources.
Later in 1966, he joined the then Home Affairs Permanent Secretary Andrew Omanga as his driver before he joined the Civil Service and posted to Molo District in the department of Medical Services. He automatically joined the Kenya Civil Servants Union in 1966.
“It is sad that driving has been turned it a hobby. Most drivers don’t want to learn the basics. Either in private and public transport sector, driving involves the lives of several other people including passengers and other motorists,” added Mageto.
According to Mageto, his close to 55 years on the steering wheel should be celebrated. “It is not easy to drive in our Kenyan roads; the number of untrained drivers is becoming overwhelming.”
His advice to the youth is to work hard on the farm and in any other technical field. “Education alone will not help this country, we need to do other things including farming
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