Herman Kingori Maingi

Mzee Herman Kingori Maingi was born in 1920 at Karima village in Othaya Division, Nyeri District. He was the first born among three brothers and four sisters. His parents were Benjamin Maingi and Mary Waithera.

He received his formal education at Karima Mission School in the early 1930s. He furthered his education by attending many seminars, workshops and short training courses in the field of agriculture both locally and abroad.

Mzee's first encounter with Christianity was when he was in the Military service for the British Army. He attended catechism and was baptised on 2 December 1944 at Lanet Military Barracks. He also received his first holy communion and confirmation on the same day.

His achievements in public particularly in the education sector are many. He was a founding member and chairman of Karima & Gura primary schools. He also spearheaded the founding of Karima Boys High School and Othaya Girls High School in which he served as a board member for several years. By the time of his death he had seen the two high schools transformed from Harambee Schools to Government Provincial Schools. Mzee also served in the board of Kagumo High School for five years. He helped see several children through school.

Having been raised in a rural set up, Mzee had a passion for farming. He kept grade cattle and was among the first few Kenyans who planted coffee as a cash crop in 1957. In 1964, when the cooperative union was formed, because of his success in farming, he was elected as a factory manager at Ichamama Coffee Factory. In 1974, he was elected to the large Othaya Farmers Cooperative Society management where he served in various capacities including that of chairman for 19 years. Among his other achievements include:

1. Chairman - Nyeri District Cooperative Union
2. Director, Coffee Research Foundation
3. Director, Coffee Board of Kenya
4. Director, Kenya Planters Cooperative Union
5. Director, Taifa Sacco
6. Delegate, Cooperative Bank of Kenya
7. Member, Othaya Land Control Board

In recognition of his long public service, he was granted a Head of State Commendation(HSC) by Retired President Daniel arap Moi in 1989.